An Rás leaves town, Busking Day and some gathering events

Photo by Denis OCarroll of Listowel's Big Bridge and the River Feale taken on May 23 2013. Superb!

<<<<<

These are some of the musicians and volunteers who worked so hard to make Friday's MS fundraiser such a hit.

<<<<<<

On May 21, as The Rás came through, the boys from Scoil Realt na Maidine were safely positioned behind the wall at The Slua Hall.

The following photos are of local people out in the sunshine to enjoy the excitement. It was great to see such a positive buzz in town and everyone forgot about recession for a day or two.

Some people were working; John McCarthy is welcomed home by his daughter after the finish in his hometown, Listowel. Press photographer, John Reidy was snapping some local colour.

Some local media and local supporters.

<<<<<

The Gathering

Dont forget tomorrow night Tuesday May 28 RTE will repeat The Gathering Homeward Bound with Tadhg Kennelly.

In conjunction with The Gathering there are lots and lots of Clan and family gatherings taking place.

On the left is Martin Griffin. He, along with the Lartigue crew, is planning a gathering of descendants of people who worked on the monorail. This is planned for later on in the year. I'll keep you posted.

Junior tells me that he is Griffin from both sides of his family. Both Griffin sides are planning a family reunion .

This is Damien Stack's photo of his family shop which was established in 1910. The gathering of the Stack clan back to their Listowel roots promises to be a great hooley.

The Stack Clan and all its branches and adopted sons and daughters will make their way to Listowel  from July 19 to July 22 for a packed weekend.

https://www.facebook.com/stack.clangathering?fref=ts

Meanwhile in Dingle all this week a week of events to welcome scattered descendants of Corcha Dhuibhne emigrants is taking place.

I read all about it here:

Find your Kerry Ancestors

"The Dingle Peninsula has a unique and complex history.   A lot of damage was inflicted on the Peninsula during the course of the Second Desmond Rebellion, the Nine Years War and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Its remoteness and isolation may have protected it from the worst excesses of the Williamite War and the 1798 Rebellion.  

 It is one of the places in Kerry thas has experienced the highest level of emigration over the past  three hundred years.   

 It was particularly devastated during the Famine, with up to 5000 people dying in the Dingle Workhouse alone.   The Kerry Examiner of 8 February 1847, records ‘The state of the people in Dingle is horrifying.  Fever, famine and dysentery are daily increasing, deaths from hunger daily occurring.  From all parts of the country, they crowd into the town for relief and not a pound of meal is to be had in the wretched town for any price’.   

Thankfully all these wars and famines are behind us and the Dingle Peninsula has survived.

This year, the year of The Gathering, the people of the Dingle Peninsula are taking the opportunity to welcome back our diaspora from all over the world so as that they too might experience The Corca Dhuibhne Peninsula, the Gaeltacht, the friendliness of our people, the goodness of our food and the wealth of our culture, language and heritage.  
Corca Dhuibhne – one of the most beautiful places on earth. 

 23rd May to 30th May 2013."

<<<<<

Joanne Dillon sends us this link to a very poignant article from Irish Central.  It tells the fate of many Irish immigrants who died in quarantine.

Busking and An Post Rás May 21 2013

 M.S. Busking Day today from 10.00a.m.to 6.00 p.m.

This is a photo from 2008 of MS buskers and volunteers. Today again, May 24 2013 the local branch of MS Ireland will be entertaining the town from The Small Square. Please be generous. It's a cruel disease. Believe me because I know.

<<<<<<<<

My friend, Jim McSweeney, took this great shot of a good mammy foraging for food for her nestlings.

<<<<<<

The sun shone on May 21 in Listowel and many people came out on to the streets to enjoy the buzz

Anne and Mairead Brosnan

Cathy knitting at the door of Kerry Krafts

budding cyclists

Chutes and Hannons

Joan Mulvihill and Billy Keane

Isobel arrives on her bike

P.J. and Joan Kenny

<<<<<<


Billy Keane on The Rás in Listowel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSFYAxYFHCI&feature=youtu.be

<<<<<

In conjunction with The Rás a competition was held for school children. These are the winners with the mayor and Miss An Post Rás.

