Icon of the Holy Family in Listowel, New Road Signs and a Turf Powered Steam Engine

Denis Carroll in Ballybunion

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Icon of The Holy Family in Listowel

This icon will be with us in Listowel Parish church from this afternoon, Monday April 9 2018 until Wednesday.

What is The Icon of the Holy Family?

The icon of the Holy Family was specially commissioned by WMOF2018 (World Meeting of Families), written by iconographer Mihai Cucu, and assisted by the Redemptoristine Sisters of the Monastery of St Alphonsus, Iona Road, Dublin, as part of their ongoing prayer for families.  The Icon was unveiled and anointed on the 21st August 2017, during the launch of the one-year programme of preparation at the National Novena in Knock, Ireland. 

Everyone is invited to come and view the icon while it is in town. It doesn't matter if you are a believer, a non believer, an art lover or just plain curious, I think you should come and take a look . 

If you have never been to St. Mary's before of if you have and have never looked around you at the magnificent mosaic work and stained glass, take this opportunity to really look at this artistic treasure, St. Marys. It has been left to us by our forbears and beautifully preserved and enhanced by generations of Listowel priests and parishioners.

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Republican Funeral in 1918

A visitor to Dingle library during Easter took a photograph of this picture for us. Tomás Ruiséal died of a bayonet wound received during a confrontation with the army in Co. Clare.

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A Word of Caution

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New Traffic signs

These new Slow Zone signs are appearing in housing estates all over town. I have no idea why they have put them so high up on the poles.

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A Steam engine Powered by turf

This was a short lived and ultimately unsuccessful experiment. I read the story on

Bord na Mona Living History

When O. Bulleid joined CIE from British Railways in 1949 he decided to build a turf-burning locomotive.

Trials were made with a stationary engine using pulverised turf and these trials were observed by HMS Miller of Bord na Móna. CIE then converted a 1903 locomotive to burn turf and extensive steaming trials were carried out in 1951 and 1952. The engine was tried out on a main line in 1954 but broke down in Cork and had to be towed back to Inchicore. It was also too large to turn on any CIE turntable.

In 1955 the locomotive was tested using semi-briquettes. During a trial run in 1957 sparks from the locomotive set the leading coach of the test train on fire. It never hauled a fare-paying passenger but some use was made of it between Houston Station and the North Wall on goods trains. By that time the replacement of steam with diesel was well advanced and the locomotive was scrapped in 1965 when Todd Andrews was Chairman of CIE.

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Labour Then

This photo of Listowel men, Seán McCarthy and Michael Guerin with John Joe O'Sullivan and Dick Spring appeared in this week's Tralee Advertiser.

Bryan MacMahon, Fr. Pat Ahern and Sheridan's Spar

Beach Walk March 24 2018

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Bryan and Kitty MacMahon on their wedding day

Recently someone researching her own O'Connor family tree came across this lovely photo on a genealogy website.

November 4 1936

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Fr. Pat Ahern Honoured

Photo and text from the Diocese of Kerry website

Fr. Pat Ahern was honoured 19 Feb 2018, for his outstanding contribution to the artistic, cultural and literary tradition of the county, in a civic reception held by Kerry County Council. Fr Pat spoke with gratitude about his journey, outlining the impact the various Bishops of Kerry had on his work his location and his focus. Norma Foley spoke about his inspirational impact on Kerry and the country as a whole and she spoke with great feeling and emotion about his work with young people. Norma has worked directly with Fr Pat and has experienced his gifts first hand.  It was a warm gathering of Fr Pat’s family and many friends.

Fr Pat Ahern was honoured yesterday for his outstanding contribution to the artistic, cultural and literary tradition of the county, in a civic reception held by Kerry County Council. Fr Pat spoke with gratitude about his journey, outlining the impact the various Bishops of Kerry had on his work his location and his focus. Norma Foley spoke about his inspirational impact on Kerry and the country as a whole and she spoke with great feeling and emotion about his work with young people. Norma has worked directly with Fr Pat and has experienced his gifts first hand.  It was a warm gathering of Fr Pat’s family and many friends.

