Listowel Connection

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: Tom Dillon Page 1 of 3

Christmas Market

By

On November 30, 2022

In Schools, Schools' Folklore

Listowel 2022

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Listowel in Times Past

remembered by Cyril Kelly

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Christmas Market, Saturday November 26 2022

I was a bit early and the festivities hadn’t started in earnest when I was in the Square. My little visitor had fallen asleep so we were at home before the switching on of the lights which was done this year by Paul Manning. We missed Santa and the school band as well so my photos do not do the event justice.

This is Paul Manning at the festivities in The Square. Unfortunately on the way home, Paul lost the hat he is wearing here. The hat was adorned with 2 badges which are of sentimental value to Paul. If you found it, you could hand it in to John B.s, St. John’s , The Garda Station or Doran’s. Indeed if you hand it in anywhere in town they’ll get it back to Paul.

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Folklore

On Friday I was back in Listowel Library for Tom Dillon’s entertaining talk on folklore. The talk was based on some of the local stories in the national folklore collection.

I was struck that some things that happened during the recent Covid crisis are things that only we know. Not everything is reported in the paper. I resolved to tell my family that Nick and the team at Listowel Garden Centre gave me a present of a plant and a bar of chocolate one day during lockdown. The gift came out of the blue. It meant a lot as did all the other kindnesses I received. I will pass the stories on to the next generation. That’s folklore.

Many stories were collected by schoolchildren in copies like these in the great initiative in 1936/37. Is it time to do it again?

Here is an extract from that great treasure trove;

My great grandfather whose name was Daniel Mangan from Bedford owned a house in William Street but it belongs to a man by the name of Corbet now and he fixes [?] cycles. When the house was owned by my great grandfather it was a latin school and it was taught by a man named Mac Namara My grand father whos name was Pat Mangan was taught Latin there. Mr. Mac Namara aied [?]named man.

They had slates to write on with slate pencils. The black board was a big slate. They had a few stools and planks across two or three boxes.

There was a hedge school in Ballydonohue. It was taught by a man named Relihan. One day they were attacked by English soldiers and Relihan was hanged.
Told by Mrs. Keane, Ashe Street, Listowel.
Written by W. Keane, Ashe Street, Listowel.

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What an Improvement

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Exemplary Fire Fighters

Photo; The Kerryman online

Proud to see our own John Curtin and John Kelliher rewarded for their long service to the fire service.

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Christmas Crafts

By

On November 23, 2022

In Ballylongford, History, Listowel

St. John’s, Listowel Nov 2022

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Crafting Revival

I love to see enterprising young people practicing old crafts. Ballylongford was the place to be on Sunday November 20 2022. The Community Centre was jammed with beautiful things and lovely crafters.

My daughter in law, Carine, was delighted with her purchases from the Mulvihill family stall. She is holding the unique willow wreath which she plans to put on her door. She also loves the flower picture she got for her kitchen.

This engaging young lady was rocking an equine theme with lightweight horseshoe ornaments for every occasion.

I remember a time when every bride carried a horseshoe as well as her bouquet.

This is what the internet says about the horseshoe as a symbol of luck;

Although the origins are not exactly known, it is believed that the horseshoe became the symbol of luck when the eighth century Chaldeans thought its crescent shape represented various moon goddesses thus protecting against the curse of the evil eye.

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Remembering Childhood Christmases in Listowel

Margaret Dillon kindly answered my call. Here is her account of childhood Christmases in pre digital days.

These days Christmas is heralded by a marathon of Festive adverts which start earlier each year. Back in the 40’s and 50’s we didn’t have Television so we weren’t subjected to that constant bombardment. Nevertheless we had full and plenty of all the Christmas essentials. Listowel was a busy bustling town back then, the shops were full of all sorts of goodies. Of couse as children we were only interested in the Toy shops particulary Fitzgibbon’s and Walsh’s corner shop. Walsh’s window had a nodding Santa  which was a great attraction.  We couldn’t contain ourselves on Christmas morning as we opened our presents. Santa was a wonder then and he still is to all children. 

