This blog is a personal take on Listowel, Co. Kerry. I am writing for anyone anywhere with a Listowel connection but especially for sons and daughters of Listowel who find themselves far from home. Contact me at listowelconnection@gmail.com

Tag: St. Mary’s Listowel Page 3 of 5

Watching Rás Tailteann, Iceland Opens and an icon in St. Mary’s

Photo: Chris Grayson

<<<<<<<<<


People I met at Rás Tailteann on May 23 2018


Helen, P.J. and Joan stopped on their way from mass to wave the cyclists off.

Eilish, Maria and Sharon popped out of the Writers’ Week office to promote the festival to the race watchers.

Christy, Norita and Joan in The Square


Moriarty family out in force to support Eugene


<<<<<<<<

From the Johnny Hannon Archive



Batt and Gertie O’Keeffe

<<<<<<

It’s Open



Iceland Listowel in Mill Lane opened on May 22 2018

<<<<<<<<


In St. Mary’s Listowel




<<<<<<,


Famous People meet a Blog Follower




Danny O’Connor from Gurtinard met father and son actors, Brendan and Domhnall Gleeson in New York

<<<<<<,



Woodford Pottery



Pat Murphy gave me a sneak peak at his latest design innovation. He is still making his trademark blue  black and green kitchenware but now his creative juices are flowing in a whole new direction  and he is planning a white with a pop of colour range for the autumn.

I love them. What do you think?

Pat also has a beautiful range of souvenir mugs especially for Writers’ Week. You can pick them up in the craft shop at Galvins in William Street.

Family Wedding in Listowel

Cliona Cogan on the balcony of  the bridal suite of The Listowel Arms Hotel on her wedding day, May 20 2017. In the background is The River Feale and Listowel Racecourse.

Saturday May 20
2017 was a popular day for weddings. In the U.K. Pippa Middleton, sister of the
Duchess of Cambridge married her fiancé, James Matthews,  in Kenmare Alannah McGurk, daughter of Miriam
O’Callaghan and her ex-husband  Tom
McGurk married former Galway footballer Fiachra Breathnach and in Italy Lottie
Ryan, daughter of the late Gerry, married her husband Fabio Aprile for a second
time (the first time was a low key civil affair which the couple did in
secret). The wedding of the day with a Listowel connection was the McKenna
Cogan wedding in St. Mary’s , Listowel.

Let me tell you
without fear of contradiction that Listowel is the best place in the world to
organize and hold a wedding. St. Mary’s is a beautiful church which can be
downsized to accommodate a small ceremony as well as being the ideal venue for
a huge wedding. The hotel and all the local wedding suppliers are the cream of the crop.

My Kanturk family posing outside the church for the “real” photographer.

I’ll tell you a
bit about the wedding day suppliers we dealt with.

The Listowel Arms
Hotel were a delight to deal with from day one. Patrice, Asyia and all the
staff were super efficient and obliging . The hotel itself is charming, warm
and welcoming.  Asyia took lots of lovely
photos which reached us long before the official  ones. 
Her photos at the hotel entrance show how intimate, local and compact
the place is for a wedding.

The dining room
was stunning. The backdrop of the racecourse and river Feale lent an exotic air
to the snaps of the top table.



 The food was delicious, the service excellent,
the speeches were short and entertaining, the favours of Lily O’Brien
chocolates (from Newbridge) and my book (from Listowel) were appreciated by the
guests.



Dancing to Kildare
band Transmitter went on until the wee hours and, in a lovely local touch,
Damien from Jumbos made a late night delivery of some local delicacies beloved
of the bride and her friends and mentioned in the groom’s speech.

