Dromcollogher Fire Tragedy, Piseóga and St Mary's Listowel

In Listowel Town Square in October 2019

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Remembering a Tragedy 

This story was one I revisited in the book commemorating 100 years of The Irish Examiner.

This is the story as it appeared in the paper in 1926. As I was growing up it was something that was well remembered in folk memory in my part of the country and was spoken of in hushed tones as the greatest tragedy that had happened for a long time.

I wrote about this horror before and below is the link to the story

Dromcollogher Cinema Fire

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Piseóga from Lyreacrompane in  the Dúchas collection

The Schools' Folklore Collection is a great anthology of old wisdom and superstitions collected by Irish schoolchildren in the 1930s from their elders.

The children of Lyreacrompane set to collecting old piseoga and superstitions. They were very diligent and they collected a huge number of these. Here are the first few. I hope you love the local idiom and colloquialisms of the children e.g. no. 21

Piseóga.

1/5/36 Fuaireas iad so leanas ó Bhorca Ni Dhiolaín, cailín sgoile ais Chlocán-Leiscirt.

1. If you see one magpie in the morning it means to you that you will have bad luck for that day.

2. If you see two magpies it means that you will have good luck for that day.

3. If you see three, it means that you will hear of a marriage during that day.

4. If you see four it means that there is a wake to be held that day.

5. If you see five it means that you will get silver from some friend or find silver lost.

6. If you see six it means that you will get gold lost.

7. If you see seven it means that you will hear a secret that was never told before.

8. If you break a mirror in a house it means that there will be bad luck in that house for seven years.

9. If you spill salt on a table it means bad luck.

10. If you meet a brown haired woman in the morning, it is as well for you to turn home for you will not do your journey that day.

11. If you walk under a ladder it means bad luck.

12. If you open an umbrella in a house it means bad luck.

13. If you find a horse shoe lost on the road you should spit on it and throw it away again and it is supposed to bring you good luck.

14. If you find a rack (a hair comb) or a half-penny lost on the road you should take it and keep it for it is supposed to bring you good luck.

15. If you shake a crane (For hanging pots over an open fire) on a Sunday it is supposed to bring bad luck.

16. If you burn a pack of cards it is supposed to bring bad luck.

17. It is said that you should never give away milk without putting a pinch of salt in it.

18. It is said that if there are three persons with the same Christian name in one house one of them is bound to die.

19. If you meet a hare crossing the road it is a sign of bad luck.

20. It is said that if you cut your nails on a Sunday it is as bad as to eat meat on a Friday.

21. You should never carry a "sup" of milk in a bucket to a well for it is said you will be in want of it after.

22. If you hear a cock crowing at night it is the sign of a death.

23. If you hear dogs crying that is the sign of a death.

24. It is said that you should never interfere with a fort.

25. If you hear a bell in your ear it is the sign of a death.

26. If you see a star falling it is the sign of a soul going to heaven

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The Main Altar in St. Mary's

St. Mary's Listowel has some beautiful mosaics and stained glass.

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Don't Forget

Saturday next,  October 19 2019, in St. John's in The Square at 7.30 I will be launching my new book. Elaine Kinsella of Radio Kerry is the special guest and there will be music and readings. 

Castleisland, St. Marys and Woolworths

Common Buzzard by Alan Hillen for Irish Widlife Photography competition

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Historic Castleisland

Castleisland is steeped in history. Many historic events and local heroes are commemorated in wall plaques all over town 

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In St. Mary's Listowel

Beautiful mosaic angels in St. Mary's. You should call in to the church if you are in town and take a look at the fabulous mosaics, the work of a firm of mosaic artists called Oppenheimer.

These pieces of plasterwork have been recently restored after they had been removed after the second Vatican Council when statues got a bad rap.

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Vintage saucers as ashtrays

There is a lovely café in Castleisland called The Country Market and they let me sit for ages and use their wifi while I was enjoying their home baking.

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Woolworths

I found this on Facebook. Woolworths was an institution, a kind od Discountworld, Mr. Price and TK Maxx all rolled into one. In my childhood Santa used to do lots of shopping in this shop. It sold everything from a needle to an anchor. I bet it brings back many happy memories for blog followers today.