On the home front , the  decorations were put up  across the ceiling from corner to corner. The Holly was put behind the pictures and most important of all the crib was put on the sideboard or windowsill. The cake and plum pudding were already made. While Mam was making the cake we made our wishes as we stirred the mixture. A few days beforehand a goose ( for the New Year celebrations) and a flitch of hairy bacon to go wth the turkey arrived from our Clare relations.  My mother and the neighbours Mrs Hickey and Mrs Brennan bought  the live turkeys in the market,  Mrs Brennan did the killing and we plucked our own, making sure to keep the wings. They served as dusters around the range and grate for the rest of the year.

The big shop was done shortly before the big day in John Joe’s and the  reward  for our business during the year was the Christmas box. This was like a mini hamper containing tea, a pot of jam and maybe an Oxford Lunch cake. The drinks order of minerals, bottles of Guinness and a bottle of Sherry  arrived from John R’s in a large timber box.  

Of course Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the Christmas hymns “Away in a Manger” or “Angels we have heard on High” Or the Christmas songs “Jingle Bells” , “Rudolf the Rednosed Reindeer” and Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas”  Adeste Fidelis was sung at  Mass on Christmas Day After Mass we stayed back to visit and welcome Baby Jesus in the crib. During the holidays we paid regular visit to the cribs in the parish church and the convent chapel.

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Boyeens to Men

My lovely boyeens spent a lot of time in Listowel as children. They always surprise me with their recall of things we did together on their Kerry holidays.

Killian on the Greenway in Nov 2022

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Folklore in The Library

Tom Dillon was his usual entertaining and informative self in Listowel Library last week when he filled us in on the origins of place names.

Placenames are in danger of being lost as we move to Eircodes.

Tom told us that the fishermen had names for various parts of the Feale. Now that fishing is no more these names are in danger of being lost.

I did not know this until Tom told us but wags in Tralee have invented a new place name. They call the Corrib Oil station the Mini Barack Obama.

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Christmas Market 2022

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Dancing, Acting and Holidays

By

On November 15, 2022

In Ballybunion, Listowel

Closing date for applications has passed…Sorry!

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Passing on the Torch

Jimmy Hickey is a dancing teacher in a direct line from the old masters. Here is a paragraph from an article by Edaein O’Connell in last week’s Irish Independent. The Kelliher referred to is Jonathan Kelliher of Siamsa Tire.

Jonathan is videoing Jimmy dancing the steps and so preserving them for the next generation.

Here is a link to part two of the recent video about the dancing tradition in North Kerry.

Munnix dance tradition

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The Crown

Are you watching the latest series of The Crown on Netflix?

Here is our own local royal family at the premiere in London last week.

This photo of Dominic West and his wife, Catherine Fitzgerald, and their family was shared online by Glin Community News.

Dominic plays Prince Charles in The Crown. I think he has caught him well, his mannerisms and irascibility but West is far more handsome.

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Dates for the Diary

Full details of these talk on Kerry Libraries website

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Laethanta Saoire

Happy childhood days gone but not forgotten…

What’s in a Number

An essay by Charles McCarthy shared on Facebook by Glin Historical Society

What’s in a number? 

A lot actually, especially if that number is forever associated with childhood journeys.

ZIU 40 was the registration of my father’s car, or to be more precise to all of you auto fanatics out there a, 2 door, red, 1971 Ford Escort Mark I.

A little snug for a family of five with mam and dad up front.

Installation of the roof rack meant that the holidays were eminent and bootcases (Grappling with Pronunciations) had to be dusted down.

Not everyone had a full grasp of the English vocabulary but my mother was fluent in the many tongues of her young.

Destination was Ballybunion circa 1981 which meant passing through the bustling towns of Abbeyfeale, Listowel and some small villages with names we pronounced in a deep voice such as “Duagh”.

I would be consigned to the parcel shelf, transforming me into a small missile, primed, should the car come to a sudden stop.