Fr Pat reflected on Siamsa Tíre:

For me Siamsa Tíre is no more or no less than the celebration of simple things – things that belong to everyday human living. Things that are not bound by time at all – that carry a timeless value.  The challenge is to notice them and to value them and to not be afraid or too embarrassed to celebrate them.

A few lines from the poet Patrick Kavanagh come to mind:

“Ashamed of what I loved I called it a ditch and all the while it was smiling at me with violets”.

I hope we will always have eyes and ears to appreciate and to celebrate the beauty of simple things, that we usually take for granted, maybe don’t even notice: the wonder and the colours of the sunrise or sunset  the beauty of the  wild honey suckle, the scent of a primrose, the song of the blackbird, the things that lift the spirt in us, lift it above the mundane,  above the material, mechanichal, digita,l lifeless, soulless world that is increasingly absorbing us…

Present-day society doesn’t want for sources of knowledge and information. The PC is fast replacing the world’s libraries. What you won’t find, however, in library or PC, is a quality, or value – aptly captured, perhaps, in that lovely little Irish phrase,  ‘ciall cheannaigh’– acquired wisdom / the wisdom of experience’.

A wisdom that is rooted in nature itself, and that is mediated through the lived human experience of  thinking, reflective, discerning  men and women over thousands of years… and which often comes to us through the imaginative and creative spokes-persons of our culture – in the handing on of stories and sagas, myths and legends, poetry and song, beliefs, customs……

the wellsprings of ciall cheannaigh.

I leave you with a few lines from a fellow Moyvane man, the late poet/mystic, John Moriarty:

            Clear days bring the mountains down to my doorstep

            Calm nights give the rivers their say.

            Sometimes the wind puts its hand to my shoulder.

            And then I don’t think, I just leave what I’m doing,

            And I go the soul’s way.

 Fr. Pat Ahern’s words Civic Reception

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Opening of Sheridan's Spar in Market Street in the late 1980s

Patrick Godfrey found this old photo of himself and the late Joe Lynch at the official opening of Sheridan's Spar .

Jumbos on March 17 2018, Presentation memories and a big Listowel moment in Twickenham

Ballybunion Castle, Easter 2018

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From my Archive

Photo: John Stack

John  Stack took this photo at my retirement party in The Listowel Arms in May 2010. I include it today to remind past pupils that we are still looking for photos or stories from you.

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A last few from St. Patrick's Day 2018 in Listowel

I finished the day in Jumbos with my visitors. Jumbo's is an iconic Listowel institution with much more mouthwatering fare than many of its big name competitors.

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Meanwhile in Twickenham

We all saw the picture. Billy Keane in his "famous blue raincoat" and his beloved godson, Jonathan Sexton embrace after Ireland's victory over England to win the Six Nations competition.

Listowel is not known as Ireland's literary capital for nothing. Local poet, Micheál Gallagher and photographer Paul Manning came together to create this artistic memory of that famous hug. I found it on the John B. Keane Bar's Twitter feed.

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A Fact Stranger than Fiction

On display in Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral are the mummified remains of a cat and a rat. It would appear that the cat was chasing the rat when both became trapped in an organ pipe. Their mummified remains were later found and put on display.

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For One Week Only...starting tonight

St. Patrick's Day Parade 2018, Tom McGreevy and an IWA Fashion Show

Ballybunion at Easter

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IWA Fashion Show

On Saturday March 24 2018 the local IWA branch held their first ever fashion show at their shop in William Street. Fashion Shows by their nature involve a lot of hard work and this was all done voluntarily in this case, so thanks, ladies for a very enjoyable evening.

 These are some of the hard working volunteers, looking a bit nervous before their big night.

Eilish Stack was our experienced compere for the evening. Teresa Hannon was browsing through the stock, all of which was for sale on the night.

Some early arrivals

 The scene was set with rails of clothes, tea and confectionery and lots of great spot prizes.

There were some lovely garments on some beautiful volunteer models. The show ended with this beautiful wedding dress. Some items were brand new with tags still on and every thing was for sale at bargain prices. Charity shops are always worth a look. You will nearly always find something to tempt you.

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More from the 2018 St. Patrick's Day Parade

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Thomas McGreevy and the late Pope John Paul 11