Faction fights, Listowel Town Square and a 1916 commemorative manhole cover

Listowel's Holy Square

Listowel Town Square was once a Protestant enclave. St. John's, the Church of Ireland place of worship dominated the landscape. It's central position today is reflective of Listowel's role as leader in the field of Irish Arts and Theatre. This little theatre is one of the huge assets Listowel has which set it apart from other towns of similar size. If you dont go regularly, make a resolution to go in 2019. You wont be disappointed.

St. Mary's is across the road.

The clock on St. John's needs attention. It's about 6 hours fast. God be with the days when people depended on public clock's like this one to tell them the time.

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A Manhole cover on Church Street

These manhole covers were designed to commemorate the Easter Rising of 1916. They were put down in 2016 celebrating the anniversary.  I don't think they replaced all the manhole covers, but if one needed to be replaced they put in one of these commemorative ones. This one shows Eamonn Bulfin raising the flag at the GPO. It's on Church Street.

I was standing by the manhole cover when I took this to give you an idea of where to look for it.

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Faction Fighting in North Kerry

There was a time when every fair ended in a fight. Here is an account from a local child of the great faction fights in North Kerry in the 19th century.

Faction Flights

On the 13th of May fair in Listowel some time previous to 1830. some Magheragh men (Ballyduff, Causeway, Ballyheigue, Killanhan, etc) were selling potatoes. A discussion arose as to the comparative merits of the potatoes between the Magheragh men and the cúl-na-lín (Culeen near Listowel) men. The discussion ended in a fight, where the Magheragh men got off the worst as they wouldn’t have the backing in Listowel that the others had.

 At the Whit Monday fair in Ardfert the fight was renewed. Practically every man in North Kerry took one side or another and for years after whenever people assembled at fair or market on Sunday after mass the fight was renewed.

The biggest fight of all took place at (Ballyduff) Ballyeigh on the 24th June 1834. The North Kerry race meeting was then held in Ballyeigh Strand (opposite the Cashen School) but was eventually transferred to Listowel (1870). The races were held on the right hand side of the River Cashen on the strand where the school is now and when some of the combatants tried to escape by crossing the river in boats and swimming, they were attacked by their opponents with stones, bottles, sticks and so on at the left side of the river. A terrible fight ensued in which about thirteen people were drowned and very many injured.

As far as I know there was only one man arrested for it, a well to do man named Leahy of Ballinorig near Causeway. Many others went on the run but were never arrested. He was tried and sentenced to be transplanted (transported?) to Freemantle.

For three quarters of a century afterwards the people in this district and in North Kerry generally recorded events from the year the boat was drowned” or from the night of the big wind”. After the tragedy the faction fight slackened and died down and the famine helped to put an end to it altogether.
Even some old people take pride in the fact that their ancestors took one side or the other in the faction.
Collector, Murtie Dowling, Informant
Denis Lawlor, Address, Causeway, Co. Kerry

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Little Known Fact about Listowel

Two martyrs are mentioned in connection with Listowel. Thaddeus Clancy of  Co.Limerick was arrested, speared and beheaded on September 15 1584, on refusing to renounce his religion. His head was taken to Listowel and exposed to the mockery of the heretics.

In 1691 Fr. Gerald Fitzgibbon,OP,  superior of Kilmallock was captured by Williamite forces near Listowel and summarily executed.

Source: The late Fr. Kieran O'Shea.

Old Tralee, Old Market Poster, Queen Victoria in Kerry and statues in St. Mary's

Chris Grayson in Killarney National Park

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Old Postcard of Listowel Bridge

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Old Pictures of Tralee Railway Station

These photos were shared on Facebook by Tralee and District Historical Society

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Listowel Market

Paul Murphy sent me a photo of this poster from 1916. That was when one hundred really meant one hundred and twenty.

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Queen Victoria in Killarney

A page from Patrick O'Sullivan's great book; A Year in Kerry

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St. Joseph in his new niche

A statue of St. Joseph has been erected on a shelf in St. Mary's

St. Mark is on the pillar close by

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Mizen to Malin Cycle

These Pedalllers were in Listowel this week. They are cycling from one end of Ireland to the other to raise funds for cancer care.

