Thursday, 23 April 2020

Elephants in Town, Abbeyfeale Altar, Duffy's Circus and Moyvane

Photo; Bridget O'Connor

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Altar in Abbeyfeale Church on April 20 2020


A parishioner grabbed this photo of his local church from the church's webcam. It looks to me like they have tried to get as much a they can into the webcam shot. It means a lot to people who never missed Holy Week or Easter ceremonies.

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Circus Elephants in Market Street



Photo; John Hannon

I found this old photo to accompany this great poem from John Fitzgerald. Here is his email

Hi Mary,

It's a long while since I made a submission, so I'm not sure if this is the way to reconnect.

Although I've lived in Dublin for the last 55 years, the circus lives forever in my mind. 

Our house in William Street backed onto the market and my dad used provide hay and water for the animals so as well as the performance I got to spend time watching the big top go up and be taken down.

Kind regards,

John Fitzgerald.


John Duffy, the Circus

Out from the pastures in early Spring
On trucks and on trailers, the loading begins 

The tents and the tigers, the bright colored ring 
John Duffy, the circus is callin’

Travellin’ the highways and tourin’ the towns
 Ringmaster, jugglers, the cats and the clowns 
The posters are printed so word gets around 
John Duffy, the circus is callin’

They drive the long nights without any sleep 
Wire walkers, tight ropers, all hands to the wheel
 Each dawn a’peggin’ the circle of steel
John Duffy, the circus is callin’


They ring round our market, wagons galore 
Tractors and trailers, the canvas and more 
With riggin’ and cages, ropes by the score 
John Duffy, the circus is callin’

Four beats to a bar, the sledges ring
Four men of iron their music to sing
The canvas is spread,” the heave-ho” begins 

John Duffy, the circus is callin’


Its haul down the ropes, and let the tent rise 
Like clockwork they know, each cog to prise 
They heave and they haul ‘til the tent is full size 
John Duffy, the circus is callin’

The brass band of old is pipe music new 
Monkeys are scarce and the elephants few
The trapeze has nets and the safe rope has too 

John Duffy, the circus is callin’

The circus, alas, is not that of old
The magic, the music, the laughs and the roars 

See a child’s face when the sparkle’s gone cold 
John Duffy will soon not be callin’


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Murhur, Newtownsandes, Moyvane


The parish was originally called Murhur. The name Moyvane was adopted by the village when a plebiscite was held by the Parish Priest, Father Dan O’Sullivan. Moyvane is the name of a townland about two miles south-west of the village, and the official name of the place is still Newtownsandes. The Roman Catholic Parish was formed in 1829, in the immediate aftermath of the Catholic Emancipation. The first parish church was built in 1837, and a date stone built into a wall in the village near the original entrance to the church and the school marks this date.

A new parish church, the Church of the Assumption, was built when Father O’Sullivan was still the parish priest. It replaced an older parish church built around 1833, and the new church was dedicated on 25 August 1956.




*old church and presbytery newtownsandes*

(info from Cathleen Mulvihill on Glin historical Society 's Facebook page)

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