Weddings nowadays
are two day affairs. We all decamped to the Cliff House in Ballybunion for our
day 2 and there we had a night of chat, finger food, some music and a few
drinks. The happy couple headed for  a
London minimoon on Tuesday. Highlights of this included 2 afternoon teas which
were gifted to them by wedding guests. Andrea and Alexandra treated them to tea
in The Shard. This is “the height of fine dining”. The restaurant where they ate is on the 32
nd floor and the food is as spectacular as the views.  Alex and Andrea are Erasmus friends of
Clíona’s and their friendship has stood the test of time and distance.

Many years later here they are in St. Mary’s Listowel with Alex’s daughter Aoife .

The second teatime
experience was  in Harrods. They even got
a complimentary chocolate cake for dessert in view of the fact that they were
on honeymoon.

A far cry from Jumbo’s Listowel!

St. Bridgit’s Duagh, A Poem by Pat Given and some old photos

My Favourite Art Galleries


My favourite art galleries are all free to enter and they hold some of the finest frescoes, mosaics, woodwork, statuetry and architectural features you will see anywhere.

We, in Listowel, need to look no further than our own St. Marys

Recently I visited Duagh’s St. Bridgit’s. It is lovely compact little church beautifully looked after by the local congregation.

There is a collection box in the hallway for used stamps and for old Christmas cards.

St. Bridgit’s has many many statues, pictures and some beautiful stations of the cross which were sponsored by kind donors.

<<<<<<<


A Poem from Pat Given’s October Stocktaking


Philosopher

Pat Given

I’ll tell you what it is to
be

A philosopher. To be able to
recall

A personal feud of lasting
enmity;

And smile on your tormentor
after all.

To follow ambition with
unswerving intent

From youth to middle years
and onward still,

To know at last it’s
unattainable,

And yet remain impassively
content,

To make it mere routine to
contemplate

That one day soon –too soon-
you must forsake

The loved ones that your life
illuminate;

And when the culmination
comes, not break.

This is a philosopher, as I
would think,

And, oh how far short of it I
sink!

<<<<<<<



Listowel Photos from the 1940s


I’m returning now to some old photographs which have featured here before. The story is that a Galway photographer came to town in the 1940s and he positioned himself on William Street across from McKenna’s Corner and he photographed everyone who came within his orbit.

Years later, this photographer died and his family discovered all the old photos among his possessions. They sent the photos to Bryan MacMahon in Listowel. When The Master passed away his son Maurice undertook to try to identify the people in the photographs. We have had some success with a few of them but a few have remained elusive.

Margaret (Dillon) Ward has been diligent in the pursuit of the identities of these local people. Ned Sweeney has helped her to identify the people in three photos. I have also posted again a man whose identity still eludes us. As they say on Crimecall, its a good likeness. Someone must know him. Of course he might not be a Listowel man at all. Like the photographer, he might just have happened to be in town on that day.

David Bunyan of Convent Cross

David Bunyan and John Allen

Ned Faley and Jimmy (Salmon) Roche

This man’s identity is still a mystery to us. All we know for certain is that he walked outside McKenna’s one day in the 1940s.

James Crowley, T.D. remembered in Áras Mhuire and a few small changes at St. Mary’s




A Little Reminder





A Listowel Connection to 1916


They held a great party in Áras Mhuire on Saturday June 18 2016. The occasion was the the 92nd birthday of Edward Crowley. But it wasn’t just any old birthday because Edward is the son of James Crowley member of the first Dail and TD for North Kerry from 1918 to 1932 .

In this the centenary year of the 1916 Rising it was decided to make a presentation to Edward whose father was jailed for  reading the Proclamation at a meeting in Listowel in 1918.


Jimmy Deenihan made the presentation which took the form of a framed document outlining, in brief the biography of James Crowley. This document was signed by the production team of “1916, The Irish Rebellion” documentary. In the photograph with Jimmy Deenihan and Edward Crowley is Clementine O’Keeffe,daughter of Edward and granddaughter of James Crowley.

(Thank you to Bernard O’Keeffe for the photos and the story)


Relatives and friends of Edward Crowley at his birthday celebration in Áras Mhuire.