Watching Rás Tailteann, Iceland Opens and an icon in St. Mary's

Photo: Chris Grayson

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People I met at Rás Tailteann on May 23 2018

Helen, P.J. and Joan stopped on their way from mass to wave the cyclists off.

Eilish, Maria and Sharon popped out of the Writers' Week office to promote the festival to the race watchers.

Christy, Norita and Joan in The Square

Moriarty family out in force to support Eugene

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From the Johnny Hannon Archive

Batt and Gertie O'Keeffe

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It's Open

Iceland Listowel in Mill Lane opened on May 22 2018

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In St. Mary's Listowel

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Famous People meet a Blog Follower

Danny O'Connor from Gurtinard met father and son actors, Brendan and Domhnall Gleeson in New York

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Woodford Pottery

Pat Murphy gave me a sneak peak at his latest design innovation. He is still making his trademark blue  black and green kitchenware but now his creative juices are flowing in a whole new direction  and he is planning a white with a pop of colour range for the autumn.

I love them. What do you think?

Pat also has a beautiful range of souvenir mugs especially for Writers' Week. You can pick them up in the craft shop at Galvins in William Street.

Family Wedding in Listowel

Cliona Cogan on the balcony of  the bridal suite of The Listowel Arms Hotel on her wedding day, May 20 2017. In the background is The River Feale and Listowel Racecourse.

Saturday May 20 2017 was a popular day for weddings. In the U.K. Pippa Middleton, sister of the Duchess of Cambridge married her fiancé, James Matthews,  in Kenmare Alannah McGurk, daughter of Miriam O’Callaghan and her ex-husband  Tom McGurk married former Galway footballer Fiachra Breathnach and in Italy Lottie Ryan, daughter of the late Gerry, married her husband Fabio Aprile for a second time (the first time was a low key civil affair which the couple did in secret). The wedding of the day with a Listowel connection was the McKenna Cogan wedding in St. Mary’s , Listowel.

Let me tell you without fear of contradiction that Listowel is the best place in the world to organize and hold a wedding. St. Mary’s is a beautiful church which can be downsized to accommodate a small ceremony as well as being the ideal venue for a huge wedding. The hotel and all the local wedding suppliers are the cream of the crop.

My Kanturk family posing outside the church for the "real" photographer.

I’ll tell you a bit about the wedding day suppliers we dealt with.

The Listowel Arms Hotel were a delight to deal with from day one. Patrice, Asyia and all the staff were super efficient and obliging . The hotel itself is charming, warm and welcoming.  Asyia took lots of lovely photos which reached us long before the official  ones.  Her photos at the hotel entrance show how intimate, local and compact the place is for a wedding.

The dining room was stunning. The backdrop of the racecourse and river Feale lent an exotic air to the snaps of the top table.

 The food was delicious, the service excellent, the speeches were short and entertaining, the favours of Lily O’Brien chocolates (from Newbridge) and my book (from Listowel) were appreciated by the guests.

Dancing to Kildare band Transmitter went on until the wee hours and, in a lovely local touch, Damien from Jumbos made a late night delivery of some local delicacies beloved of the bride and her friends and mentioned in the groom’s speech.

Weddings nowadays are two day affairs. We all decamped to the Cliff House in Ballybunion for our day 2 and there we had a night of chat, finger food, some music and a few drinks. The happy couple headed for  a London minimoon on Tuesday. Highlights of this included 2 afternoon teas which were gifted to them by wedding guests. Andrea and Alexandra treated them to tea in The Shard. This is “the height of fine dining”. The restaurant where they ate is on the 32 nd floor and the food is as spectacular as the views.  Alex and Andrea are Erasmus friends of Clíona’s and their friendship has stood the test of time and distance.

Many years later here they are in St. Mary's Listowel with Alex's daughter Aoife .

The second teatime experience was  in Harrods. They even got a complimentary chocolate cake for dessert in view of the fact that they were on honeymoon.

A far cry from Jumbo's Listowel!