Christmas in Killarney, Noel Roche, jostle stones Knitwits and a stunning Tapestry Project and Anseo

Christmas in The Great Southern, Killarney

These lovely Christmassy displays are in the foyer of the Killarney Great Southern.

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A Poem by Noel Roche

Noel's sister, Dolores has shared a few of Noel's poems with us.

Heaven

When I arrived in Heaven

I wondered what I’d see

As I stood before the pearly gates

In all their majesty.

Then I saw God standing there

With his arms open wide

And he said, “Come on now,, child of mine,

You’re home now. Step inside.”

And then I saw my mother

She was weeping tears of joy.

She took me gently in her arms

Saying, “There’s my baby boy.”

Then my father, he was standing there

The first time I saw him stand.

He said, ‘Son take a walk with me,

And he took me by the hand.

So I walked with dad in heaven

I could not be more proud.

People jpoined us as we walked

Until it became a crowd.

But its not a crowd of strangers

That I plainly see.

All the faces in that crowd

Were faces known to me.

All my brothers and my sisters

And good friends that passed away

They were all here to greet me

In heaven on this day.

I met grandparents, aunts and uncles

That I never knew

But as I looked into their eyes

I said “Yes, I know you.”

I talked with all the people there

And it went on and on

And, as we talked, it seemed to me

Like they were never really gone.

They were all really happy

And that was no surprise

I saw contentment and serenity

When I looked into their eyes.

Then Jesus walked amng us

Oh, what a sight to see

My whole being filled with love

As he placed his hand on me.

His perpetual light was shining bright.

We were all filed with His grace

Right then I prayed and hoped

That we would never leave this place.

Then the darkness it came over me

As day turned into night.

And I groped around frantically

Looking for the light.

When I put the light on,

I saw my bedroom wall.

I realized that

It was just a dream

I wasn’t in heaven at all.

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Jostle Stones on William Street

2019 was the year when I learned what a jostle stone was. Since I learned about them I'm seeing them everywhere. Here are two on our own William Street,

These are at either side of the lane by Jumbo's that runs behind McKenna's.

These are just a little further up the same street.

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Knitwits at Christmas 2019

We had a good crowd at knitting club on Dec 14 2019 so I took the opportunity to take a few pictures. It was freezing cold so we were wearing our coats, but still having the chat as we knitted and crocheted.

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What Talent, Patience and Skill

This is Kathleen McCarthy. Kathleen was given this tapestry picture to complete after the lady who started it was unable to finish it. Kathleen is a multitalented craftswoman. She can turn her hand to any project and she welcomed this challenge.

Kathleen sewed this tapestry before she had her cataract operation and working under the other challenge that the lady who started the work was left handed, so Kathleen had to do all the stitching in a direction not familiar to her.

The finished project is magnificent.  My photo does not do it justice. Kathleen had it framed and is now handing it back to the original owners.

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A Kindness at Christmas

I have a secret Santa. I received this lovely gift in the post this week. People are so kind! Thank you, Dan,  for making my day!

I love, love, love the book. I highly recommend it!
Isn't the cover photo the most gorgeous loving capture ever?

Athea in the time of Cromwell and Now

Godwits at Blennerville in November 2017

Photo by Chris Grayson

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Knitwits in Scribes

Brigita Formaliene, the new proprietor of Scribes in Church Street, did not forget her friends when she reconfigured the seating in her new café. She put Knitwits centre stage in a cozy intimate location.

Our numbers were down on Saturday January 13 when i took my photo but there will be plenty of room for us all when we are all back from our holidays and winter breaks.

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A New Book of Newcastlewest History

My friend, Vincent Carmody, gave me a present of a lovely book last week.

Newcastlewest in close up is a sister publication to Vincent's splendid, Listowel, Snapshots of a Market Town. It is full of old photos, billheads, posters and history...another collector's item.

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Athea in the 17th Century  (Continued)

as described in an account in The Kerry Reporter in 1933

.......During all this time (Penal Times in Ireland) the people were obliged to hear Mass secretly and by stealth, for if anybody was discovered openly exercising his religion, they were ruthlessly slaughtered on the spot. After some time, however, when the rigours of the penal laws abated somewhat. Bishop De Lacy managed to have a modest church put on that piece of ground where the national schools were afterwards erected. Up to this period, and ever since the burning down of the old church in Temple Athea, many years before, Mass was usually celebrated in the cave or hollow in Colbert's Hill, where a Mission cross now stands. Particular place was selected for the celebration of Divine Service, this sheltered position protected the Mass candles, and its elevation prevented the priest hunter from stealing unawares on the congregation. The church which Bishop De Lacy put up on the site lately occupied by the old schoolhouse continued to serve the people as a place of worship until the present very fine structure was put up in 1864. Bishop De Lacy's remains were interred in a tomb in the churchyard at Ardagh. Portion of the slab which guards the entrance to the tomb has been broken for many years, and through the aperture thus formed it is possible to see the coffin which encloses all that Is mortal of this, sainted and patriotic churchman.

