NKM in Listowel, Johnny O'Leary and Ladies' Day at Listowel Races 2017

Photo: Chris Grayson

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NKM in Listowel

Recently I got this email from a new blog follower.

Just back from a trip to Dublin I was thrilled to come across your blog and discover a note on the opening of the NKM sweet factory by my maternal grandfather Tom Armstrong- thank you so much for creating your blog .I now live in the Baltic States and its wonderful to have a contact with Listowel where my mother was born - Patrick Armstrong McCrea

I put Patrick in touch with Vincent Carmody and they have had some very productive email correspondence since.

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Sliabh Luachra Music

This lovely memorial to the great Johnny O'Leary is in Killarney

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Ladies' Day 2017

 RTE and TG4 were out in force and beautifully presented

Daithí OSé was ultra obliging and posed with anyone who asked

Two Kerry legends, our own Jerry Hannon and Carrachán's Daithí ÓSé

Beautifully turned out local ladies

Just one more Rose for 2017

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Good News from Ottawa

Listowel was awarded five blooms, which is the top award in Communities in Bloom competition in Canada. Listowel also got a special recognition for its community fruit and nut garden.

Hopes are high for September 25th when the results of the Tidy Town competition will be announced. Listowel is hopeful of another gold medal. We all agree we deserve it. Everyone has worked so hard.

Dan Mulhall, Listowel Races 2017, Ladies Day

Photo: Chris Grayson

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Dan Mulhall, New Irish Ambassador to the U.S.

Text: Mark Holan

Waterford-born diplomat Daniel Mulhall has begun his tenure as Ireland's 18th Ambassador to the United States. He was scheduled to meet President Donald Trump 8 September at the White House.

They may talk about Twitter, in addition to more touchy topics.

Mulhall tweets Irish poetry and other messages to highlight Ireland’s achievements via @DanMulhall. His 13.2K followers are shy of @realDonaldTrump's nearly 38 million, but far more literary.

He is also planning to write regular blog posts to explain his role as ambassador, and deal with issues related to today’s Ireland and its links with the U.S., including culture, literature, and history.

"When the world changes, diplomacy has to change," Mulhall said during a private reception I attended.

His priorities as ambassador, he said, include working with Trump and Congress on issues of importance to Ireland, including immigration; economic promotion; and engaging the 35-million-strong Irish-American community, "a huge asset for Ireland."

Mulhall specialized in modern Irish history at University College Cork. He is the author of A New Day Dawning: A Portrait of Ireland in 1900, and co-editor of The Shaping of Modern Ireland: A Centenary Assessment.

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1930s Transport

This photograph of Tom Langan is being shared widely on Co. Limerick websites.

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Early Morning Dew in Listowel

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Harvest Festival 2017

Patrick Godfrey took this photo of the firework display to mark the end of The Races for 2017. I only got to the Island on Friday and Saturday. I will share my photos over the week.

 On Friday which was Ladies Day there were well dressed people everywhere. It was lovely to see so many men making the effort to co ordinate with their women folk.

 Stylish Eilish was ,as usual, living up to her name.

Eilish's beautiful hat is a Aoife Hannon creation.

Lovely mother and daughter combination

Betty can always be depended on to look cheerful and colourful.

Betty made her own hat, definitely a contender for jazziest hat. In my opinion much more jazzy that the chapeau that won.

Killarney House and Gardens, Craftshop na Méar and another instalment of Vincent's racing memories

Chris Grayson took this photo of a peacock butterfly....more beautiful than any best dressed lady

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Killarney House and Gardens

Since it opened to the public I have been planning a visit here. It is breath taking. If you can at all, go there before the winter. I'm sure it will be still lovely but at the moment its magnificent...and it's free.

This is the entrance on the Muckross Road. These things on top to the wall and gates look to me like a sceptre and crown, letting you know that this is no ordinary estate you are entering. It was once the seat of Lord Kenmare. It is now part of The National Park.

The restored gate lodge

The avenue at the front of the house is beautifully kept and the lawns are pristine but nothing prepared me for the staggering beauty of the formal borders and gardens behind the house.

The house itself is a fine house but it is the gardens that make a visit here a must. This present house of the McShain family is actually converted stables which was transformed into a dwelling house after their other house burned down.  The McShain family sold their estate to the Irish people for a peppercorn rent. The state spent seven million euros on the restoration work.

The restoration work here is faultless. Killarney House is now another jewel in the crown of Killarney's many visitor attractions.

The dining room and living room are furnished just as the McShains left it. Mrs McShain died in 1998.  Many of the furnishings and fittings are relatively modern. In this it is very different to Muckross House. Both houses are well worth a visit.

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Listowel Tidy Town's Vintage Day at Listowel Races

Saturday is my favourite day at The Races.  As they ramp up the excitement for this year's event, Listowel Tidy Towns Committee have mounted a photo collage in their window display. There I am enjoying Vintage Day 2016..   Happy memories!

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Perfect Pairs Stylish revamp

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The Work of Some Local Artists on Craftshop na Méar Church St. Window

My Silver River Feale pendant by silversmith, Eileen Moylan

Listowel drawings by Maurice Hannon

Donkeys by Viveca Amato

Michael Tea Cozy by Frances O'Keeffe

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Some photos from Vincent Carmody

Here are some more of the photographs which I took on the trip over to the racecourse last Sunday morning, September 10 2017.

Nos 1 & 2 The entry to the stands from the town end along the river bank.

For those unfamilar with the course, it  is linked to the town by two foot bridges, one just off The Square and the second from the Greenville road.  There is a roadway that runs directly from the Tralee road to the racecourse.

There has been a tradition among traveller children to stand in the river under the bridge, crying " Throw me down something, " to those passing on the bridge above.  This year, I am afraid, due to the floods, the habit will be dis-continued. 

No 3, The Castle in the backround continues to play an important role in the tourist attractions of Listowel. Even though the races were first run in Listowel in 1858, the Fitzmaurice Castle has been the central and focal point of the town since the 1300s.

No 4,  A fellow course spotter that I met on Sunday morning, I suppose if you met him there next Saturday evening, he would be called,, " The Last Man Standing"

No 5,  Gypsy Kathleen has a very prominent location in the Square. She might, just might, have a few winners before the week is out. One would never know what she would see in that crystal ball.