Ball Alley, Mike O'Donnell Cartoons and A Little Known Fact

Blue tit photographed byChris Grayson

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Listowel Ball Alley Remembered

Memories of the ball alley in Listowel

When school was o’re, our hearts would soar,

At meals we would not dally,

With homework done, to seek our fun,

We’d wander to the alley.

To toss that ball against the wall,

And combat every rally,

With pouring sweat we’d play‘til death

Those games within our alley.

With left hand or right we’d try our might,

Until the grand finale,

But win or lose, how we’d enthuse

On those games played down the alley

Each game was fought, the prize was sought,

The marker counts his tally,

The match was won at twenty one,

‘Twas victory in the alley

But time moves on, the youth now gone,

No more do young men sally

To toss that ball against the wall

Of my beloved alley

Yet, memories hold of comrades old

Until the last reveille,

Of times gone by which brought such joy

Those days spent down the alley

Junior Griffin

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 Mike O'Donnell Cheers us in Lockdown

We are familiar with Mike O'Donnell's artwork in murals all over Tralee. During the Covid 19 emergency he is confined to his desk but he is continuing to entertain and enthralling us with daily cartoons on Twitter. When the book of this unprecedented time in our history is written, Mike's illustrations would be the ideal accompaniment, telling the story in sketches.

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A Bit of Home Schooling

I intend to tell you a fun fact or two while we're all in isolation.

 Can you test if a "gold" coin is fake by biting into it?
The answer is no.

The theory behind this old trick in pirate movies is linked to the fact that gold is a soft metal.

Gold, indeed, is a soft metal but gold coins are never pure gold. All gold coins minted in the U.K. and the U.S. since 1538 contain copper.