Ballinagare, St. Patrick's Day, The Square in 2005 and some Memories and another Covid Cartoon

Ballinagare near Ballyduff in May 2020

Photo; Bridget O'Connor

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Football Memories from 1959

The late Michael Sheehy grew up in Main Street, one of a family of very talented brothers. He sent us this a few years before he died. I'm sharing it again now, especially for the cocooners.

I remember the town league as if it was yesterday. What great games between the different streets!

I remember playing with The Ashes around 1960 and the Ashes winning. I still have the medal but it says 1957 which would have made me 12.

We had guys like the McMahons, Toddy Enright, Junior & Bert Griffin, Frank Murray etc.  What great times they were just to have the bragging rights for a year.   Now as I think of the places that made up the "Ashes" I doubt if you could field a team. How sad it is. Now as I think in the Small Square the only person to live there over the last many years was Mrs. Scully.r.i.p. Everyone else closed their business and lives somewhere else.

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An Old St. Patrick's Day Parade

Don't know the year. If you recognise yourself let me know.

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Troubled times

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The Square 2005

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Old Railway Bridge on Ballybunion Road in May 2020

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Mike O'Donnell at his Most Incisive

Mike captioned this "Boris paints coffins blue in support of healthcare workers" . The tide has turned against the British government which is now presiding over Europe's most catastrophic Covid 19 pandemic tragedy.

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Darkness into Light 2020

The usual big walk through darkened towns did not go ahead this year but many still found a way of "walking" into the light.

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Thunderstorm in Lyreacrompane

Story and pictures from Joe Harrington on Facebook.

Saturday May 10 2020 was the hottest day so far this year.

Joe Harrington recorded record high temperatures at his glasshouse in Lyre.

Then this happened.

Lightening hit the power pole in The Glen  near the old schoolhouse.

Within the hour help was at hand.  ESB Networks removed the damaged pole and erected a new one.

Power was restored to this little piece of Heaven in The Kingdom.

Helios, Knocknagoshel, a Poem and A Spooky Window Display

" I'm trying to read, Helios. Walkies later...."
Helios is the Cork Cogan family's lovely dog.

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Arise, Knocknagoshel

The charming village of Knocknagoshel is perched above its neighbours on a Kerry hillside.I took a wander with my camera and here is the first flavour of this village /nation.

Reynard greets you on your approach.


The purpose of my visit was to seek out Kieran in his village shop.



My book is now on sale in 100% of retail outlets in Knockgoshel.
I took a little stroll around as I was at it.

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Halloween 2019

Knocknagoshel is the home of Halloween in Kerry but Listowel can do spooky too. Look at Finesse window.

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Just for a Laugh

A Baby Sardine     by Spike Milligan

A baby sardine

Saw her first submarine

She was scared and watched through a peephole.

"Oh, come, come, come,"

Said the sardine's mum,

"It's only a tin full of people."

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Cogar Mogar

Aidan, Brendan agus Eamon ÓMurchú
Kay Caball snapped the three ÓMurchú brothers deep in conversation at the launch of
A Minute of your time.

Finesse, 1973 street scene and Changes at Changes

Red Squirrel by Christopher Bourke

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If You're Buying a Wedding Dress

Look no further than Finesse of Church Street Listowel. You will find no better service anywhere. Liz and Mags are the soul of generosity and professionalism. For our recent wedding they accommodated the bride in every way . They didn't just go the extra mile, they did the whole marathon with us.

Here they are, Liz and Mags of Finesse Bridal Listowel in the Listowel Arms with us when they called to help us pin up the train for the dancing. They didn't help us at all in fact. They did it all themselves. They are truly exceptional. They also have a huge stock of beautiful wedding dresses and they know everything about fitting and embellishing. So, if you have a prospective bride in the family, go to Finesse. You won't be disappointed.

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A Rare Treasure

Here is the email that accompanied this;

Hi Mary, 

I thought you might like to see the attached scan of a 1973  pen and ink drawing of Listowel.  It was signed by Guy Brisore . My parents bought it in Listowel.

Thanks for all your wonderful photos.

If you ever make a map showing where all your readers are located, you can add Lakewood Ranch, Fl. to the map.

Pat Dillon Del Savio

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97 Church Street

Changes is Changing. This premises will soon house a physiotherapy Clinic.

Brides Night Out at The Listowel Arms, the 1950s in Asdee and Fr. Pat Moore R.I.P.

Seán McInerney of Mallow Camera Club took this picture of People at Work

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The Wedding Saga Continues

The next step in our family’s wedding journey saw us back in The Listowel Arms Hotel on Friday evening April 21 2017 for Brides Night Out.