We would all slowly bake if the sun was high, and no one really complained due to the possibility of we having to stop and thus hours being added to an already arduous journey.

I would have no choice but to stare at the gradual build-up of frustrated drivers faces, due to my father’s estimation of an acceptable speed and the cars inability to pass 45mph fully loaded.

What should have been a relatively short trip would seem an eternity. A garage in Listowel with the outline of a VW beetle painted on its side wall meant we were getting close to journeys end.

The stretch of road between Listowel and Ballybunion is long and relatively straight, with sudden dips in the road that reacted wonderfully with the leaf springs of an ageing car.

Sudden dips and up we would go with familiar tickles in the tummy, made all the more pronounced if we were getting hungry and the limited supplies had been exhausted.

Faster Dad! faster came the loud exclamations to my father’s ever growing frustration.

No one ever thought of opening a window, instead I believe it was my parents way of keeping us quiet, by way of partially knocking us unconscious from sheer heat exhaustion.

One damp face cloth was used on the many faces and we never thought to question such rationing, though that too would dry out over time within the hostile environment.

Complaining meant stopping which meant more time added,  which was a no, no.

Was it just beyond one hill crest, or two?, finally the sight of the sea side resort would appear like a majestic vista, mobile home roof tops glistening in the sun.

The slow procession of cars through the main street, each car loaded with little sea urchins such as ourselves in awe of the many sights.

A cacophony of sights, sounds and smells, salty sea air, chip shops, perry winkles, bumper cars, slots machines, and the latest block buster “ Raiders of the lost Ark” advertised at the local cinema.

We were finally there, a journey and destination that will forever be engrained in my memory.

 What’s in a number indeed.

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Heritage Week 2022, Walking Tours

By

On August 17, 2022

In Ballybunion, Listowel, Personal

In Marley Park…Eamon ÓMurchú

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Heritage Week 2022

I attended my first in person event for Heritage Week 2022 on Saturday last. It was a guided history walk around the Square with the best informed and most entertaining historian, Tom Dillon. Tom is a thorough researcher, an informed and engaging guide and a superb communicator. He is wasted in any job where he is not enthusing young people to engage with and learn about local history.

Photo credit; Maire Logue

This is our little band assembled at the castle as we headed out on a sunny Saturday.

Tom took us to St. John’s. That’s Máire’s dog guarding him as he enthralled us with the story of this building which was once a Church of Ireland place of worship and is now an Arts centre and theatre. He told us lots of interesting stuff here but I’m going to leave that for another day.

There is another event in St. John’s for Heritage Week where we are all going to learn about stained glass windows, making them and restoring them.

Tom told us lots about the parishioners of St. John’s and lots about the building itself. The clock which was made by Mangans of Cork only stayed going for 3 years. It was a big loss because it was the town clock and men left off work on Lord Listowel’s estate when they heard ‘Mangan Bangin'”

A local poet, D.C. Hennessy, wrote its obituary which Tom read to us.

In 2017 on my Feb 1 blogpost, I have a great story connected to the clock. If you have a minute, read it at the below link.

St. John’s Clock, John Griffin of Bridge Road and Canon Declan O’Connor and their Listowel Connection

An addendum to the clock story is that it was completely refurbished in 2021. Unfortunately the old movement was removed and replaced with a modern digital movement which will see the clock tell the correct time but won’t please the purists.

Here we are at the end of our walk by the banks of The Feale and Tom is telling us about how the Feale got its name , the history of the castle and why it came to be built here. We had stories of the days when the river teamed with fish and the local big houses drew water from it.

We finished our walk with Tom leading us in a verse or two of Bryan MacMahon’s Lovely Listowel.

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Showing Listowel to the Grandchildren

Sean took the selfie as we headed out on our walk. The boys are half French so much more accustomed to the heat than their poor old Nana.

We walked through the Garden of Europe and by the River before returning through the town

No trip to Listowel is complete without a trip to Jumbo’s.

