Friday 29 May 2020

Covid Signs,and A Sister's Love in a poem and Opening Night Listowel Writers' Week 2020

Only God can Make a Tree

Kay McDonnell took this photo


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Sisterly love in a Poem


"Limerick poet Anne Mulcahy wrote the poem Sister in 2014. I have her permission to get it published. " Mattie Lennon"

The story behind it is as follows;

   A mutual friend of ours had a brother, David, with Down Syndrome. He was also non verbal. David spent 55 of his 57 years in an institution until his death in 2014. When he reached the terminal stage of his life that same institution clearly did not wish to have him remain in their care but rather wished him to enter an acute hospital setting. This issue needed to be robustly fought with the members of the institution to allow David to remain in his ' Home'.  His sister, who had been his Guardian Angel for decades, was an able and willing advocate to defend his rights. 
Sister was written from David's perspective from beyond the grave.  


 Dear Sister, thank your noble heart, that fought my need to sleep,
In sheets that smelt and felt so familiar to me,
You spoke my words when my voice could not be found,
Through divided chaos you firmly stomped the ground,
Chin firm, teeth clinched, and no budge to make-
Steering the ship to higher ground!

Now, here, in this realm my tongue is loose and free,
And sings songs like Jingle Bells and happy melodies.
I cannot keep a pair of shoes, so worn are they from dancing.
And I laugh so much, I cry big tears, till my shirt oft needs changing.
Cold nights I read before I sleep, warm tales of hope and peace,
And all the while, I lay entwined, in my own familiar sheets!

Everything here is wonderful, both the company and the food,
And I’ve met many here that I once knew.
Pain does not exist here-only a great peace of vast magnitude.
Dear Sister, hold fast the times we had,
We both know the efforts you made, the gifts you brought, the prayers you said,
And when we meet, as sure we will, I’ll have a bed ready and made!


©Anne Mulcahy 2014.


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Listowel in the Pandemic of 2020

Jumbo's and O'Connell's Decor are two very busy shops at this time.














McKenna's has a one way system.





The pharmacy next door has lots of signs




You can see the table with the sanitiser for customers. A one way system is in operation.



Behan's The Horseshoe is open for take away food.









Sad to see a Robert Moloney's, a shop which always worked long hours, closed.


When I took my second walk downtown later Dominick was in town checking on his premises. Dominick  Moloney is a tonic in a pandemic, always in good form and ready to pose for the camera.

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Listowel Writers week Opening Night May 27 2020

I love Opening Night. i take up my position at the hotel door and photograph local people and visitors arriving in their finery for one of Listowel's biggest nights. The atmosphere is electric, the music uplifting and everyone is in great high spirits.

Covid 19 meant that all of that was different in 2020. Opening night speeches and prize giving went online. RTE came to town and Joe Stack, whose usual role as sports reporter is in a bit of a lull, interviewed local people about the loss of the festival and its revenue. Lovely Listowel was on every news bulletin.


The scene at The Listowel Arms on May 27 2020


Billy Keane was being interviewed at the door of John B.'s


In The Square, RTE was interviewing Gabriel Fitzmaurice for TG4.

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Out and About with Camera

I met my friends, Joan and P.J. Kenny in the Square on May 28 2020. They posed, at my request, on the Tidy Town seat.



Thursday 28 May 2020

Signs of the Times, Old Cures and Memory of a Night Out in Glin Castle

St. John's in May 2020


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Won't be Too Many Tourists in Summer 2020


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Signs of the Times we Live In

Because businesses had to close down very hastily in March 2020 in accordance with the government guidelines, Listowel shopowners had to bid a very abrupt farewell to their customers. I am going to bring you a selection of the closure notices displayed in local windows.

I warn you in advance that I found it hard to take photographs through glass.


Listowel Library







Aras an Phiarsaigh behind a wild meadow.




Vincent de Paul shop





Sheahan's is open with social distancing measures in place.


Royal China



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I posted this last week and it struck a chord with many people. Nicholas Leonard contacted me to remind us that Zam-Buk was another staple in Irish mothers' medicine cabinets. I had never heard of it but apparently it's enjoying a moment recently due to the pandemic. We used to have pink antiseptic ointment in our house.

