Emigration, Bunny Dalton and the final chapter of the handball history

These figures tell a sad story.

Many of their descendants now are out there looking for their roots and they are learning these 5 golden rules of genealogy:

#1 Leave no stone unturned, unless it is a headstone.

#2 Handwriting legibility is inversely proportionate to a document's importance.

#3 The further away a cemetery or library is, the more awkward the opening hours will be.

#4 The relative you most need to talk with is the one whose funeral you are currently attending.

#5 Wherever you find two or more siblings, there also will you find two or more surname spellings.

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http://homealoneinireland.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/lets-talk-about-emigration/

Good blog about emigration "by the last guy left".

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 It was not unusual for newspapers in far flung places to report a bit of Irish news. The above comes from New Zealand Tablet, June 5 1855.

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The book that everyone is talking about!

This is how the 2 sequels were displayed in Dubray Books in Dublin.

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An old picture from Ballybunion of the Bunny Dalton Band.

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Handball...the final installment

Membership dropped over the following years but there was one notable development

 that took place roughly around 1969/1970.

The committee were approached by Mr. Bill Kearney who asked would the club allow

a few pitch and putt holes to be placed in the Alley ground. He wanted a base in

which to commence a pitch and putt club for the town.

Mr. Kearney himself acted as secretary, Mr. John Joe Kenny as Chairman and Mr. Jnr

Griffin as treasurer.  

It proved to be dangerous area for pitch and putt as many golf balls were struck

over the wall on to the main road.  If the traffic then was as heavy as it is now, serious

damage could have been done.

However, Mr. Kearney used this to his advantage when he approached the Town

Council to include a pitch and putt course in the Town Park (Cows Lawn). A nine hole course was granted to  Mr. Kearney  and thus, the Listowel Pitch and Putt Club was formed. Indeed, two men, John Joe Kenny and Kevin Sheehy who were stalwarts of the handball club for years gave wonderful service to the Pitch and Putt Club for

many years to follow.

A new generation off handball lovers came on the scene including the likes of Denny

O’Connor, Eddie and Mike Broderick, Charlie Nolan, Tony Stack, Jerh Loughnane,

Con Gorman, Tony O’Neill, Jimmy Canty and others  but the building of the new

community centre in the town park in the mid eighties “drew” away from the old

Alley and handball ceased to be played there.

The new centre which had an enclosed 40ft by 20 ft handball alley did cater for

handball enthusiasts  but as there was no structure of a club it never really took

off so both the handball and squash courts were utilised for other purposes.

In the years of 2008-2009, John Griffin (Junior), being the only surviving trustee,

 and with no handball committee formed for many years, and following the  advice

from former members, decided to sign over the alley ground, which was purchased

by the handball committee in 1962, to the safe keeping of the Listowel Town

Council.  This was done through the good offices of Pierse-Fitzgibbon, Market

Street, Listowel with the one request that if at any time in future years the

handball club will be reformed that the Council will facilitate the committee in

every way possible if they are looking for a site to build a new handball alley. 

Strangely, though the Alley ground was legally signed over to the Town Council three

or four years ago, this transaction has still to be acknowledged by the Council or the

Council office

John (Junior) Griffin)

The above is a brief history of the Listowel Handball Club. As I was engaged in

compiling the history of another sporting organisation over the past two years I

had not the time to research as much as I would have liked to of the Listowel

Handball Club.

My sincere apologies if I have omitted names of people who would have given

their time to the club, before or after my years.

As mentioned there was but the one minute book available which happened to be in

my own possession.

Just to advise that I have all the above saved and if anyone can add more to the club’s

history please feel free to contact me.

Hopefully, the wonderful game of handball will return again in all it’s glory to the

town of Listowel.

Junior

 Our very sincere thanks is due to Junior for compiling this history and for sharing it with us. I know that many people enjoyed it  and would love to hear more. If any reader has any stories about handball or indeed about anything else of interest to people with a Listowel connection I would only be too delighted to post it here.