President Michael D. O hUigínn in town, Ballybunion Dining, Writers' Week 2018

Presidential Visit to Kerry Writers' Museum

The purpose of the president's visit to Listowel last weekend was to celebrate Listowel's great win in the Super Valu Tidy Towns' Competition 2018. While he was in the area he fitted in a few other engagements as well. On Friday evening one of Listowel Tidy Town's  hardest working volunteers, Breda McGrath was out giving the place a last sweep up when she spotted Uachtarán na hEireann in his motorcade on his way to The Seanchaí.

There were gardaí everywhere. Here are three who assured me that they have a Listowel connection.

Rambling house musicians waiting to play for the president.

The greeting party at Kerry Writers' Museum with their VIP guests, Eoin Moriarty, David Browne, Sabina and Michael D. Higgins and Madeleine O'Sullivan

I'll have more photos from the presidential visit after my short break.

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Ballybunion, Main Street

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Cosmopolitan Ballybunion

Eating in Ballybunion can be a very interesting experience with cuisine from around the world offered in different establishments around town. Here are a few examples.

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Writers' Week 2019

Tomorrow May 29 2019 is opening night. Here are a few photos from last year to whet your appetite. Here's to a great week for those who love to write, those who love to read and those who love to photograph the people who write and read.

I'll be busy Writers' weeking for the next while. I'll share all the photos later.

Craftfair, Aghadoe, Bothar, Christmas in Killarney and Ballybunion Radio Station

Seanchaí Craft Fair

Pat Murphy was in The Kerry Writers' Centre on Sunday December 16 2018 with some lovely new stock.

Vincent Carmody was selling his unique new book of printed materials from 1870 to 1970.

This new hair device, Dreamy Curls, curls your locks without the aid of heat. It is invented, made and marketed in Listowel. I bought one for my granddaughters. I'll let you know how it goes when they have road tested it.

Orla has had 2 craft fairs in a row so she had enlisted some young help with this one. Her confectionary was selling fast.

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Aghadoe, Killarney

The path to the viewing spot at Aghadoe

Remains of old tower in Aghadoe

Heavenly spot.

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Sheep May Safely Graze

When I saw this pastoral scene on may way back from Aghadoe I was reminded of the hymn;

Sheep may safely graze and pasture
Where a shepherd guards them well.
So the nation ruled in wisdom
Knows and shares the many blessings
Which both peace and plenty bring.

And then I spotted the sign on the next door fence.

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Christmas in Killarney

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Ballybunion Radio Station

(Photo and text from Liam O'Hainnín on Facebook)

Despite references in several publications, Ballybunion Station was not built by Marconi, and never operated commercially. The station was built by the Universal Radio Syndicate. Construction started in 1912, but the station had not obtained a commercial licence by the time World War 1 started. The company went into liquidation in 1915. A sister station at Newcastle New Brunswick, built to the same design as Ballybunion, suffered a similar fate. The Marconi Company bought the two stations from the liquidator in 1919, mainly to prevent their use by potential competitors. The stations were not idle in the interim, however, having been appropriated by the British Admiralty almost immediately upon outbreak of the Great War and kept in constant activity as key components of the allied communication system until the Armistice of November 1918.

The Marconi Company did not use the stations commercially, and it would appear that the Ballybunion station was only used briefly, in March 1919 for a successful telephony experiment with the Marconi station in Louisbourg, and for communication with the R34 airship in July 1919.

In March 1919, Marconi engineers H.J Round and W.T. Ditcham made the first east-west transatlantic broadcast of voice, using valve technology, from the Ballybunion station using the callsignYXQ. The first west to east voice transmission had already been achieved by Bell Systems engineers from the US Navy station at Arlington Virginia to the Eiffel Tower in October 1915.

The contents of Clifden and Ballybunion were sold for scrap to a Sheffield-based scrap merchant, Thos. W. Ward in 1925.

More from The Green Guide., Living Literature, Dublin Kerry Association

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More from the Little Green Guide of 1965

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Living Literature  at The Seanchaí

This is Angeline, the actress, with Jerry, the John B. Keane fan before the start of our Living Literature Tour on Saturday July 21 2018

We were in The Seanchaí for a tour of the rooms dedicated to North Kerry Writers. If you get a chance to take this guided tour, I'd highly recommend it. Angeline, our guide, was full of enthusiasm for the work of the featured writers. She sang, played, recited and acted to bring to life the work of the various writers. She was brilliant and we all greatly enjoyed the tour.

 In the room dedicated to Bryan MacMahon she told us the story, recounted in The Master, of Bryan getting a young mahout to bring a baby elephant to the school. This seems really extraordinary to today's young people but a photo in the John Hannon archive shows a parade of elephants through the town to advertise the arrival of a circus.

Elephants on Market Street photographed by Johnny Hannon.

Paddy stepped up to the plate to play Byrne to Angeline's Big Maggie in the excerpt from the John B. Keane Play.

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Dublin Kerry Association

I missed this one earlier in the summer when Fr. Anthony Gaughan was presented with an award and the Kerry gang in the capital came out in force

Fr. Gaughan with Miriam O'Callaghan and Keelin Kissane

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Seán Keane in Finuge

The highlight of the Seán Maccarthy Memorial Weekend was Seán Keane in concert Neil Brosnan was there and he met Brendan Kennelly with his sister and niece.

Photo; Neil Brosnan

 This photo and caption are also from Neil Brosnan on Facebook.

Sean McCarthy ballad competition sponsors, Mike and Sue Nilsson, with prizewinners: Joe Harrington, 1st, Caroline O'Callaghan, 2nd, and myself in 3rd place 

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Yesterday, August 5 2018 in Listowel