<<<<<<<<<<<<<




A Picture Paints a Thousand Words


I have observed from my little knowledge of people’s behaviour on the internet that people prefer to see a picture or video clip than to read a story as text. In fact many people tell me that they only look at the pictures in my blogpost and if the picture catches their eye they might read the accompanying text.

I was not surprised then when I learned that Facebook is planning to go all video. Snapchat has taken over from Twitter as the social medium of choice for the Millenials and by 2020 nobody will wait for a newspaper to get them the news.

You might think that this would spell bad news for advertisers. Not at all. They are way ahead of the game. Advertisers know so much about us now that they can target us with pin point accuracy. Because they know our location from our I.P. address, our profile from 100 profiles we have filled in somewhere and our interests from the sites we visit, as we walk down the street they can flash us the special offers in the shops as we pass.  Frightening!

<<<<<<<



Statues reinstalled at St. Mary’s


St. John

St Anne and Mary



This final photo shows the spot on the pillar prepared for the next statue to be affixed. The story is this. These statues (I think they are marble) were inset around the old pulpit. When the pulpit was removed, following Vatican 11, the statues were taken by a parishioner for safe keeping.

Now they are back in St. Mary’s and you can see them on the pillars at the top of the church.

Irish College 2015 style, some ads and memories of a fleadh cheoil long ago.


Coláiste Bhréanainn, Baile an Buineánaigh


All’s changed, changed utterly from the Irish college experience of old. There are still claisceadail and ceilithe but now the young people get to go surfing, Tae kwando, zumba, limbo, crazy golf and a historical tour of Ballybunion. Judging by Coláiste Bhréanainn’s Facebook page learning Irish has never before been such fun.



<<<<<<<<

New Playground in Fitzgerald’s Park, Cork



Well worth a visit if you are lucky enough to spend some time in the real capital of Ireland.



<<<<<<<


Listowel businesses in 1960






<<<<<<<


More of Betty Stack’s old cuttings

This picture accompanied a story about Listowel’s introducing a Seachtain Cheoil in the week of Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann. The idea was taken on board and is now an integral part of the Fleadh. In the photo are Muriel Dowling, Geraldine Dowling and Gerard Buckley.

<<<<<<<

Lovely Day for a Wedding






<<<<<<


+ Tragic Death of Benny Collins +





“The death has taken place of Benny Collins, son of Mary Ellen and Denis Collins, Templeathea.  He was living in Swansea, Wales and died on the 28th of July 2015. Survived by his wife Mel, son Harry, parents and brothers Denis, John, and Leo, sisters Catherine and Helena.”

The story behind the news 

“A brave dad drowned while saving his son after he was caught in a rip tide at a holiday beach.

Physiotherapist Benny managed to save Harry, nine, from drowning at popular beach – which has no lifeguard cover.

But he was pronounced dead following the seaside tragedy at Three Cliffs Bay in Gower, South Wales on Tuesday.

Irish-born Benny had been the captain of Gowerton rugby club in his home city of Swansea, South Wales.

The team played tribute to their former player.

A spokesman said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of our former captain Benny Collins.

“A true gent in every sense, will be missed by all.”

The dad and son were pulled from the sea by fellow-swimmers at on Tuesday afternoon and flown to hospital.

Benny was pronounced dead while Harry was treated at Morriston Hospital, Swansea, where his father worked, and was later released.

Benny’s friend John Knox paid tribute to him, saying: “A wonderful husband and father. Benny Collins will be with the angels.”

Another friend, Chris Mason, said: “Devastating news about Benny Collins. Loved playing with him for Gowerton RFC, such a great bloke will be missed by so many people.”

His wife Melanie, 42, was being supported by specially trained police officers.

Brave Benny is the latest fatality at the beach which is part of the Gower Peninsula – designated as the UK’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

(Irish Mirror online)

Page 3 of 5

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén