Covid Signage, Kevin's and Behan's Prepare to Reopen

Castle and Seanchaí closed to the public in June 2020

Viewing platform by the river in June 2020.

The level of water in The Feale was very low before the deluge of Sunday June 15 when we had thunder, lightning and flash floods.

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Covid Signage at Spar in Market Street

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Kevin;s is being repainted before reopening.

Meanwhile across the road Behan's Horseshoe has been beautifully painted.

I even persuaded the painters to pose for me.

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Ard Churam Dementia Day Centre

Photo: John Kelliher

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In Connemara in 1959

I dont know who took the photo but it looks a bit posed to me.  Brendan Behan is not exactly dressed for a day in the bog.

Lilac studio and Listowel Pitch and Putt Course and Árd Chúram Cares

 Ita Hannon took this photo on Beale

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The Little Lilac Studio

This much missed little studio used to be on Main Street

Coco Kids is in that site now.

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Recruitment Poster for An Garda Síochána in 1923

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Listowel Pitch and Putt Course

Brenda Enright, whose father Tom O'Halloran was a stalwart of Listowel Pitch and Putt Club sent us this photo. The course may be closed but it still looks very beautiful and the members are working constantly on keeping it beautiful. It is important that people not walk on the greens as they are being worked on at the moment and could be easily damaged.

Below are some of the beautiful trees on the course.

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Róisín Meaney has been composing little rhymes to help her through lockdown. Now she has inspired others to join her in this humorous avtivity.  Here's a good one from Mags Hough

From Mags Hough - on keeping to your limit! 

A fella went walking one day.

He said he was saving the hay,

The guard said "Dat's right,
Don't give me dat shite,
Now turn back to your home, it's dat way."

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Árd Chúram Delivers

People over 70 are cocooned from Covid 19. People who live alone,  often in rural locations miss the social interaction of the weekly trip to Árd Chúram Day Centre. Their friends at the centre have not forgotten them and they are preparing a treat. Care packages with food, activity packs and home exercise programmes will be delivered to the service users shortly.

Chef, Sid Sheehan, preparing some sweet treats.

Macroom, Kennellys and Ard Chúram

On the Ring of Kerry

If you are on the Ring this is a lovely stop with a picnic area and a woodland walk.

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Macroom

If you travel the road from Listowel to Cork via Tralee and Killarney, Macroom is well worth a stop. It is a town steeped in history.

Did you learn Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire in school? It is one of the most beautiful poems in the Irish language. In it, the poet, Eibhlín Dubh ní Chonaill laments her lost love, Art O Laoghaire. Eibhlín defied her parents to marry the handsome dashing Art.
Her first indication that he was dead came when his horse came home without him. Art was shot by an English officer at Carraig an Ime outside Macroom for refusing to sell him his fine horse for £5.

Here listen to Eibhlín describing how she fell in love with Art the first time she saw him on market day in Macroom
Mo ghrá go daingean thú
Lá dá bhfaca thú ag ceann tí an mhargaidh
Thug mo shúil aire dhuit
Thug mo chroí taitneamh duit
D'éalaíos om' athair leat......

The above plaque has been erected at ceann tí an mhargaidh  (the head of the market house) to commemorate this Romeo and Juliet style meeting. Like the Shakespearean lovers their love was doomed from the start and ended in tragedy.

This is a bit of a mystery. It is in the same corner of the market square in Macroom but appears to belong in Limerick.

This old weigh bridge is still in place near the town hall. I presume it is no longer used.

This is the fine market house which now is home to the Urban District Council. It is beautifully kept and, even though blowing it out of there would greatly help the flow of traffic, I hope they never do.

Across the road is another 'relic of auld decency' Macroom Castle.

Definitely not Limerick

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Ard Chúram

This great charity is still looking for volunteer cyclists to do the Ring of Kerry Cycle. Their new dementia day care unit is progressing rapidly and people have been very generous but much more is needed.

Nora Owen, whose husband has Dementia has helped them out by making a short video. Please take 2 minutes to view it.

Nora Owen for Ard Chúram

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Top of William Street 2002

Banna , Convent Street and Flavin's of Church street

Banna by Bridget O'Connor

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Convent Street, Listowel

The sign is on the wall at the entrance to the hospital. I've discussed this at length on the blog but it still fascinates me to see street signs where the Irish has absolutely no connection whatsoever to the English name. In most cases the English street name is an English Christian name, thought to be named after Lord Listowel's sons, e.g. William and Charles. In this case however and in the case of Church Street the English name refers to a well known building, a landmark located on the street. The Irish name refers to an older superstition. One didn't mess with the Púca. He was a wicked spirit who rode around the countryside after dark spiriting away anyone foolish enough to be out late.

The entrance to Listowel hospital grounds

They are making great progress with the dementia day care centre. The organising committee are still looking for volunteer cyclists to do the Ring of Kerry Cycle to raise funds for them. If you can't do the cycle, please sponsor one of the cyclists.

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Bryan MacMahon and  Flavin's Bookshop

Dan Flavin and his son, Micheál at the door of the shop sometime in the 1950s. The photo appears in Vincent Carmody's Snapshots of a Market Town.

Flavins is closing tomorrow, Saturday February 8 2020

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Famine Poverty and a Kind Landlord

from the Schools' Folklore Collection

The Quarter field is situated on the side of a hill. It contains nine acres in the begining of the nineteenth century many families lived in this field The field was owned by a Land Lord and he allowed these poor people build houses in it. Each family got a quarter of ground. There was no division between the quarters only paling. They used to set potatoes in the quarter every year and used to get the manure from the neighbouring farmers. These people had no other way of living only when ever they would work for another farmer for small hire. When the potatoes failed in the years 1845 to 1847 all these people died of starvation. When they were gone my grandfather bought this field with more land surrounding it and my father is in possession of it now My grandfather threw the remains of the houses away and it is all one level field at present. If you walk through parts of it on a Summers evening you could see the form of the houses and the little gardens alongside it

COLLECTOR

Liam Ó Duilleáin

Gender

male

Address

Gortacloghane, Co. Kerry

INFORMANT

(name not given)

Relation

parent

Gender

male

Address

Gortacloghane, Co. Kerry

Droimeann, John Paul 2 graveyard and Ard Chúram

January 6 2020 as a lady shelters from a shower under Listowel's Christmas tree


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Remembering our Dead at Christmas Time

Last week I went to St. John Paul 2 graveyard

I thought it was time to remove the Christmas wreath from Jim's grave.

When I got there I saw that people were not taking them away and indeed there were very few graves that didn't have a Christmas tribute to the lost loved one.

As I walked through the cemetery, photographing the lovely floral tributes, I realised that this is a relatively new graveyard and I knew many of the people buried there. Because so many of the dead here have relatives still living locally their memory is very much alive.

People who are buried here are people that I was on committees with, my neighbours and friends and even some of my past pupils.

Particularly poignant are the graves of children who didn't live to enjoy too many Santa visits.

The variety and colour of the wreaths was testament to the love and respect still held for the people buried here. The cemetery is beautifully maintained, a credit to all who look after it so well.


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A Shíoda na mBó  (O silk of the kine)

The photo and caption is from Seán Mac an tSíthigh on Twitter

An endangered breed of cow known as Droimeann has just been granted Native Rare Irish Breed status. Only 243 females and 23 males left in Ireland. Status is a huge boost to efforts to preserve them. The name comes from 'droim-fionn' (white back) the distinctive stripe along backbone.

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Ring of Kerry Cycle

Calling all cyclists, your help is needed for this great cause.