We nearly missed this one as our bride had deemed it too close to the wedding to be going to a Wedding Fair. We already  have most of the requirements in place. Luckily as we were in Finesse for a dress fitting, the lovely Mags and Liz persuaded us that we would be missing a great night by foregoing this one. They were right.

Here we are, mé féin, Cliona, the bride to be, with Mags and Liz Horgan of Finesse Bridal Wear

The hotel fitted us in at short notice and we were ready in jig time for a lovely night.

This is Clíona at our lovely sunny table

Firstly there was the wedding fair part with lots of exhibitors and lots of  tips. Clíona got her make up done at The Vanity Case stand and she looked a million dollars for the rest of the evening.

We met Siobhán with her eye poppingly artistic cake creations. They tasted delicious as well.

These ladies had a great idea worthy of Dragons’ Den. Anyone at the wedding  downloads their app. You take  photos and then you load them into the app and press print. The person who took the photo gets a printed souvenir photo/photos of their day at the wedding and the happy couple get all the printed photos on a memory stick. I thought this one was much better than a photo booth or the old  camera on the table lark.

Brendan Landy held a pop up workshop. He gave us loads of tips about posing for photos. Here’s a few free for you.

Don’t lean back. It gives you a double chin.

Bend your elbow out from your body.

Bend your wrist back and your hand will look better.

Don’t face full square to the camera.  Etc., etc.

Stylish Eilish was there. We met her chatting to the beautiful Maria Keane of MK Beauty.

The Listowel Arms as a wedding venue was on show and it looked absolutely stunning. We are so lucky to have everything one needs to hold a wedding at out fingertips in lovely Listowel.

Then it was time for the taster menu and the fashion show.

Finesse Bridal opened and closed the fashion show and their stunning dresses set the scene for the Mother of the Bride or Groom and wedding guest style which followed. There were some really  glamorous outfits on show. If I hadn’t bought mine already I saw lots that I would have liked.

The food and wine were top class.

If you have anyone in your family getting engaged this year, tell them to go to this before they make any decisions. It’s an annual event and a great night out.

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The 1950s  as remembered by Jim Costelloe and told in his book, Asdee in the 40's and 50s

... At that time in Asdee there were no Costelloes- they were all Custelloes, MacMahons were Mickmahons, O’Connors were simply Connors, McElligotts were Elligotts, Ruddles were Riddles and Moriartys were Maraartys. There were no cars then, they were all motors, a barrel of stout was a quarter tierse, hayforks were pikes and a dung fork was a four prong pike. There were high shoes and low shoes and we didn’t know which were boots. A stripper was a cow, a gallon was a container for sweets and a muller was an aluminium pot. We also had the skillet, the black pot with its three legs which hung over the fire with the pot hooks. The bread was baked in the oven which was placed on the brand over the coals.

These were the days of the settle beds, the po ( politely known as the chamber pot), the ticks of feathers, the straw mattresses and the  iron beds with the brass knobs at the four corners. The parlour was the sitting/dining room which was rarely used except on the morning of the Station when the priest dined there. It usually smelled of dampness and had old, decaying furniture with limp curtains and wallpaper with a flowery border which was almost always discoloured at the corners.

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eCar Parking and recharging

In the Square in Listowel there is this car charging station and it now has a dedicated parking bay for your  electric car.

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"...the best labourer dead, and all the sheaves to bind."

Fr. Pat Moore, R.I.P. and yours truly in happier times

Fr. Pat with his great friend, Mary Fagan

Fr. Pat in his element among his own at the great barbecue in Duagh

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North Kerry will be a duller place without him.

This is the poem Fr. Pat wrote after his mother died.

This Much I Will Remember   _______ for Peg

It was a bright August morning, sunlight filled the kitchen.
I sat next to you remembering my birth.
Your heartbeat the first sound I heard.
A home you made around us, people you are now welcoming,
Alive and some dead.
And as I look past your shoulder at the glass on the windowsill,
That captures the sunlight inside the garden you once tended,
Which also drinks in the light.
Everything I see converges into a random still light,
Fastened together by colour.
It is fixed behind the foreground of what's happening around you
As you are now being looked after.
And I can feel it being painted within me,
And brushed on the wall of my skull.
Then all the moments of the past begin to line up behind that moment,
And all the moments to come assemble in front of it in a long long row.
It gives me reason to believe that this is a moment I have rescued
from the millions that rush out of sight
into the darkness behind the eyes.
When I forget I will still carry in my skull
the small coin of this moment
Minted in the kingdom that we pace through everyday.