Pride of Place judging 2015, Romance and e-cars

Autumn Sunset over Ballybunion

Photo; Ballybunion Prints

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Pride of Place in Listowel 2015

Here are some photos of the people who came to The Lartigue Museum on Tuesday Sept 1 2015 to participate in the Pride of Place presentation to the judges.

Pride of Place is a competition celebrating communities. Kerry County Council identifies worthy winners in several categories and then the judges come, look and listen and award the honours to the best community demonstrating pride in their home place. Listowel put on an excellent show for the judges and they certainly seemed well impressed.

The stationmaster and others involved with the Lartigue welcomed the judges and took them for a spin on the train.

Above are a selection of some of the business people of the town who showcased their work at the Lartigue Museum.

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The Gym is the new Dancehall

Once upon a time Listowel people after a week of hard work took their recreation on a Sunday night in Walshe's Ballroom. They kept fit by cycling or walking to the dance and dancing the night away to the music of a local band.

Today in the same location, it's the new craze, exercise machines or Zumba or some other artificial solitary workout. There is camaraderie but the live music and the the possibility of meeting a soulmate are gone.

Is this progress?

Walshe's Ballroom sounds to me like a better option than Tinder any day.

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A Face Lift for Flanagans

Flanagan's is another premises getting a facelift before The Races

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E car refuelling

I have never seen anyone using this. Have you?

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Scoil Realt na Maidine

The boys national school posted a picture of Garda Frank Stafford training their new wardens yesterday.

Listowel Marching Band, Pride of Place the town park and Pres. girls named

Kerry Fuscia in bloom

(photo: Elizabeth Brosnan)

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Listowel Marching Band

These photos were supplied to me by Betty Stack. They are from a Ballyheigue magazine in the eighties.

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Pride of Place 2015

Here are some of the people who were in The Lartigue Museum on Tuesday Sept 1 2015 for the Pride of Place judging.

Prestige Foods supply hotels with these yummy desserts.

Prestige Foods

John Cronin of Cronin's Cider  was giving out samples. It is delicious, fresh and refreshing. John promises that it will not give you a hangover as it is additive free. I'll certainly be buying it on the basis of my first sample.

Eabha Jones with their goodies .

Helen and Armel of Allos had a very appetizing looking array of food on display on their beautifully styled table, a feast for the eye as well as the belly.

If, as folk wisdom says,  the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I'd say Listowel certainly won the heart of the judges on Tuesday.

The minister was working so he declined to sample the cider. He stuck to tea.

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Scully's Corner

In the Town Park

Listowel Community Centre

These containers were covered in artistic graffiti. Maybe they will be again.

The playground and the Dandy Lodge in the background

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In the Small Square

In town last week I ran into my friend, Cathy Healy and I persuaded her to pose for a photo with Eamonn Sullivan.

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Mystery Solved….nearly

Eileen O'Sullivan remembers them all for it was her class. The photo which was given to me by Anne Dillon brought back happy memories to Eileen.

Here are the names as Eileen remembers them:

Carmel Moloney,  Marie Greaney,  Christina O Driscoll,  Majella Maher,  Mary O Donnell,  Maureen Aherne,  Eileen Lane,  Breda O Connor,  Marie Buckley,  June O Connor,  
Mary Moran,  Carmel Hennessey,  Teresa Lyons,  Muireann Moloney, 
Marian O Rourke Rip. Geraldine Buckley

Liz Chute and Breda Ferris got some, but not all of these;

Back: McCarthy sisters, Mary Lyons, Bernie MacAulliffe, Marie Daly, Veronica Lawlor R.I.P.

Middle; Carmel Guiney?

Front: Geraldine Dowling, Anne O'Donnell, Anne O'Connor and Catherine O'Keeffe

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Pattern Day in Ballyheigue 2015

Photo: Tadhg Horan

Pride of Place 2015, Ballincollig and Fleadh na Gael in Listowel in 1974

Pride of Place

On Sept 1st. 2015 the judging for this year's Pride of Place competition took place in Listowel.

The sun shone, Listowel put on its best dress, and the place never looked so good.

