William Street, Bridie Gallagher and The Armstrong family of Gurtinard House

Then and Now

William Street

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A Big Night in Town

Liam O'Hainín on Facebook

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North Kerry Sweet Factory

Dave O'Sullivan found this in the old newspapers

Before he opened the sweet factory and gave employment to so many "respectable girls' Mr. Armstrong had not been in favour with the local community. Before he bought Gurtinard House, he lived in it as a tenant of Lord Listowel. 

During his tenure he closed the demesne (now the town park) to the local people who during Lord Listowel's time were free to roam it at will.

The Armstrongs, a short time after opening the factory suffered a tragedy with the death from T.B. of Armstrongs young wife .

Dave discovered on Irishgenealogy.ie that Mrs Katherine Armstrong was only 38 when she died, and, contrary to what is stated in the newspaper, she is registered as having died in Dublin.

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Greenville, January 2019

Work has begun at this site on the Greenville Road.

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Listowel Man Features in Off The Scale, Ireland's Leading Angling Magazine

Fisheries Officer:  Darren Halpin

From:  Listowel, Co. Kerry

River Basin District (RBD):  Shannon River Basin District

How did you become a Fisheries Officer? 

I was always fishing as a young fella. My uncle was in fisheries for over 30 years so I was always intrigued about what he did. He was a good influence in my life and I followed his footsteps right into my career.

What does an average day look like?

I go into the office in the morning, meet the Assistant Inspector and go through any emails that have come through. Then we plan out our day and what we’re going to do – it might be a spawning patrol, estuary patrol or coastal patrol.

What is your favourite part of the job? 

There’s a lot to be said about getting up in the morning and wanting to go into work. You’re outdoors, out walking, you’re allowed work on your own initiative a lot of the time, too, which is great.

I’m interested in nature and wildlife. I love walking the banks of the rivers just to see the fish and wildlife along the river. There is such variety in the job – you could be doing boat patrols, estuary patrols, jet ski or kayak patrols. There is always something different.

What is the most challenging thing about the job?

Sometimes dealing with the public can be challenging. You could be dealing with a pollution incident on a farm – one farmer might be very accommodating and there is no issue and then another farmer could be argumentative or confrontational. You have to be able to handle that.

You do a lot of unsocial hours, too. But you get used to it.

What do you think are the most important skills needed for the job?

Communication skills are important. You are dealing with the public all the time. Every situation can be different – there are different ways in how you communicate and react to situations.

Teamwork is also a big thing, you are working as a team all the time so you need to be comfortable with that.

What would you say to someone considering a job in fisheries?

If you’re really into the outdoors and fishing, then it’s definitely the job for you. You will get as much out of it as you put in.

Source; Off the Scale Magazine online

Entente Florale 2019, Ballybunion, Juvenile tennis and All Night Dances

Our lovely town has been chosen to represent Ireland in the Entente Flotale competition.


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Listowel Juvenile Tennis in the 1980s

Photo: Danny Gordon

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David Browne's tribute to Ballybunion

Ballybunion yesterday

Billowing winds, skimming the surface of the dark gray sea.

Churning the water, forceful and wild.

A distant howling, the promise of an untethered force.

Swirling mute skies, the storm approaches.

Gathering pace, gathering noise.

Waves rising higher, crashing from their peak,

to the foamy wash below.

She will take no prisoner's, have no mercy.

Arc's of silver flash in the distance,

into the depth's of the angry sea.

A building crescendo of deep, growling,

closer, closer.

Mother nature, she reigns supreme,

ethereal, powerful, a universal queen.

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All Night Dances

Once upon a time there were dance halls at many cross roads. Also people held dances in their houses or barns and these were a place where young people met to meet the opposite sex.

The clergy had very ambivalent attitudes to these dances. They were a very useful means of fundraising for parish purposes like church upkeep and schools. On the other hand priests feared that these dances were "an occasion of sin."

Of course any dancing was 100% prohibited during Lent.

Here are a few extracts from newspaper reports.

Dance halls should be closed at 11pm at latest - otherwise, they (are) a menace to morality.” Bishop Patrick McKenna of Clogher didn’t mince his words.

All night dances, he said, were in direct opposition to the teaching of the church. “He was informed,” reads a report in The Irish Times in May 1935, “that young people left these halls at a late hour and went to lonely roads”.

“In this way, dance halls were conducive to temptation and were an occasion of sin. No all-night dances should be held, except with special permission of the parish priest,” said the bishop, speaking outside a confirmation in Bundoran, Co Donegal.