<<<<

Road works have now moved to the other side of Charles Street

<<<<

In case you missed this the first time round. RTE is repeating the The Gathering; Homeward Bound with Tadhg Kennelly on Tuesday next May 28.

<<<<<

Tomorrow Saturday May 25 the Rose of Tralee escorts will be on the beach in Ballybunion all day being put through their paces in Escort Boot Camp.

<<<<<

Take a look at this;

http://www.rte.ie/radio1/mooney/

A dotey cat in Clara Co. Offally has adopted 3 ducklings and is suckling them along with her 2 kittens; a first apparently.

Sacred Heart Confraternity, The Galtymore and more from Stage 3 of the Rás

The Confraternity

When I was growing up in Co. Cork all the local men of standing in the parish belonged to the Sacred Heart Confraternity.  It was a kind of Freemasons for Catholics, all male, secretive and dedicated to "doing good works". Once a month they had their meeting/prayer service/retreat on a Sunday evening. the church was divided into sections with a banner at the end of the seat where that section sat. I dont know what went on at these services but if it was anything like the sister society for women, The Sodality of Our Lady, it was just praying. The Sodality had a bit of a uniform...a blue cape which we made ourselves and we wore a veil.

The below photographs come from a Limerick website :

 Jubilee of The Confraternity 1928

Confraternity procession 1930

Confraternity banners on display in the Limerick City Museum

Fr. Connolly's address to the confraternity in Limerick in 1951

<<<<<<

Remember this?

Photo by Patrick Casey, London

<<<<<<<<

In conjunction with the Rás there is a charity cycle taking place ahead of the actual race. These men and women are raising money for research into Breast Cancer. They hit town before the racing cyclists and they got a great reception.

Everywhere you looked there were cyclists, bicycles or cycling paraphenalia.

It warmed my heart to see Listowel cycling families out in force. I met the McCarron family, so many of whom have spent many happy hours on bikes.

<<<<<

Jer took a video of the race going through Athea

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

(more tomorrow)

<<<<

Charlotte  Greaney has just been chosen as this year's recipient of the Nano Nagle Award at Presentation Secondary School ; an honour well deserved by this model teenager.

Ballybunion sunset: An Post Rás 2013

Who needs Las Vegas when we can see sunsets like this in Ballybunion?

All photos taken by Ballybunion Sea Angling on Friday last, May 17 2013

<<<<<

Emigration is a topic that is never too far away from this blog. The Irish Times have a great blog called Generation Emigration. The following is a comment from Mari Fleming.

"Successful migrants integrate with the society in which they find themselves; they do not, these days, cluster together in ghettos maintaining a semblance of the culture of their original homeland. Witness the unsuccessful 'multiculturalism' in the UK, where communities of South Asians apply the cultural norms of India, Bangladesh or Pakistan, and never assimilate to the host culture. 7/7 was the result. 

Irish culture is not different enough from UK, Continental European, North American, Australian or New Zealand culture for any Irish person to have any difficulty assimilating - seeking out other members of the so-called 'diaspora' in these places is really not necessary or helpful at all. In fact, in the US, I went out of my way to avoid the descendants of previous Irish diasporas, who had stuck together in Irish ghettos and transmitted a romanticised, nationalistic image of Ireland through the generations. One of these 'Irish' once commented to me that I was 'not really Irish' as I didn't speak with a sing-song accent and I worked in IT!  

Moving to another country for work in this globalised, connected world should be looked at as an opportunity for personal and professional development - not as an unfortunate wrench from an ideal way of life in the homeland - as the Irish Times seems to insist it is. The myth of the Irish Diaspora is about as relevant these days as the myth of the wandering Tribes of Israel."

<<<

For all of those people who love cycling, here is a great post from an Australian cycling blog.

The Beauty of cycling

Every so often, I’ll ride a recreational group ride. I love the camaraderie of cyclists, the talk, the last minute pumps of air, the clicking in, and the easy drifting out as a peloton. “I miss riding in a group,” I’ll think to myself.

