Covid Signs,and A Sister's Love in a poem and Opening Night Listowel Writers' Week 2020

Only God can Make a Tree

Kay McDonnell took this photo

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Sisterly love in a Poem

"Limerick poet Anne Mulcahy wrote the poem Sister in 2014. I have her permission to get it published. " Mattie Lennon"

The story behind it is as follows;

   A mutual friend of ours had a brother, David, with Down Syndrome. He was also non verbal. David spent 55 of his 57 years in an institution until his death in 2014. When he reached the terminal stage of his life that same institution clearly did not wish to have him remain in their care but rather wished him to enter an acute hospital setting. This issue needed to be robustly fought with the members of the institution to allow David to remain in his ' Home'.  His sister, who had been his Guardian Angel for decades, was an able and willing advocate to defend his rights. 

Sister was written from David's perspective from beyond the grave.  

 Dear Sister, thank your noble heart, that fought my need to sleep,

In sheets that smelt and felt so familiar to me,

You spoke my words when my voice could not be found,

Through divided chaos you firmly stomped the ground,

Chin firm, teeth clinched, and no budge to make-

Steering the ship to higher ground!

Now, here, in this realm my tongue is loose and free,

And sings songs like Jingle Bells and happy melodies.

I cannot keep a pair of shoes, so worn are they from dancing.

And I laugh so much, I cry big tears, till my shirt oft needs changing.

Cold nights I read before I sleep, warm tales of hope and peace,

And all the while, I lay entwined, in my own familiar sheets!

Everything here is wonderful, both the company and the food,

And I’ve met many here that I once knew.

Pain does not exist here-only a great peace of vast magnitude.

Dear Sister, hold fast the times we had,

We both know the efforts you made, the gifts you brought, the prayers you said,

And when we meet, as sure we will, I’ll have a bed ready and made!

©Anne Mulcahy 2014.

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Listowel in the Pandemic of 2020

Jumbo's and O'Connell's Decor are two very busy shops at this time.

McKenna's has a one way system.

The pharmacy next door has lots of signs

You can see the table with the sanitiser for customers. A one way system is in operation.

Behan's The Horseshoe is open for take away food.

Sad to see a Robert Moloney's, a shop which always worked long hours, closed.

When I took my second walk downtown later Dominick was in town checking on his premises. Dominick  Moloney is a tonic in a pandemic, always in good form and ready to pose for the camera.

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Listowel Writers week Opening Night May 27 2020

I love Opening Night. i take up my position at the hotel door and photograph local people and visitors arriving in their finery for one of Listowel's biggest nights. The atmosphere is electric, the music uplifting and everyone is in great high spirits.

Covid 19 meant that all of that was different in 2020. Opening night speeches and prize giving went online. RTE came to town and Joe Stack, whose usual role as sports reporter is in a bit of a lull, interviewed local people about the loss of the festival and its revenue. Lovely Listowel was on every news bulletin.

The scene at The Listowel Arms on May 27 2020

Billy Keane was being interviewed at the door of John B.'s

In The Square, RTE was interviewing Gabriel Fitzmaurice for TG4.

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Out and About with Camera

I met my friends, Joan and P.J. Kenny in the Square on May 28 2020. They posed, at my request, on the Tidy Town seat.

Listowel Races 2015, Listowel Rugby 1970 and Ballyduff swans

Wednesday Sept 16 2015; my day at The Races

In the corner of Main Street the usual display of dolls and recorded music was in full flow. This year the man who runs this show has dressed up in a  a leprechaun like outfit. I don't know if this adds anything to this very strange orchestral display. This has become an iconic feature at Listowel Races.

Gypsy Kathleen is in situ in The Square but she is not using her crystal ball to predict winners.

The Listowel Arms was busy.

At the corner by The Seanchaí

No one in the river but lots of little ones begging on the roadway.

The Listowel Arms were displaying a very confident message of support to the Kerry team.
They will surely have that flag lowered today.

This young busker was rolling up his sleeves in order to get to grips with one or other of his two musical instruments.

His method of playing the melodeon is a little unorthodox.

A steady stream of racegoers made their way to The Island.
The racecourse now is one big shopping centre. You could buy all sorts of stuff at The Races in 2015. I think this is a very regrettable development. Especially since it seems to be at the expense of more facilities related to horse racing. A few years ago I was lured by a special offer to invest in a Tote card. This works like a debit card. I put money in, the Tote keep my money and get the interest on it and I put my card into a machine in order to bet at the racecourse. I can also use this account to bet online. I only use this account once a year, in Listowel. Up to 2015 there were lots of locations on the racecourse where I could use my handy little card. There was a kind of Tote bus with lots of machines and people to help you if you had forgotten how to use the card after a year's absence. This year all that had changed. There was only a fraction of the machines of previous years, no Tote bus and no one to give you a hand if you were in trouble. Many of the machines were broken down and there seemed to be no one on hand to repair them. There was a rough sign saying Customer Service on one Tote window and the service involved this Tote teller, who was also dealing with selling and paying out cash punters, making a phone call to someone who would then come and sort me out.
 I had to do this several times.

There was a good crowd on Wednesday.

The best part of racing is running into old friends. Below are some of the people I met on Weds Sept 17. 2015

I took loads of photos so if you are interested in "the style" keep checking back here.

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Listowel Rugby in 1970

This old photo of Listowel's u12 rugby team in 1970 was published in The Advertiser some years ago. Second from right in front is Billy Keane and next to him, third from right, is Gerry Sexton, father of Joanthon.

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Ballyduff Swans

Do you remember these?

Well, they're all grown up. Bridget O'Connor who took the original photos went back to photograph them last  week and there they were, big strong teenagers, still with some of their baby feathers and not yet able to fly.

Two of the family seem to have moved out into a nest of their own.