Covid 19 in Listowel Co. Kerry and a look back to 2016 Ard Churam Opening

A Curlew photographed by Ita Hannon

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A Quiet Sunday Morning in Lockdown Listowel,  May 31 2020

An almost empty Lidl carpark

John B. Keane Road

Listowel fire station

Upper William Street

St. Patrick's Hall

Carmody's Corner, junction of Charles Street and William Street

William Street

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Here a sign, there a sign, everywhere a Covid sign

Main Street

One of our links with the outside world, the humble post box

Just a few cars in The Square

Entrance to Erskine Childers' Park

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Photos I took at the Official Opening of Ard Churam in 2016

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Made in Stag Cutlery, Listowel

Vincent Doyle found this old one among his souvenirs

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A Word of Caution in Rhyme

An easing of covid restrictions,
Has some people having conniptions,
They fear a new wave,
From being too brave,
Let’s hope that’s just wrongful predictions. 

Our poet, Róisín Meaney, has just published her 17th novel, The Restaurant. If you have enjoyed her little rhymes, you may enjoy her book. She deserves our support in thanks for keeping our spirits up in lockdown.

Listowel in Lockdown, April 2020

April 2020.....Glimpses of a Town in Lockdown

Cherrytree in bloom in the closed Pitch and Putt course

The cinema is closed and the old Walshe's Ballroom doesn't presently have a business .

 Upper William Street from the old Casa Mia to the old post office.

 St. Vincent de Paul shop closed.

No music at Mike the Pies

 Not a living soul, hog, dog nor devil, on the street

Carmody's Corner and Charles Street

 Royal China are operating a take away service only. In the age old fashion of Chinese restaurants, it's all about numbers. You get a number when you place your order. When your meal is ready they display your number on to the inside window sill and you collect at the hatch.

The Mermaids

 Tracey Grimes', that used to be Moriarty's

William Street, Listowel in lockdown

Billy is still flying the flag at John B.'s.

Market Street

McKenna's and Chemco

Customers are not allowed in the shop at McKenna's but you can collect your order at the door.

This is the corner where John B.'s famous corner boys hung out.

Lower William Street

This window reminds us of happier times. There will be no Tidy Town competition this year but our town looks spotless anyway.

Looking into Main Street, the sign on Broderick's Pharmacy window reminds us to wash our hands. Hand hygiene is one of the three main planks of our fight to slow the progress of Covid 19. The others  are social distancing, staying at least 2 metres apart,  cough etiquette and cocooning the vulnerable members of our community.

The kids are all indoors. Confirmation Day has been and gone and Communion Day will pass without a day out too.

Ah, Revival! Not cancelled yet but big question marks hang over it due to the difficulty of following  social distancing guidelines

Lower Church Street

Main Street

At Listowel Racecourse

No June race meeting this year and the Harvest Festival meeting is in question as well.

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Life in Isolation

Stuck at home / safe at home

I have not felt the touch of a human hand for the past six weeks but  I have been touched, supported and loved by means I didn’t even know existed two months ago.

Covid 19 has been an enormous learning experience for us all.  I can use words and phrases like serology testing, R0 rate, herd immunity, community transmission and comorbidities. I could certainly now pick Dr. Tony Holohan or Dr. Philip Nolan out of a lineup of suited gentlemen.

Best of all I have learned how much I am loved and appreciated. My family have come up trumps. The love that was always there has taken concrete form in daily phone calls, postcards and endless text messages and memes. My neighbours, my friends and my former colleagues are a constant presence in  my life. People I have not heard from in years have rung or texted. The Christmas card list has come to life in April.

Things will never return to how they were. Almost overnight constants in our lives like work, church, school, the gym, the restaurant, the pub,  the match were all swept away in a surge of social distancing, working from home, self isolation and lockdown.

We will eventually emerge from this to a new normal, much chastened by our experience and hopefully, with a new appreciation of the little things.

Christmas in Killarney, Noel Roche, jostle stones Knitwits and a stunning Tapestry Project and Anseo

Christmas in The Great Southern, Killarney

These lovely Christmassy displays are in the foyer of the Killarney Great Southern.

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A Poem by Noel Roche

Noel's sister, Dolores has shared a few of Noel's poems with us.

Heaven

When I arrived in Heaven

I wondered what I’d see

As I stood before the pearly gates

In all their majesty.

Then I saw God standing there

With his arms open wide

And he said, “Come on now,, child of mine,

You’re home now. Step inside.”

And then I saw my mother

She was weeping tears of joy.

She took me gently in her arms

Saying, “There’s my baby boy.”

Then my father, he was standing there

The first time I saw him stand.

He said, ‘Son take a walk with me,

And he took me by the hand.

So I walked with dad in heaven

I could not be more proud.

People jpoined us as we walked

Until it became a crowd.

But its not a crowd of strangers

That I plainly see.

All the faces in that crowd

Were faces known to me.

All my brothers and my sisters

And good friends that passed away

They were all here to greet me

In heaven on this day.

I met grandparents, aunts and uncles

That I never knew

But as I looked into their eyes

I said “Yes, I know you.”

I talked with all the people there

And it went on and on

And, as we talked, it seemed to me

Like they were never really gone.

They were all really happy

And that was no surprise

I saw contentment and serenity

When I looked into their eyes.

Then Jesus walked amng us

Oh, what a sight to see

My whole being filled with love

As he placed his hand on me.

His perpetual light was shining bright.

We were all filed with His grace

Right then I prayed and hoped

That we would never leave this place.

Then the darkness it came over me

As day turned into night.

And I groped around frantically

Looking for the light.

When I put the light on,

I saw my bedroom wall.

I realized that

It was just a dream

I wasn’t in heaven at all.

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Jostle Stones on William Street

2019 was the year when I learned what a jostle stone was. Since I learned about them I'm seeing them everywhere. Here are two on our own William Street,

These are at either side of the lane by Jumbo's that runs behind McKenna's.

These are just a little further up the same street.

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Knitwits at Christmas 2019

We had a good crowd at knitting club on Dec 14 2019 so I took the opportunity to take a few pictures. It was freezing cold so we were wearing our coats, but still having the chat as we knitted and crocheted.

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What Talent, Patience and Skill

This is Kathleen McCarthy. Kathleen was given this tapestry picture to complete after the lady who started it was unable to finish it. Kathleen is a multitalented craftswoman. She can turn her hand to any project and she welcomed this challenge.

Kathleen sewed this tapestry before she had her cataract operation and working under the other challenge that the lady who started the work was left handed, so Kathleen had to do all the stitching in a direction not familiar to her.

The finished project is magnificent.  My photo does not do it justice. Kathleen had it framed and is now handing it back to the original owners.

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A Kindness at Christmas

I have a secret Santa. I received this lovely gift in the post this week. People are so kind! Thank you, Dan,  for making my day!

I love, love, love the book. I highly recommend it!
Isn't the cover photo the most gorgeous loving capture ever?