Opening Night Listowel Writers Week 2019, Horan's Closure and Glin Castle

Opening Night, Listowel Writers Week  May 29  2019

I positioned myself by the entrance to the hotel and here are a few of the good folk who I snapped as they headed towards the ballroom for the festivities.

You will spot some local folk as well some prizewinners and other visitors.

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Change of Tenant Due Here

Making a living as a small retailer in Listowel is tough.

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Glin Castle

Tom Dillon took this photo when he toured Glin Castle with the Irish Georgian Society. These are some of the stories he brought back.

"Best bit was the great stories that go with the family portraits particularly the Cracked Knight who rode his horse up the stairs, the Knight who died dancing at his own wedding and the Knight of the Women who had all his mistresses living in the different lodges on the estate."

Sounds like those knights were a fairly daft lot.

Writers Week team, Horans and The Brogue and a wet day on Church St.

 The North wind doth blow and we shall have snow
And what will the robin do then, poor thing?
He'll hide in a barn and keep himself warm
And hide his head under his wing, poor thing.

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The power behind the throne at Listowel Writers' Week 

Maria McGrath,  Éilish Wren and Máire Logue show off their new reading mittens as they work away in the basement of The Seanchaí , putting together another great programme for June 2016.

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Down Memory Lane

John Keane with the late Gerard Relihan a few years ago  (photo; Ita Hannon)




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Horan's was a Great Venue in its Hayday

Historical Tralee shared this old one. The Horan Centre is here in Tralee today. Gone but not forgotten by many.

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Kirby's Tralee, Maybe a Tad Overdecorated for Christmas 2015?

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A Wet Morning stroll in Listowel, early December 2015

Come with me down Church Street in early morning, December 4 2015. Storm Desmond is on the way and the streets are wet and empty. The Christmas lights are trying bravely to add a bit of festive cheer to the scene. This was to be the day we switched on the Christmas lights and partied in The Square but that was all later cancelled due to the usual spoilsport; the weather.

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Change in Main St.

A new sign….a new tenant?

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photo: Scoil Realt na Maidine

Junior and Senior Infants helped Mrs. Sheehy with on the Christmas lights.

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A Collectors' Item

A message from Knockanure Parents Association:

"Scoil Chorp Chríost Parents Association 2016 Calendar. Our fundraiser for this Christmas. €10 per calendar. Loads of pictures from 1966 onwards. School will be 50 years in September 2016. Celebrations ahead! 
For Sale in School (9.30 - 12.30 from secretary), Flynns Bar, Knockanure, Holly's Gala, Moyvane, The Parish Office, Moyvane, The Flying Saucer, Cafe, Listowel or enquire from Parents' Assoc Committee members."

Mind the View and a few older photos

RISE in Listowel

This lovely book was launched in Olive Stack's Gallery on Friday last, February 6 2015

The book is a compilation of poems by Paddy Creedon and images by Olive Stack. Proceeds from the sale of the book go to RISE, a charity set up by Frances Black to help families impacted by a family member's addiction.

Heart Broken is one of my favourite poems from the anthology;

Hidden-Features, 

Golden_Silences,

Alone-Apart.

Emotional-Bonding

Hand-Holding.

Small -Things

Little- Surprises

Proud-to-be

With You.

Proud of You

Making-Good

Making-Up

Making -Love

Breaking-Down

Missing-You

Heart-Broken

SOME-TIMES.

The poem speaks eloquently to me of the up and down life of someone living with a loved addict in recovery.

The launch of the book was a great night in Olive Stack's lovely gallery. The party carried on after I left in Lynch's, Main St.

Paddy Creedon, poet

Olive Stack, artist

Frances Black was the special guest on the night. She was very accessible, signing everyone's book and chatting to all the local people. She even gave us a song, Bright Blue Rose, despite having laryngitis. Robert Pierse, Nora Relihan, Elizabeth Dunn and Gabriel Fitzmaurice were among the guests who read their choice of poem.

Here are a few photos I took on the night.

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Then and Now

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A few old ones

(photo; Pat Del Savio)

Pat is looking through her old photos and she came up with this one of three generations of Ballybunion Culhanes, Sonny, Jackie and Jackie.

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Do you remember this one from Pat last week?

Update: The Babs Scully here in the white dress is looking forward to her 102nd. birthday!

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Duagh and a Hollywood connection

 This is the cover of the latest edition of National Geographic Traveler magazine and this is an article from Irish Abroad about the article everyone is talking about.

The  front cover of February/March edition of the prestigious travel magazine National Geographic Traveler has a picture of Ross castle in Killarney in County Kerry and the headline ' Return to Ireland - A Journey Home'.

Inside is an 11 page feature with an article about Kerry written by award winning travel writer and actor Andrew McCarthy, where he talks about his journey to find his Irish roots and traces his origins back to the village of Lacca West in the parish of Duagh in County Kerry.



The article 'A Song for Ireland' is adapted from Journeys Home, the book Andrew McCarthy wrote about his journey to Ireland. 

In the article, McCarthy writes "My own relationship to my Irish heritage had always been one of casual pride and affectionate, if uninformed, identification. When people asked what part of Ireland my people hailed from, “Cork” was always my answer. Yet I had no idea exactly where my clan called home."

However, he was soon to find out that his people had come from County Kerry. "It was as if I awoke, after a lifetime of supporting the New York Yankees, to find that my people actually hailed from Boston, and I was meant to be a Red Sox fan."

He then talks about his visit to Kerry, his climb of Carrantoohil, his visit to Killarney to buy an Aran sweater, through Kenmare, around the ring of Kerry and onto the Dingle peninsula and the long stretch of Inch beach. He moves from the town of Dingle on through Tralee to the town of Listowel and then finally to his ancestral home of Lacca West, a small yellow cottage where he meets cousins and extended family and where the crests of the McCarthy and Fitzgerald family hang. "This is is my family",  he writes.

Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland’s head of North America, said: “We are delighted with the coverage in the latest edition of National Geographic Traveler, which is an excellent way of showcasing Kerry and Ireland to a large audience of potential holidaymakers."

Journeys Home: Inspiring Stories, Plus Tips and Strategies to Find Your Family History 
The book, published by National Geographic,  leads with Andrew McCarthy's tale of Irish genealogical discovery and also includes tales from twenty-five other prominent writers across the globe of their explorations in family history with tips on how you can start looking for your roots.

The above are photos from Facebook of Andrew McCarthy taken during his visit to Ireland. He is pictured with his relatives and with Ger. and Damien who helped him trace his roots.