The business community, the volunteer community and clubs and associations went the extra mile to show the judges a taste of what happens in Listowel and how the local people engage with their town. I think the judges left impressed and, if Listowel does not win, it will be a travesty. I took photos in The Lartigue Museum and in the Seanchaí and I'm told that the display in The Family Resource Centre was excellent and showed the town in the very best light.

The judges were a husband and wife team. They took their job very seriously. They chatted to everyone, looked and admired everything on display and seemed genuinely impressed by everything that was going on in the town.

This is the judge alighting from one of Fitzpatrick's coaches which brought them from venue to venue.

 Jimmy Moloney and Mary Hanlon of Listowel Tidy Towns were bursting with pride in their place.

Jimmy Deenihan was on hand to welcome them to the Lartigue and to explain to them a bit about the project, its origins and how it runs today. 

Click on the link below to see the video Denis Carroll made of the event at The Lartigue.

Pride of Place 2015 by Fealegood

Tim O'Leary and Martin Griffin were ready to welcome the visitors.

 Two other visitors were watching the video prior to their trip on the train.

The Tuesday crew, driver, John MacAulliffe and guard, Junior Griffin, were on a tea break and chatting to Paddy Keane and John O'Connor.

The museum, as always. was looking in tip top shape and was of great interest to the two "ordinary" visitors who had travelled from Canada and were on a trip around the world looking at railways. They were very interested in all the doings of the railway and brought a knowledgeable eye to view the workings of the engine and the complicated changing of the rail so that the train could be turned.

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Music in the Community

Music in the Community is a great initiative to bring music into the lives of as many people as possible. I attended a great free open air concert in Ballincollig Regional Park  on Sunday August 30th 2015. The sun shone. The setting was ideal and we all had a great day. A bit like a free Electric Pixnic!

 This is a section of the crowd in the Regional Park for the free concert.

My family, plus newly acquired dog, Cappi, were there in force.

The marvelously energetic Jerry Fish was the headline act.

This is the queue for a crepe! The queue for coffee was longer.

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Fleadh na Gael in Listowel

A brochure from Betty Stack's collection of Comhaltas memorabilia.

This is a flavor of the brochure for Fleadh na Gael in Listowel in 1974

Some odds and ends for a Monday

Heather at Bromore Cliffs

(photo: Bromore Cliffs)

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Group of Listowel People

Has anyone any idea who, where, when or why?

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Can Bake; Will Bake

This is Adi Canty from Listowel, winner of one of the National Junior Baking Competition regional finals. The competition is sponsored by Aldi and is in association with Foróige and the National Ploughing Association.The qualifiers of The National Junior Baking Competition were held through Foróige youth clubs and projects nationwide. The National Semi Finals will be held on the 22nd and 23rd of September in the Aldi Marquee at the 2015 National Ploughing Championships Ratheniska, Co. Laois. Two people will be picked from each day and they will go head to head in the final on the 24th of September

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La Place

The new clothes shop in the Square has a name…La Place. 

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Back to Class at Listowel Family Centre

(Photo: Listowel FRC)

Above are some of the beautiful projects made by adult students in the Craft Textile class, run by the VEC in Listowel FRC.

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The countdown has begun

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Solidarity on the shore

This event was organized at short notice but it still made an impact. 

Here is what Lisa Fingleton posted on Facebook to accompany the photo by Rena Blake;

'Solidarity on the Shore' : A candlelight vigil to send light for safe passage and a better life for all refugees. 8pm Friday 4th September. Ladies beach, Ballybunion.What a powerful evening. Thank you to the sixty people who came to show solidarity with refugees on the shore in Ballybunion tonight. Don't forget to bring your clothes etc to Ballybunion Community Centre from 12 next Friday. Photo by Rena Blake"

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Under 10 Winners

Moyvane who won the U10 football competition in Listowel yesterday, Sept 6 2015.

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Winner Alright

I have been following here the fortunes of Sonny Bill, the horse owned by my brother and niece. Yesterday was his last show for this year. He won his class and was declared overall champion of the show in Bantry. What an achievement for a four year old in his first year showing.