“He exhorted Catholics to put their heads together, and even if it meant monetary loss, to put a stop to the evil of all-night dances.”

It was the last time his name popped up in The Irish Times archive in the context of dance halls, but it wouldn’t be the last time clergymen in Irelandmade an opposition to late dances, or the granting of licences to hold dances at all.

The dance hall act of 1935 brought in rules for the running of dances under licence. Anyone could go to court to oppose the granting of the licence. This "anyone" was often the parish priest.

In a case at Listowel in September, 1936, frequent opposer Fr Browne suggested dances only be held from 6pm until 9pm.

“Dance Halls in England closed at 11pm, and apart from the question of morality, people could not work properly if they were dancing all night,” he reasoned, according to an Irish Times report.

The priest was wary, in particular, of outsiders – “devils”, as he saw them.

“Persons who came to these dances from outside towns in motor cars were scoundrels of the lowest type, and were devils incarnate,” he said.

There was absolutely no need for all-night dances in country places, and there was only one way to deal with them, as the soupers were dealt with in the olden times - by excommunication. Dance halls were the curse and ruin of the country, and when the people were being demoralised the end is near, and so is the anger of God.”

“Man is a sociable animal,” the judge replied, “and he must find some sort of reasonable satisfaction for his social appetite.” The judge granted the dances until 10pm, but bowed to the priest’s demand that nobody from outside a three mile radius be allowed attend.

At Listowel District Court in November 1936, Fr Browne makes yet another appearance, this time alleging that one dance hall proprietor had no care for the “lives and morals” of the attendees. “There were human vultures coming in motor cars to these halls from outside places,” he said, reiterating his hatred of outsiders.

“They sometimes visited more than one hall and after the dance spent their time with servant girls and farmers’ daughters.”

The priest said he “read a report from Liverpool society for prevention of international traffic in women and children, which stated that Irish girls went over to Liverpool, hoping to find work, some with only the clothes they wear. They might as well face the facts that through the dance hall and bar regulations these girls had been made familiar with vice.”

As long as dance halls were given late licences, he said, parents were helpless in preventing this “degradation”.

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Yee Haw!

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I Inspired a Letter to the Irish Times

Juvenile Tennis in the 1980s, Frank Greaney's Garage and 1975 pantomime

The Dandy Lodge in Listowel Town Park in January 2019

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 Juvenile Tennis Players 

Photo: Danny Gordon

Do you spot yourself in this photo?

Do you remember that day or other great days on the tennis courts?

We'd love to hear from you.

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Frank Greaney's Garage

Frank and Jim R.I.P. were great mechanics. Their love of cars and their knowledge of how they worked saw them offer a great service to us in Listowel for many years.
I don't think today's computerised everything would be able to diagnose what needed to be done to this car.

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The Panto, The Old Folks Home and the Day Centre

Dave O'Sullivan found this great photo of the cast of the 1975 pantomime. There are only a few names. Please tell us who the others are.

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Yes, he is Irish and Proud of his Roots

My U.S. followers will immediately recognise this colourful New England Patriot. He is quarterback ,Tom Brady and he was one of the stars of Sunday evening's victory which sees his team into the Super Bowl.

Brady's Irish roots are in Cork {maternal) and Cavan (paternal) 

Listowel supplement to Kerryman 1994, fundraising for the day centre and some tennis children of the eighties

The Square, Listowel on a quiet Sunday morning in January 2019

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From the Magazine of the Kerry Historical Society

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The Kerryman 1994

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Blessing and Opening of St. Vincent de Paul Day Centre

Dave O'Sullivan researched the back story for us. The centre was opened on September 8 1975. Before it could open though there had to be some fund raising. People came up with a few novel ideas.

It sounds like a great show.

I wonder did the diaspora help out?

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Listowel Juvenile Tennis Players

late 1980s

Photo: Danny Gordon

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Oh dear!

This is a very sad picture of Irish nurses in Australia supporting their Irish colleagues in their fight for better work conditions. With temperatures in the forties these days I'm sure many of them would long for a return to more temperate climes.

Ballybunion Sea Rescue, Kerryman 1994 and Listowel Juvenile Tennis in the 1980's

The Presbytery, Listowel in January 2019

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Kerryman Christmas Supplement 1994

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Watch, for you know not the hour

Ballybunion Sea Res cue posted this picture and the accompanying story on their blog;

Today we were honored to accept a cheque from Lorenzo Cubeddu, his wife Amanda, Cormac and Elaine Cahill and the amazing staff at Super Valu Ballybunion. The staff raised 250 Euro which was matched by Cormac and Elaine for a total of 500 Euro for Ballybunion Sea Rescue.

