More from the launch of The Ballad of Mo and G

This photo of a plane between the Pigeon House chimneys was taken at the great Flightfest in Dublin at the weekend. It was posted on The Journal.ie

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John Stack's football photo of the past weekend.

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Now as promised, some more photos from the launch of The Ballad of Mo and G by Billy Keane.

Claire Keane sang Over the Rainbow....Heavenly!

Joanne Keane OFlynn (above) and John Looney (below) read extracts.

Mickey MacConnell sang his self deprecating satire on the dangers of shopping in the local multi nationals, Aldi and Lidl. Super!

Jimmy Deenihan credited John B. with setting him out on his political career.

All in all the night saw a great outpouring of love and support for Billy and the Keane family, scions of Listowel's literary aristocracy.

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If you were in Ballyheigue on Pattern Day 2013, you might spot yourself on Jer.'s video here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEz2VJ-Ha1s&feature=youtu.be

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Big Win for Pres. girl

A young woman from Listowel, Co Kerry, Eimear Donovan, has won a trip to NASA’s Space Center Houston in Texas, a visit to Intel Museum in Silicon Valley, California, and two days in San Francisco, California - the Intel sponsored prize that was up for grabs for one of the young people who selected ‘Ireland’s Greatest Woman Inventor’ from a shortlist of 10 Irish innovators and pioneers. Eimear chose Dorothy Stopford Price.

Sixteen-year-old Eimear is a science enthusiast and studies biology, chemistry and ag-science at secondary school in Listowel. She admits her mum, Mary, a science teacher, may have had some influence on that passion.

“Mum always had lots of science books in the house, and has always brought me to science exhibitions,” Eimear told us. Indeed, as we sit in the Science Gallery in Dublin for a chat, she tells us her mum has brought to her exhibitions there in the past.

While conceding that chemistry is “quite hard”, she tells us she still really loves it. She’s not altogether sure which discipline of science she will pursue to third level, but she has podiatry in her sights. That, she says, might well change and she is keeping an open mind about the future. Her delighted mother Mary points out that Eimear is also great at English (her dad, Louis, is a teacher of history and English), and her varied subject choice means she has a variety of avenues to follow in the future.

Eimear, her mother and a friend will now travel to the US during mid-term break in February 2014, and they are both very excited about the “amazing” trip.

Jennifer Musa,Kerry 1968, old ads and Pres. photos

Jennifer Musa, formerly Bridget Wren of Tarbert

Have you ever heard of this lady? I had never heard of her until Thursday last when I heard her story in St. Johns. Here it is for you in Kerry museum's website:

http://www.kerrymuseum.ie/forum_2.html

Her story is so fascinating, I can't believe that she has not been celebrated more widely in Ireland and particularly in North Kerry where she was born.

Here are the bones of her life from Wikipaedia.

Jennifer Musa (11 November 1917 – 13 January 2008) was an Irish-born nurse, second wife of Qazi Musa, is often often nicknamed the "Queen of Baluchistan"

Jennifer Musa was born Bridget Wren at Tarmons, County Kerry in 1917. She left Ireland to train as a nurse. In 1939 she met prominent politician Qazi Musa, brother of Qazi Muhammad Essa, a prominent activist in the Pakistan Movement while studying at Oxford. Qazi Musa was the eldest son of the Prime Minister of present day Kalat District. Jennifer Musa took the name Jehan Zeba and married Qazi the following year.

After his sudden death in a car accident in 1956, Jennifer Musa decided to settle permanently in her husband's home town of Pishin. She joined the National Awami Party and was elected to Pakistan's first Parliament in 1970. During that time she often clashed with the Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

Children

She had five children: four sons and one daughter. Her son Ashraf Jehangir Qazi is a senior Pakistani diplomat.

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I found the following photos on Terrace Talk website

Fitzgerald Stadium in the 1950s

The Kerry team 1968

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Some more ads from 20 years ago

And from the same yearbook a few team photos

Ah! where have the years flown?

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Listowel Community College is issuing a rallying call to all its past pupils. They want as many past pupils as possible to march with them in the St. Patrick's Day parade. NKRO is also looking for volunteers for its float.

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Lovely photo of the Tralee to Blennerville steam train on REA North's website.



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She is one of our own

It’s been confirmed that the Kingdom of Kerry has links to the future Queen of England.

The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton is a descendant of the first Baron of Kerry, Thomas Fitzmaurice, who died around 1260.

Tourism Ireland unveiled the details at an event in the House of Commons in London.

Research carried out by genealogists shows that Kate Middleton has connections – through the Lupton family from Yorkshire – with the Fitzmaurices, a noble family from Kerry, who in turn had links back to Brian Ború, the first High King of Ireland.

CEO of Tourism Ireland, Niall Gibbons, says it’s great news in this, the year of the Gathering, and Irelands’ Family History Year.    (Radio Kerry)

Pres. girls, genealogy day and the O'Connor Clan

This is a group of Pres girls pictured before a Gaelic football match. I recognize a few people but I'll leave it to those with better memories to name them.

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This is Upper Church St today. Above is the same section of street in 2005

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This could be well worth a visit if you have Protestants in your family tree. Lots of  Limerick Protestant records which are not yet digitized will be on display.

