Listowel Rebranding, Christmas Shop and Sitting on Window Sills

Lots of Rebranding Going on

Rebranding is not about changes of ownership. It's more a change of ethos and business model. Listowel is seeing a fair share of this lately. It started with Stacks changing to Number 21 and on Saturday night, Oct 10 2015 the last pint was pulled in Sheahans of Upper William Street.

Listowel Community College has two new brands, Coláiste na Ríochta and North Kerry College.

What we knew as Esso is now Topaz.

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This is not an ad. for Listowel Garden Centre. If, like me, you love this stuff you need travel no further than Listowel.

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Nobody sits on the window sills anymore

Listowel people remember a time when ladies used to sit on the window sills outside their houses in the evening time and chat. The day's work done, the children in bed, the women took a welcome breather and availed of a chance to catch up with the news in the neighbourhood. People moved from one window to another but nobody left their perch for too long in case a crying child or a baking cake needed their attention. There were no televisions and no phones, mobile or otherwise, to bother them. The only sounds above the chatter were the happy sounds of children's games or the chirping of the caged birds that hung outside the doors…….Happy days!

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Saturday Night's Entertainment Sorted

Daniel may be out, but our own Daniels and Kristinas are all set and rearing to go on Saturday night, October 24 2015

Somethings old, somethings new

This is Martin Griffin's house at 14 Charles St.

This is the same house in 1911 with Mary and Pauline Scanlon at the door. This photograph is one of the many beautiful old photos of the old stock of the town, collected over many years by Vincent Carmody and shared with us all in his beautiful book;
Listowel; Snapshots of a Market Town 1850 -1950

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Mary Broderick's fifth class in Presentation Primary School, 1986

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The Listowel branch off The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul do great work locally. Marie MacAulliffe gave an interview to The Kerrymen this week in which she said that the church gate collection at Christmas brought in €17,000. This, along with profits from Bingo and other fundraising ventures  meant that the local branch had €57,000 to spend in local businesses.

The work of the branch in alleviating poverty and loneliness locally is  immense. Listowel is a better place to live because of the work of this vital society.

Maybe the town council, before it disbands for ever would recognize these unsung heroes with a civic reception.

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 This is the new commemorative coin in honor of Ireland's greatest tenor. It is available from The Central Bank.

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Friends in low places…   This is the picture displayed on the Twitter feed of Ticketmaster on Thursday as the tickets for Garth Brooks "were flying out the door"

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Dunbeg  (photo by Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society)

One of the great losses due to the destruction wrought by the recent storms was Dunbeg Fort on the Dingle Peninsula. It was an ancient site of huge historical and geographical significance. Alas, part if it just fell into the sea in the past fortnight, a victim of years of sea erosions and the recent windy and stormy conditions.

photo; Fionnuala Hernon, Bungabhla, Inis Mor

This photo appeared in The Cork Examiner…..Inis Mór after this weekend's storm.

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This is a link to a great blog called The Irish in America:
http://theirishinamerica.com

The latest post is from Vincent Carmody remembering where he was when he heard of the JFK shooting.

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P.S. Old school rolls from Tullamore National School have been located.