They hadn’t heard of Jerry Kiernan so they caught up on another piece of Listowel history.

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History Lite

Helen Gore Mitchell and her lovely family are in town on a long summer visit. Helen is the daughter of my friends Cliff and Mary Gore, now sadly both passed away.

Helen was disappointed to hear that the weekly tours were not running this year. (I didn’t know then about Heritage Week). So I offered to give my very amateur version of a tour with tales of a few historic happenings. Helen’s cousin, Gillian and her family came too and my visitors tagged along to learn something. We had a lovely evening, lovely company and lovely chats.

We were all remembering Mary and Cliff, two great stalwarts of Listowel who did so much for their local community. I am delighted to see the next generations honouring their memory and keeping the tie.

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Ballybunion Sunset

There were some spectacular sunsets during the heatwave of 2022. Alice Moylan photographed this one in Ballybunion.

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Historian in Residence, A Generous Maloney, Stained Glass Windows

By

On March 13, 2020

In Uncategorized

When there was a phone box on every corner

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Tom Takes up a new post

Ennismore native, Tom Dillon is a passionate historian. He is an expert on North Kerry men who fought in two world wars. He has recently been appointed as Historian in Residence by Kerry County Council.


Tom has always been a busy man and now he is about to become even busier. I heard him recently with Frank Lewis on Radio Kerry’s Saturday Supplement telling the fascinating story of one of Kerry’s most notorious faction fights between the Cooleens and the Lawlors at Ballyeigh.

Tom is on the far right with Jim Dunn, Mike Lynch and Rose Wall Volunteering at a Graham Norton event at Listowel Writers’ Week.



Tom is among North Kerry history lovers, Martin Moore, Declan Downey, Michael Guerin and myself in Ashe Hall where Tom gave an excellent lecture on the Fitzgeralds, Knights of Kerry.

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A Duagh Philatropist

William Maloney was born in Duagh County Kerry, Ireland, in 1828, and died in Pittsburgh, Dec. 28, 1870.

All affairs bearing on the public good interested Mr. Maloney, and the weight of his influence and his moral and financial support were always forthcoming in aid of such activities. Charitable cause made and unfailing appeal to his warmly, generous and sincere nature, and he was especially friendly to St. Paul’s Orphan Asylum. He was a member of St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, then at Fifth and Grant streets, and there was no branch of its work that did not owe a large part of its comfortable ease in financial relations to his never-failing donations. He was known for his ever-courteous manner and was a musician of accomplishment. His religious convictions were strong, and, practical man of affairs the he was, he believed that they were worthy of the best of his means.

William Maloney married Mary B. Mullin, daughter of Thomas and Mary Mullin, her father a linen manufacturer of note at Carrickmacross, a famous linen center of Ireland. Her mother, Mary Mullin, came to the United States a short time after her son John, Mr. Maloney’s partner, had made Pittsburgh his home. Mrs. Maloney, a devoted mother, and active charity worker, an accomplished home maker, died Aug. 25, 1914. 

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Listowel Convent Windows in their new home


A Corkman, Eddie Hyland has been studying stained glass windows from the Harry Clarke studios in Dublin. His research brought him to two windows in Presentation Convent chapel  in Listowel.

The chapel was deconsecrated and the windows dispersed. Eddie started a search that brought him to sources like Listowel Connection as well as the Presentation archive.

Here is his latest letter bringing the news that his search iOS over and has been successful

Dear Mary

I’ve located the Saint Patrick window; it is in the parish church [named Saint Patrick’s]

in the tiny village of Knockavilla near Upton in Co Cork.

I’m sending to you as attachments photos of both windows. As you can see the Saint Michael

window has been reworked somewhat to make it fit into the opening in Blackrock Church, Cork.

The Saint Patrick is however unaltered. It is not however fitted into a wall opening but instead

is located in a custom made wooden frame and artificially back lit

Again thank you for all of your help and encouragement

Regards

Ed Hyland 

 



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