The magic ends by mile 10. The group will surge, gap, and separate, only to regroup at every stop sign. I’ll hear fifteen repeated screams of “HOLE!” for every minor road imperfection. And then no mention of the actual hole. Some guy in front will set a PB for his 30 second pull. Wheels overlap, brakes are tapped, and some guy in the back will go across the yellow line and speed past the peloton for no apparent reason. A breakaway?!

I curse under my breath, remembering why I always ride with only a few friends. Doesn’t anyone else realize how dangerous this ride is? How bad it is for our reputation on the road? There are clear rules of ride etiquette, safety, and common sense. Does anyone here know the rules? Who is in charge?

But no one is in charge, and the chaotic group has no idea of how to ride together. As a bike lawyer, I get the complaints from irritated drivers, concerned police, controversy-seeking journalists, and injured cyclists. It needs to get better, but the obstacles are real:

First, everyone is an expert these days. The internet and a power meter do not replace 50,000 miles of experience, but try telling that to a fit forty year-old, new to cycling, on a $5000 bike. Or, god forbid, a triathlete. No one wants to be told what to do.

Second, the more experienced riders just want to drop the others and not be bothered. It is all about the workout, the ego boost, or riding with a subset of friends. But a group ride is neither a race nor cycling Darwinism. As riders get better, they seek to distinguish themselves by riding faster on more trendy bikes; but as riders get better they need to realize two things: 1) there is always someone faster, and 2) they have obligations as leaders. Cycling is not a never ending ladder, each step aspiring upwards, casting aspersions down. It is a club, and we should want to expand and improve our membership.

Third, different rides are advertised by average speed, but speed is only one part of the equation. This approach makes speed the sole metric for judging a cyclist, and creates the false impression that a fit rider is a good one. Almost anyone can be somewhat fast on a bike, but few learn to be elegant, graceful cyclists.

Fourth, riding a bike well requires technique training. Good swimmers, for example, constantly work on form and drills; so should cyclists. Anyone remember the C.O.N.I. Manual or Eddie Borysewich’s book? They are out-of-print, but their traditional approach to bike technique should not be lost. More emphasis was given on fluid pedaling and bike handling.

Before the internet, before custom bikes, and before Lance, it was done better. Learning to ride was an apprenticeship. The goal was to become a member of the peloton, not merely a guy who is sort of fast on a bike. Membership was the point, not to be the local Cat. 5 champ. You were invited to go on group ride if you showed a interest and a willingness to learn. You were uninvited if you did not. You learned the skills from directly from the leader, who took an interest in riding next to you on your first rides (and not next to his friends, like better riders do today). Here is some of what you learned:

- To ride for months each year in the small ring.

- To take your cycling shorts off immediately after a ride.

- To start with a humble bike, probably used.

- To pull without surging.

- To run rotating pace line drills and flick others through.

- To form an echelon.

- To ride through the top of a climb.

- To hold your line in a corner.

- To stand up smoothly and not throw your bike back.

- To give the person ahead of you on a climb a little more room to stand up.

- To respect the yellow line rule.

- To point out significant road problems.

- To brake less, especially in a pace line.

- To follow the wheel in front and not overlap.

The ride leader and his lieutenants were serious about their roles, because the safety of the group depended on you, the weakest link. If you did not follow the rules, you were chastised. Harshly. If you did, you became a member of something spectacular. The Peloton.

<<<<<<

The sad reality of summer 2013 so far

Farmers queue for hay at the creamery. The line of farmers waiting to buy hay from France stretched all the way down The avenue on one day last week.

<<<<<<<

Remember this?

<<<<

Yesterday May 21 2013 we all shut up shop for a couple of hours.

The band played on

And we all became green clad cycling groupies.

I was there with my camera and  I will bring you the whole story in the next few days. But for today I  will just share the local story as shot by a real photographer, John Kelliher.

Eugene Moriarty and his dad  and our own local postmistress on the podium with the yellow jersey winner.