This donation comes after Lorenzo went missing at sea on the 11th of November 2018. Lorenzo was windsurfing when he got into difficulty, he had last been seen by local fisherman, Mike Enright at around 16:30 and reported overdue around 17:10 which triggered a major search operation involving Ballybunion Sea Rescue, Ballybunion Coast Guard, RNLI units from Fenit and Kilrush, the Irish Navy Vessel LE Niamh, Rescue 115, Ballybunion Fire Service and Gardai. The search ended at 23:20 when it was confirmed Lorenzo made it ashore at Corlis Point.

It is a tale of strength and endurance and thankfully it had a fantastic result, Lorenzo returned safely to his family and friends. From then on we have seen an outpour of support from Lorenzo and Amanda and their friends and especially Cormac and Elaine Cahill who on that very night were a rock to Amanda and a huge support to all emergency services involved.

We thank you all for your continuing kindness, generosity, and support!

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Listowel Juvenile Tennis Club

Sometime in the late 1980s

Photo: Danny Gordon

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Listowel's Christmas Goal Mile 2018

These are some of the large group of hardy souls who took part in the Goal mile at Christmas 2018. Jimmy Deenihan tells me that they had participants from the USA, UK and various European countries as well as Ireland.

They raised €1,200 for Goal

Asdee, The Rise of Coffee Culture and Listowel Revisited

Asdee church is a lovely intimate, beautifully kept place of worship. I was lucky enough to be there on Jan 1 2019 for a beautiful wedding ceremony.

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The New Irish Pub Culture

Changes in the laws around driving have driven Irish men out of the pub as their favoured meeting place. Young people had already abandoned the pub for house parties and the gym.

According to an article I read recently, the coffee shop is the new pub. People are meeting with groups of friends in coffee shops and cafes and a whole generation is growing up having a favourite coffee rather than a favourite beer.

Supermarkets used to have a holder for your shopping list. Now they have a holder for your coffee cup.

Listowel, as usual, is ahead of the curve. Long before it was a "thing",  Danny Hannon, Jed Chute and friends were meeting in The Listowel Arms for a coffee in order to chew the fat and set the world to rights.

I interrupted them last week at their morning chin wag.

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Reconnecting

I took this photograph last week as Patricia Gordon renewed acquaintance with Judy MacMahon and other people she knew in Listowel when she lived here 24 years ago.

This is how we in Listowel remember Patricia.

The reason I have a 24 year old photo of her is because part of the purpose of her visit was to bring me photos taken by her husband, Danny, when they lived in town and he was a member of the camera club.

I will be sharing these photos with you in the coming weeks.

I photographed Patricia outside Jackie McGillicuddy's shop because that was the very place where she was a victim of crime .

Twenty five years ago she stopped outside McGillicuddy's and ran in to buy a card. She left the keys in the car because back then there was very little crime in Listowel and she felt safe to pop into a shop for 5 minutes.

But a opportunistic  car thief who happened to be in town on that day saw the "gift horse" outside the toyshop and couldn't resist the temptation.

Patricia emerged from the shop to find her car gone. Her first thought was that someone who knew her had taken it to for a prank. She went around to Church Street to find it. When she still hadn't seen it by the time she got to the Garda Station she realised that maybe it was actually stolen. She went into the station where she met Sgt. Tim O'Leary. He made  phonecalls to Tarbert, Moyvane, Ballybunion and other garda stations around about. A keen eyed Garda spotted the car in Tarbert, the thief was arrested and the car returned.

Subsequently Patricia had to appear in court and she was reprimanded by the judge for practically putting a sign saying "Take me"  on her car. 
I noticed when I met her last week she observed all the safety precautions, putting bags and valuables in the boot and locking the car. She now lives in Limerick.

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From The Kerryman of 1994

RTE DJs, The Armstrongs of Gurtinard House, Rev. Robert Ronayne and Writers Week at The Rose Hotel

The Base at Listowel Community Centre in 2019

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This Rte Guide cover from 1984 appeared on Twitter to mark Larry Gogan's move to RTE Gold. Can you name all the Radio 2 DJs? I can't.

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Old Photo of Gurtinard House

This house which is now a guesthouse was once owned by the Armstrong family who ran the sweet factory by the river.

Patrick McCrea who is the grandson of the Armstrongs who lived here sent us this photo of the house and the following photo of his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong of Gurtinard House, Listowel.

This is an old postcard with the sweet factory on the right.

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An illustrious Corkman who married into the Sandes family

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Great New Initiative by Listowel Writers' Week