Athea's fairy trail is in a wooded area beside Con Colbert Memorial Hall. The signs are all first as Gaeilge and then in English

In Bishop De Lacy's time, the people of Athea spoke only Irish, and it was this language that prevailed amongst them nearly right up to the middle of the last century. The village at the time was a very different place to what it is now, consisting as it did for the most part of a number of isolated thatched buildings, and shops, as we understand them at the present time, did not exist in the place. In the Gaelic tongue the name of Athea signifies the "ford of the mountains." As already stated, in former days the Gale must have been a much larger stream than it is today, and this appellation means that people were able to get across it at Athea without undergoing the risk of being swept away by the current.

Athea continued to be merely a collection of thatched houses until about the middle of the last century, when better and more pretentious buildings began to make their appearance, and gradually the place began to assume its present neat and somewhat picturesque appearance. The village is situated, as it were, in the lap of the mountains and lies at the base of a range of low, purple hued hills. During the past quarter of a century It has grown considerably in size and is now a place of considerable business importance in the district. Athea possesses concreted streets and asphalted footwalks, and has in addition, an abundant water supply. The houses and shops are well built, and there Is a plentiful growth of timber about the village, which imparts to it a very pleasing and picturesque aspect.

 People who visit the Fairy Trail may leave their worries behind with Cróga, the brave fairy who takes on board everyone's troubles.

 This footbridge runs beside the river and offers a great view of the native ducks and wild birds.

 To this day , the remains of the dense woodland of old can be seen around Athea.

One of Athea's most famous families, the Ahern brothers is commemorated in this sculpture.

One of today's most famous residents is Jim Dunn, whose stunning artwork is one of the main attractions in Athea today.

A Poem, Athea, old Cork and generosity personified at Christmas 2017

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

Forget Elf on the shelf. Chris Grayson's robins are up to morning adventures as well.

Ballylongford in Winter 2017     Photo by Ita Hannon

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The Wind         by James Stephens

The wind stood up and gave a shout

He whistled on his fingers and

Kicked the withered leaves about,

And thumped the branches with his hand.

And said that he’d kill, and kill, and kill

And so he will! And so he will!

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Athea's Local Chronicler

Domhnall de Barra does his local district a great service by bringing them a regular update soon local happenings in his 

Athea and District News

Here is some of what he has to say in Christmas 2017

The Festive Season 

Domhnall de Barra

Christmas time is upon us again and the buying frenzy has already started. In trying to understand why, I googled Christmas and found a lot of information about the origins of the feast and how it developed over the years. You can do this yourselves so I won’t go into it except  for the following passage:

The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, and secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift giving, completing an Advent calendar or Advent wreath, Christmas music and caroling, lighting a Christingle, viewing a Nativity play, an exchange of Christmas cards, church services, a special meal, and the display of various Christmas decorations, including Christmas trees, Christmas lights, nativity scenes, garlands, wreaths, mistletoe, and holly. In addition, several closely related and often interchangeable figures, known as Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Christkind, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season and have their own body of traditions and lore. Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic impact of Christmas has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world.

That passage sums up  in a few sentences what Christmas is about but it does not tell the whole story. With all the ballyhoo, the real meaning of Christmas can easily get lost. It was created to  celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, an event that is central to Christian beliefs. December 25th may not be the real date of the Lord’s birth but it was chosen because it was the shortest day of the year in the Roman calendar and marked the beginning of the longer days  to come and more light. When people celebrate they often do so by eating together so the Christmas dinner began. It was, and still is, a great family occasion and a time for loving and sharing.....

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Cork in 1920

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A Heartwarming Story


This is Eunice Perrin of Duagh. Eunice loves to knit and every evening she knits little hats for premature babies as she watches her favourite TV programmes.


I met her in Scribes on Saturday where she was meeting up with another very generous soul. Namir Karim is closing down his craft shop in Church Street and he gifted Eunice twenty balls of knitting yarn for her charity knitting. Maureen Connelly agreed to be the liaison person to deliver the yarn and collect the caps.

Three kind people

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Getting Ready for Christmas in Asdee in the 1950s

by Jim Costelloe in his book...Asdee a Rural Miscellany

Whitewashing the dry walls around the house was one of the jobs that had to be done for Christmas. The outer walls of dwelling houses had to be lime washed also. The lime had to be prepared a few days beforehand and I have a memory of rocks of lime in the bottom of a bucket being covered with boiling water as the mixture stewed a combination of steam and lime into the air,  Some blue dye which was also used for bleaching white clothes on washday was also added to make the lime wash brilliant white. The yard and the bohreen near the house were also brushed and a general clean up was done.

There were no commercial;l Christmas decorations for sale in the shops, or, if they were, they were not bought by most rural householders. Holly and ivy were the only decorations I remember with the odd simple crib. We were aware before Christmas of the holly with the “knobs” was as we would have been hunting and searching the fences for plums and sloes during the autumn.

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Well deserved Cultural Archive Award for Listowel's Lartigue

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The sea gives up its secrets

As Noelle Hegarty was taking her morning walk on Beale strand yesterday, she noticed that the tide  had washed clean the sand that usually covers the old slipway.

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A Poem for Christmas 2017

sent to us by Mary McElligott