Oliver Plunkett, Killarney, a great escape and a few St. Vincent de Paul Volunteers

Festive bike outside Eleanor's Flowers in Tralee

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Blessed (now Saint) Oliver Plunkett

I came across this recently. It's a relic of a relic; "a piece of linen that touched a relic..."

This prayer for his canonisation worked.

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Killarney, Christmas 2016

Killarney looks very Christmassy this year.

This is a brilliant idea. They have used the old phone kiosks to house defibrillators.

The key to access the life saving device is housed in a little box with  glass door.

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Smart Boys

26 May 1877 Freeman’s Journal

CLEVER ESCAPE FROM A BRIDEWELL. An incident of a novel nature occurred
at  Listowel on Monday, in connection with the cleverly planned
escape from the bridewell. A lad named Mulvihill, aged 13 year, had
been convicted about five months ago at Tarbert Petty Sessions, of
stealing a dog, and sentenced to five years in the Upton Reformatory.
On his removal, after leaving Tralee gaol, he succeeded in giving the
gaol officer the slip, and managed to elude the police until last
Saturday, when he was apprehended at Ballylongford, and lodged in
Listowel bridewell preparatory to being sent back to the reformatory.
His younger brother, aged about 11 years, visited him on Monday, and
while in the cell with him the prisoner exchanged clothes with him ;
and thus disguised, he was allowed to pass out by the official, who
naturally believed he was the brother who had passed in some minutes
before. The mistake was of course soon discovered.  but the escaped
culprit had a good start, and has not been recaptured. The brother is
kept in custody, having been remanded to next petty sessions.

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Listowel Humans

Christmas is a busy time of year for these ladies, Kay, Nancy, Hannah and Eileen. I met them at the BOI Enterprise town expo but they are usually to be found with their fellow volunteers in the Second Time Around shop in William Street or at bingo or Meals on Wheels at The Plaza or out visiting and quietly helping the less well off at Christmas time and throughout the year. 
They are the salt of the earth.

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Seán McCarthy's Christmas

Christmas is often a lonely time for someone who has lost a life's partner. Seán McCarthy puts it sadly and poignantly in this old song which I photographed from an old book among Junior Griffin's treasures.

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Thomas F. O'Sullivan Update

Mark Holan contacted me to alert me that he has recently updated his blogpost about T.F. O'Sullivan of Listowel.

UPDATE:

I heard from Vincent Carmody of Listowel, a local historian and author. He writes that Thomas F. O’Sullivan and his book are not forgotten. Story of the GAA received at least five mentions in The G.A.A., A People’s History, a 2009 book by Mike Cronin, Mark Duncan and Paul Rouse.

Carmody continued:

When in Listowel, [O’Sullivan] was the driving force, both as a player and administrator of the local G.A.A. club. He later served as an administrator at both County and National level of the Association. He is credited with the proposal of Rule 27, of the G. A.A.s rule book. This came into force in 1902 and it read, ” any member of the association who plays in any way, rugby football, jockey or any imported game which is calculated or injurious affect our national pastimes, is suspended from the association” . This rule was commonly known as, The Ban. It was for a long time rigorously enforced, indeed in 1938, the then President of Ireland, Douglas Hyde, was banned from the G.A.A. , for his attendance at an International Soccer match in Dublin. The rule was deleted in 1971.