My mother's remedy for a stye in a child's eye was to rub it with your "fasting spit". I thought this was an old wife's tale but Nicholas told me that it's a well known cure. Google it.

Nicholas says;  The fasting spit is a very ancient remedy for eye problems- the Jews were believers in using fasting spittle for eye maladies, so much so that they considered it a medicine which came under the prohibition of providing medicinal aid on the Sabbath- unless in cases of peril. Our Lord also used spittle to good effect in healing a blind man- though it may be me more proper to say it was not the spittle, but the Lord's touch that caused the miracle.

Nicholas also shared another "cure" with us.
The cure for warts that a school-mate gave me was as follows: get ten ivy leaves; throw one away(!) rub the remaining nine leaves on the wart(s) and then bury them where no-one would walk on them. After a certain number of days the wart(s) would disappear. I did not believe it would work, but did as I was instructed. I buried the nine used leaves on the top of a high ditch, under a thorn hedge. I then forgot all about  the matter. After a week, I noticed that the warts had gone! Being a direct descendant of Doubting Thomas, I figured that the warts were probably due to fall off in any case, though I had them for a long time. I never had warts again.

Health warning: Neither Nicholas nor I is a  doctor so we are telling you these things for their entertainment value only.

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A Winter Night with the Knight


Some Presentation Secondary School teachers on a night out in Glin castle a good few years ago.
R.I.P Sr. Nuala and the Knight of Glin

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Out and About with Camera in May 2020



I met David and Eileen O'Shaughnessey on Upper Church Street.

Wednesday 27 May 2020

Black Rocks, Old FCA , St. Mary's and some old Writers' Week photos


Tom Fitzgerald's photo of The Black Rocks, Ballybunion in May 2020

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FCA Picture...A Few Names


Eamon OMurchú helped out with a few names for Maureen Barrett's old photo.

Front row: Extreme Left - Michael Whelan; 3rd from Left - Gerry Flaherty;
Second Row: 3rd from Right - Johnny Griffin; 2nd from Right - Tony O’Connor; Extreme Right - ....Moloney (not certain). 
Back Row: Second from Left Cpl Bridgeman (Tarbert); 3rd from Right at very back Bill Carmody. 

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St. Mary's, Listowel Now

The church is now open for private prayer from the end of morning mass until 5.00p.m. It is a very changed place. Here are some photos I took last week.










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Listowel Writers' Week 2012


Boys from Scoil Realta na Maidine form a guard of honour for Michael D. Higgins as he arrives to open the festival.


Some of the Children's Committee on Opening Night


Large crowd in the circus tent for one of the children's events.

Tonight was to be Opening Night of the 50th festival and the committee are inviting us all to go online to see the announcement of this year's prizewinners.


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Interim President of IT Tralee is a Listowel man

Photo and story from Tralee Today



DR Brendan O’Donnell has been appointed as Interim President of the Institute of Technology Tralee.
Dr O’Donnell stated that he was “honoured to be appointed and looking forward to working with the Governing Body, staff and students and all our stakeholders to ensure that the Institute continues to grow and develop and is a key enabler of economic, social and cultural development.
“My key priority is to see the establishment of the Munster Technological University in collaboration with our colleagues in CIT. A University Campus in Tralee adjacent to the Kerry Technology Park will significantly contribute to the overall economic development of not only Kerry but the wider region,” he said.
Dr Brendan O’Donnell is a native of Listowel. Following the completion of an engineering degree in UCD, Brendan was employed as a research fellow with An Foras Taluntais (succeeded by Teagasc) where he completed a PhD in the field of renewable energy.
Brendan joined the engineering department of what was then Tralee RTC as a lecturer in January 1991. He was appointed to the position of Head of Department for Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths in 2012 a position he held until 2016 when he was promoted to the position of Vice President for Academic Affairs & Registrar.
Mr O’Donnell has held the position of acting President of the Institute since May 2019.
The Chairperson of the Governing Body Mr Lionel Alexander extended his congratulations to Brendan on his appointment and stated that; “The Institute is at a exciting juncture with a decision on the application to become Munster Technological University due before the end of the week. I look forward to working closely with Brendan, the executive team, and the Governing Body and would like to extend my congratulations as he takes on this leadership role during a time of momentous change for our organisation.”