Listowel, Ireland's Tidiest Town 2018, Spoilt Rotten, Dancing in INEC and more photos from Listowel Races 2018

The last of the 2018 butterflies

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The Day after Listowel's Big Tidy Town Win

The sun was shining so I took the camera and off I went. Here are a few of today's snaps from Ireland's tidiest town

 In the Square I met some tourists and I dragooned them into posing on the Tidy Town seat. They knew about our win  and they had just arrived in town and were beginning to explore.

Our community fruit and nut garden was looking smashing.

Nearly warm enough for a picnic, if one had a picnic.

This is a tad worrying. This apple tree is in bud...in September!

This man who had come to pick up the branches of a fallen tree posed for me with these lovely roses.

He helped out this granny on a mission to collect conkers for her Cork grandchildren.

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Jack McKenna at 100

Family, friends, McKenna's retired and present staff, historians and  admirers came to the Kerry Writers' Centre in Listowel Town Square on Sept 19 for the launch of Spoil Rotten, the memoir of a local business man, pioneer and philanthropist who has reached the age of 100.

Did you know that this man gave the site for the restored Lartigue railway AND he gave €250,000 to set up the Lartigue Museum?  In keeping with this spirit of generosity to his native town, his family took on themselves all the publishing costs of his memoir with all the profits from the sale of the book going to Áras Mhuire, the local retirement home.

 On the night of the launch Jack McKenna  signed copies of the book and even took the microphone to thank us all for coming and to wonder what he had done to deserve such a turn out.

At the top table were Jimmy Deenihan whose Kerry Literary Trust published the book and who is a friend and admirer of Jack McKenna, Jack's daughter, Louise, who brought the whole project to fruition, continuing on a labour of love set in train by her late mother, and Fr. Anthony Gaughan who was the guest of honour who launched the book.

This book is an important piece of the jigsaw of Listowel's history.

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Learning from A Master

This photo was shared on Facebook by Scoil Realta na Maidine. These little boys are taking their first  lessons in Irish dancing from Jimmy Hickey.

Among them maybe there is a Justin Walsh or a Patrick O'Mahoney. Both these men are former pupils of Jimmy's and both have gone on to dance on the world stage.

As part of an ongoing project to produce a film documenting Jimmy Hickey's life in dancing, Jimmy went to the INEC to see his former pupil, Patrick O'Mahoney dance the lead role in Riverdance.

Before the show, Jimmy got to show Patrick and some of the troupe a step or two and both Patrick and Jimmy were delighted to dance together on the INEC stage.

Jimmy and Patrick dance together on the INEC stage, Killarney in September 2018

Jimmy teaches Patrick a few steps.

Members of the troupe, who were watching in the wings, join in for a lesson as well.

Patrick thanks his former teacher for dropping in to see him. There is a mutual respect between these two men, both masters of the dance .

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 The Colour and the Winners at Ladies Day 2018

Waiting for the results of the best dressed competition

The judges, Aoibhinn Garrihy and Marietta Doran, interviewed one another for a bit first.

Then it rained.

David Moran, Kerry footballer, picked the best dressed grooms.  This lovely lad came second and the  groom below won. He wore a suit he had bought for a wedding and very smart he looked too.

This lady came second in a dress her family didn't like but the judges loved. Her hat is by Aoife Hannon. I thought I was being a very clever photographer by photographing her face and keeping the full shot in someone's mobile phone in the picture. Didn't quite work.

I was too far away from the stage to get a full length shot of this second runner up but her hat was gorgeous .

And the winner is.....

And her prize is ...€3000 and this car for a year.

This is the winner from the back. I didn't actually get a good photo of her because I didn't think she would win. That's all I know about fashion!

Meanwhile the business of racing went on, Presentations were made in the parade ring, People watched the horses and the men had a chat.

Miss Ryan, Daniel O'Connell in Abbeyfeale and More from Listowel Races 2018

It's Official. Listowel is Ireland's Best Town 2018

It's been a massive community effort led by a brilliant Tidy Town Committee.
I have rarely seen people so proud of their town as Listowel people are.
Listowel is a beautiful town to call your native place and it's a beautiful town to blow in to.
We are so blessed!

Here are a few photos to celebrate our big win in the Super Valu Tidy Towns Competition 2018

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Do You Remember Miss Ryan?

One of my roving reporters ran into this lady on a trip to Galway. This is what he says about  her.

Miss Ryan of Waterford taught art in Listowel. Remembers well Mr Drummond, Mr Fitzgerald, Mary B's Hotel. Miss Moloney, Matt Mooney. She had also copper work, very much like Tony O'Callaghan's work, but had no name for its maker.

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 From Echoes of Abbeyfeale

A letter written by Daniel O’Connell in January 1836 to Mr. Leahy, The Square, Abbeyfeale reads as follows: 

Sir,
I will be at your house about two o’clock on Sunday – have four horses ready for me by two o’clock – take care that the drivers have mass. I will not arrive until after last mass and will not allow any man to drive me who miss mass. 

Truly Yours
Daniel O’Connell 

On November 4^th1 836, Daniel O’Connell had the services of a driver and four horses from Abbeyfeale to Newcastle. The four horses were Jack and Major, Nancy and Grey. O’Connell paid one pound and eight shillings for this service. His driver was paid seven shillings. We
are indebted to the owner of Leahy’s Inn for meticulous book-keeping. He was Mr. David D. Leahy, son to Daniel Leahy. In 1832, at Leahy’s Inn a gentleman got dinner for one shilling; lodging for one shilling; breakfast for one shilling and two pence; livery for two shillings and sixpence; oats and feed for horse eight pence; for the weary traveller a glass of punch cost two shillings.

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Friday Sept 14 2018

 Style and more from The Island

This is the colourful scene outside the Budweiser tent as the beautiful ladies wait for the tap on the shoulder to say you are in the top 10.

Fashion is a top to toe thing.

These three beautiful girls could have bagged the three young racers prizes but the lady in the middle had no hat and that's a requirement. As it was, her two friends caught the judges eye and were rewarded.

Some local men were a day late for the best dressed man competition but they posed with some local beauties anyway.

Those pheasant feathers are surely the work of our best known local milliner.

Good friends, Máire and Keelin were catching up and having a look at the fashion at the same time.

Oh, the stress!

Maud and Eleanor, like myself, chose a ringside seat.

Cliona caught up with her former teacher.

The O'Halloran family were enjoying a return to one of the haunts of their youth. Marie, on the far right, told me that she enjoys Listowel Connection in Sydney.

I was delighted to photograph these, my local friends. 

Bridget came from County Limerick for the day.

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Vincent Carmody Sheds Some Light on another photo

I don't think the photo was taken outside Buckley's ( It was known as Nora Lynch's). Sheamus Buckley would have been the photographer.The window is not right for Buckleys, they had a sectioned window, similar to what is there today, with a bar across the front for protection. It may have been Mary Ann Relihans' or else a bar downtown.

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This witty letter writer to The Irish Times seems to have got it right