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A short history of the Kerry O'Connors

It was from Ciarr, son of Maeve of Connaught and Fergus Mac Riogh, an Ulster Prince, that the name Ciarrai (Kerry) originated. Ciarr was born at Rath Cruachan, Roscommon, in the second half of the second century, educated in County Limerick, and accepted as a ruling Prince by the people in the neighbouring North Kerry. It was from around the year 600, that Ciarr's descendants, known as the Ciarriage Luachra, dispossessed the ruling chieftains of the Alltraige tribe, who by the way were thought to be Picts from Scotland. From the Shannon to Tralee became known as Oidhreacht Ui Chonchubair, the inheritance of Conor, later anglicised to Iraghticonnor. The name Chonchubair becomes more familiar around 996, when the principle residence near Doon, Ballybunion, came into being and O'Connor became known as the "King of the Cliffs".

O'Connor supremacy came to an end when the Normans raided deep into Kerry and became the new overlords. The gradual loss of lands to the Normans drove O'Connor to build a more secure home at Carrigafoyle, along with the ones they had at Asdee, Tarbert, and at Ahalanna, Moyvane. It was a John O'Connor who founded the Franciscan Monastery in 1470, who set about building Carrigafoyle, and who's ruins we stood before today. The times though were troublesome ones for the O'Connors and on Palm Sunday, 1580, the castle was attacked by Elizabethan forces and the garrison of sixty human souls were slaughtered, including some Spanish seamen who were there at the time.

The most spectacular of all the O'Connors was another John, known as "Seán Na gCathach" (John of the Battles). A name richly deserved for the spirit and determination he showed in defence of his tribe. In 1600, he again takes possession of Carrigafoyle, but losses it once more to another Elizabethan adventurer, Carew. John had meanwhile married Julia, the daughter of O'Sullivan Beare, joined his forces after Kinsale, and mustered their combined forces at Glangarriffe, where they held out for a year until suffering another defeat at Dunboy.

But still the resistance continued and on the night of 31st December, 1602, the two chieftains O'Connor and O'Sullivan Beare, set out on their last battle with a thousand men between them, on a march up the country to answer O'Neill's call for assistance.

 They finish up at O'Rourke's Castle, at Dromahaire, with thirty five survivors. But all is lost. The O'Connor line ends when another John, out in the field against Cromwell, is finally captured and led to the scaffold in the company of Boetius Egan, Bishop of Kerry. Thaddeus Moriarty, Prior of the Dominican Abbey of Tralee. And Pierce Ferriter, poet and soldier, along with Tiege O'Connor, Lord of Tarbert. All the O'Connor lands were then forfeited to Trinity College, Dublin.

(from the Rathea and Irremore Journal)

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+ Recent Death+

The death took place in England on January 27th last of Joseph Collins.  Joe, who came from Coolkeragh worked in Moloney's Garage in Market St. He was aged 70 at the time of his death.

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Three come along at once

Life bowls along nicely in Listowel with nothing much to relate and then yesterday we have 3 celebrations in one day.

 March 7, yesterday, was Interntional Book Day and the Seanchaí celebrated with readings from local writers. 

Today is International Women's Day and North and East Kerry Development celebrated yesterday with a seminar in St. Johns.

The Credit Union Movement came to Listowel 40 years ago and our local branch celebrated with a party.

I only made two of the three events and I'll bring the photos next week.

Old ads, Fun cycle and Pres.girls of yesteryear

Today March 7 2013 is World Book Day, so grab a book, make yourself a cuppa and rediscover the joy of reading. I'm reading The Bookseller of Kabul at the moment and it's brilliant. I would also highly recommend Jennifer Johnston's The Illusionist which I have just finished.

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Jer Kennelly went to Pallaskenry on March 1 2013 to see the relic of the founder of the Salesian order, Don Bosco. Here is the lovely video he made of his visit;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2cXPvdMTU4&list=UUvu6UB8pWOY7MMn5MxCtj-w&index=2

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I found a school year book from twenty years ago. Among the many fascinating items in the magazine were the ads. I was amazed at how many of the businesses advertising in 1992 are no longer with us.

Here are a few to jog your memory of Listowel twenty years ago/.

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Root out the old bike and oil it up. Get the helmet and bicycle clips ready. On St. Patrick's a fun cycle will start at Listowel Community Centre at 10.00 a.m.and make its way to Abbeyfeale. There you can join up with the hundreds of walkers, cyclists and pram pushers who are going to take a ramble along the Great Southern Trail. 

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This is a photo of a happy group of Pres. girls. Surely someone will remember when where  and why this photo was taken.

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Martin Sheehy formerly of Main St. is enjoying Vincent's book. He wrote:

"Having received Vincent's " Listowel " as a gift from brother Jerry in Listowel, it is a joy to read here in Phoenix, AZ. House by house, street by street he gives us a history of our town between 1850 to 1950.

Very nice, also, in the blog, to read John Fitzgerald's memories of Tae Lane. "

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Saint Philomena

Sr. Nora Carmody, formerly of this parish identified the mystery lady for us.
She writes
 "A few years ago I read the life of St. John Vianney (Curé d' Ars), and it was then I learnt about St. Philomena.    She was born in 291, died in 304, aged 13  but her remains were not discovered until 1802.  She was honoured 13th Jan. 1837, and after that devotion to her increased.  She is Patroness of babies, infants, children, and some more.  So in the early 1900's Philomena became a popular name - My sister, Maura was christened  Mary Philomena. "