Tarrants – Listowel Connection

Iconic Listowel mural on Market Street in Feb. 2023

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Convent Street Clinic on Market Street

Interestingly The Convent Street Clinic is on Market Street.

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In Boston, a timely reminder

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Gurtenard Wood; great place for a run, a walk or just a Rest

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A Clay Pipe Story

I’m reposting this photo and text from 2019.

When Kay O’Leary was doing a bit of gardening in Lyreacrompane she came upon this artefact. She was curious to know where Spillane’s shop was.

Vincent Carmody’s Snapshots of a Market Town has the answer.

“David Spillane came from Limerick in the mid 1860s to manage a store for Hugh Kelter. In 1876 David married Johanna Enright from Listowel. With the demise of the Kelter’s business in the 1880s, the Spillane’s took over the running of the shop.”

From the evidence in Vincent’s book it looks like Spillane’s stocked everything from a needle to an anchor.

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Celtic Crosses in St. Michael’s Graveyard

Since discovering a new interest in Celtic Art I have been observing grave memorials more closely. The carving on these celtic style headstones is not all the same. I wonder if individual stone carvers had their own style. If you know who chiselled these beautiful embellishments please tell us.

This is an unusual memorial as it is not a cross in the traditional cruciform but a celtic cross atop a conventional memorial. It features the Sacred Heart, Lamb of God and aspiration Thy will be done in the midst of shamrocks and other leaves.

This one has Jesus at its base and the cross features a Sacred Heart again surrounded by foliage and shamrocks.

This one is much more leafy

Celtic knotwork is the dominant theme here.

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Another two Bite the Dust

Was Ezecomp on Church Street

The Bronzing Room also now closed.

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On Church Street

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Recipes for “The Working Classes”

Here are a few more mouth watering, or maybe jaw dropping nuggets from this 1852 co0kery book.

If you are wondering about the instruction to “Send it to the bakers”

“Sharing in a community oven was common in Europe for centuries. It’s still widespread in the Middle East and North Africa, but died out in most of western Europe in the 20th century. You can share equally, maybe drawing lots for your turn in a village bakehouse, or pay a small fee to a professional baker to put your loaves into his oven. And you aren’t limited to bread. Greek bakehouses still cook Easter lamb dishes for villagers. This was once quite common in England and other countries too. Meat, pies, cakes, and other dishes for festivals and holy days used to be cooked in big bread ovens by families who normally cooked on the hearth, but could afford a few extra pennies for special meals.” (from an internet site called Old and Interesting)

As for the baked cod’s head, it doesn’t bear thinking about.

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Listowel Writers’ Week 2022 in the Planning Stage

If this is the year you are going to write the book, or the song or the poem, check out these workshops. One of these may be just the ticket to get you started.