More of my Photos of Graham Norton's Audience and an incident at the convent school in 1887

Bromore on National Media

Mike Flahive shared this photo of himself, his wife, Eilish and piper, Danny Houlihan with Cian McCormack of RTE

Rte reporter Cian McCormack is cycling along The Wild Atlantic Way. Yesterday Wednesday June 21 2017 he cycled through Tarbert where he visited the Bridewell and spoke to Joan Murphy about problems common to Tarbert and other struggling small towns. She mentioned rural broadband and lack of public transport as two of the problems besetting small towns up and down the country. Cian passed by the crooked cross and called in to Kennelly's. Alan told him how Ballylongford had gone from a thriving village with each street fielding its own team in the street league to a place that now has to join with nearby village to make up one minor team. There is no new child enrolled in the local National School for the next school year.

Then Cian cycled along his merry way to Ballybunion and he talked to two people who are trying to do something about the decline. Local historian and 7 times all Ireland champion piper, Danny Houlihan and local farmer and entrepreneur, Mike Flahive, told him about their tourism offering.
The Bromore Cliff Walk is well worth a visit and you will get to meet Bart, "the friendliest horse in Ireland."

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People I photographed on their way in to Graham Norton, Listowel Writers Week 2017

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Manchester Guardian Nov 2 1887

A few days ago I featured a letter to the Manchester Post concerning the inability of Listowel girls to sing God Save the Queen. The letter writer was reacting to the following story in The Manchester Guardian of November 2 1887.    (Paddy Keane did the research on this one)

Notes on Listowel

(from our special correspondent)

" There is in Listowel a great convent school where (the number is illegible) girls are being educated by the nuns. The peculiarity of such a school is that the lower and the middle classes are  mixed together in a way which would be impossible in England. With some English friends I went over the whole school.

We went into the big schoolroom and there we heard the girls read and I must say that for justness of intonation and clearness of expression I have never heard such good reading in any English school. They read out of Goldsmith's Deserted Village and I noticed that the girl who was reading substituted Ireland for England in the line

"A time there was ere England's griefs began.

When every rood of ground maintained its man."

Lastly we had recitations and singing. A row of girls recited some patriotic lines, wearing the while a green flag. Their glowing eyes and their excited gestures showed how much they felt their words. After they had sung to us we asked if they could sing God save Ireland. There was no doubt as to the response. The sister in charge of the music instantly sat down at the piano and struck into the melody. The girls sang as if they wanted to lift themselves off the ground. When they had finished and were all aglow with excitement, we asked for one verse of God Save the Queen. Nobody knew it and it was clear that nobody cared to sing it. "They will sing it at some future time." gently said the Mother Superior."

St. Vincent de Paul, Ballybunionand the Easter dues in the 1950s

Man at Work    Photo by Janusz Trzesicki

Mallow Camera Club has some excellent photographer members. The theme for their last monthly competition was People at Work. It elicited some marvellous images. One of my favourites is this from Janusz Trzesicki.

Janusz is a super photographer who photographs everything including weddings and sporting events.
Below is another of his photographs from a recent Kanturk rugby match

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Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Listowel

Kay Landy was photographed for the Kerryman with other long serving volunteers at their recent celebration. I snapped her in the Second Time Around shop in Upper William Street with two of the newer volunteers. Listowel should be proud of the work they do and the services they provide.

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Nearly Done

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Evening in Ballybunion

Saturday April 9 was one of the best days of 2017 so far. The sky was clear and the weather was warm and balmy. When I got to Ballybunion with my visitors the crowd on the beach was beginning to thin out but it was evident that people had been in the water. Others had been sun bathing and there were a few sandcastles still standing on the beach...... a welcome taste of summer.

My visitors obligingly struck the now obligatory jumping pose at the WAW sign.

We watched the sun set from the vantage point of our table upstairs in Daroka where we enjoyed an excellent meal.

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Sisters and Friends

I met Tena and Rochelle walking (yes walking) by the river.

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with Jim Costello down memory lane

Jim Costello in his lovely memoir takes me back to my childhood. Our experiences and the experiences of many of our contemporaries were very similar.

This is what he says about "the dues".

".....The announcements at Sunday mass often consisted of the reading of the priests’ collection. Each townland was read and all who paid were named, starting with the highest payee, for example; townland of Asdee-£1 each (names of people) 10 shillings each  (names of people), 7/6 each (names of people). The amounts paid were gradually reducing until the people who paid the least amount were mentioned last. People whose names were not read had not contributed at all and there was more interest in the people who did not pay than in the amount which people actually paid."

Ballybunion on the Wild Atlantic Way and Daffodil Day 2017

Deirdre Lyons took this brilliant photo on her climb of Corrauntoohil.

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Cork in the last century

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Ballybunion on the Wild Atlantic Way

 When I was in Ballybunion with my visitors, there were tourists taking photos at the WAW sign. I noticed that it spells Ballybunion with one n. I hope that, in due course the road signs will also revert to this more popular spelling of the town's name. The golf club never changed.

Below is the corner of town sponsored by the club.

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A Busy Bishop

Belfast Newsletter  Tuesday, October 14, 1834; 

The Lord Bishop of Limerick—The amiable  prelate has returned to this city, after a toilsome confirmation tour through the principal part of his remote dioceses in Kerry, on which duty his Lordship was accompanied by his  domestic chaplain, the Rev. R. Knox, Chancellor of Ardfert, on whom devolved the preaching of the confirmation sermons. The numbers confirmed by his Lordship were  as follow:—Killarney, 150; Tralee, 360; Tarbert, 150; Listowel, 86; Dingle, 75; Caherciveen, barony of Iveragh (O'Connell's town). 81; Milltown, 242—Total, 1,142. 

His Lordship has, from unavoidable circumstances, been obliged to relinquish his intention for the present of holding confirmations at Castleisland, Kenmare, and Millstreet ; but he will visit each of those places early next year. The Bishop has resolved on making an annual missionary  tour through his dioceses for the purpose of preaching in the different churches, and in order to facilitate this intention, he is now in treaty for a residence in Killarney.—Limerick Times.

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Daffodil Day 2017

As I was in town on the morning of Friday March 24 2017, I photographed some of the hard working volunteers who were doing their bit to raise vital funds for the work of The Cancer Society.