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: WIM Ballybunion

Garden of Europe and Evelyn O’Rourke’s Dear Ross

Recently I took a stroll through the lovely Garden of Europe. Several lovely trees came down in the February 2014 storms.

Two men were working clearing the fallen wood on the day I visited.

They told me that they were using the wood pulp as mulch for the remaining shrubs and trees.

These hardy daffodils were blooming on regardless.

Two dogs were enjoying the early spring sunshine.

I spotted these on a tree on the path from the Garden to Gurtinard. Nest boxes?

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This is definitely the end of my WIM Weekend coverage



I know that that is not really a headline but I thought it might be a relief for some of my faithful followers to know that normal service is bring resumed next week.

Before that I have to tell you that I met my friend, Evelyn O’Rourke in Ballybunion.

Me with Evelyn O’Rourke

Evelyn with her mum Peigí, her aunt Eileen and  friend Mairead

Her anxious mum watches as Evelyn relives a very hard time in their lives.

Breda Boderick from Listowel is a fan of Evelyn’s and maybe its this selfie craze but I seem to be in far too many photos of the weekend.

Evelyn has written a book, Dear Ross, telling the story of a year in the life of her family. Evelyn was still on maternity leave with her first son, Óisín when she discovered she was pregnant. She was thrilled. The thrill only lasted a very short while as, within a week, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  

Evelyn wrote a series of letters to her unborn son, Ross, telling him how much she and his dad, John loved and wanted him and wanted to do everything possible not to compromise him in any way.

In the book we read of the horrors of chemotherapy compounded by the discomforts of pregnancy and the trials of looking after a small child.

In Ballybunion we saw Evelyn, the surviver, read movingly from some of the letters. We met Evelyn, the campaigner, passionately promoting the cause of breast cancer research. We  met Evelyn, the family woman, wallowing in the love of her old and her new family. And we met Evelyn, the great communicator standing before us, a testament to the triumph of will, of love and support and modern medicine over this terrible disease.

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During the weekend the local Creative Writing group took the opportunity to sell a collection of their works, A Little Life Music.

As part of the weekend too we got a taster eco tour of Ballybunion.

Danny Houlihan is a man of many talents. He told us about history and wildlife in a really interesting trip to the Cashen and the Castle Green. Below are a few photos from the tour

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Writers Week 2014

The programme was officially launched last night in The Seanchaí. Great night, lots of photos to come but I had to share this one.

 Eilís Wren and Máire Logue of Writers’ Week fill in my lovely granddaughters on who’s coming to this year’s festival.

Women in Media Weekend in Ballybunion

Mothers and Daughters at WIM Ballybunion

Vourneen and Keelin Kissane with Róisín and Anne Ingle

It was Saturday, April 12 2014 and instead of reading Róisín Ingle in the Irish Times, we were sitting in Kilcooley’s Country House in Ballybunion, Co. Kerry listening to her talk about another favourite journalist and author, Maeve Binchy.

Róisín Ingle is now Daily Features Editor of The Irish Times, a mantle which sits lightly on her shoulders. She was in Ballybunion to take us back to another editor and to help us live again the enjoyment we got form Maeve Binchy, the journalist. Róisín has recently edited a collection of Maeve’s pieces for the Irish Times and so she is a bit of an expert on Maeve’s best bits. She described getting this job like getting a job in quality control in a crisp factory.

Róisín did not give us my favourite anecdote about Maeve on The Late Late doing battle with a formidable lady on the necessity of etiquette and decorum but she read for us Maeve’s account of an incident when she encountered a business man sitting in the Ladies’ Toilet  in a posh hotel. He had mistaken it for the lobby.

Maeve’s description of her first dress dance at age 16 is still hilarious today. Maeve’s coverage of Princess Anne’s wedding made us all regret that she had passed away before the recent state visit.

Róisín decided that Miriam Lord with her “irreverent but affectionate” approach to serious subjects is Maeve’s best successor today. I think that Róisín Ingle with her ability to mine the minutiae of everyday life and produce entertaining and self deprecating pen pictures has a lot of Maeve Binchy in her too.

This is Róisín with a local lady called Christine. Christine came to Ballybunion to meet Róisín because Róisín once wrote about her. If anyone reading this knows Christine will you get that story for us please?

(more from WIM tomorrow)

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I spotted this picture of Ballybunion Lady golfers on Perfect Pairs page. Looking good, ladies.

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Mike Enright took this perfect picture of sunset in Ballybunion last week.

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All will be revealed!


On Thursday next at 7.00 p.m. in The Seanchaí the Listowel Writers’ Week programme 2014 will be launched.  Come along to hear what great things are in store for us on the June bank holiday weekend. 

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spotted in a shop window on Church Street

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