My Jimdo Geocities Lifeboat
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FIRE: "It is Chile as a whole that suffers and mourns our dead," Boric said in a televised speech to the nation. "We are facing a tragedy of very great magnitude."
Deputy Interior Minister Manuel Monsalve on Sunday said 165 fires raged across Chile and estimated about 14,000 homes have been damaged in the Vina del Mar and Quilpué areas alone.
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CANADA: The flight from truth makes true Reconciliation impossible. Why will Canadians want to extend the hand of friendship to Indigenous people who continue to call them criminals and murderers? Why will Indigenous people want to engage in mutual cooperation with people whom they have been led to regard as criminals and murderers?
Getting beyond the “Grave Error” and recovering a more balanced picture of residential schools is the only road to genuine Reconciliation.
This excellent collection of first rate articles is the place to start.
https://tnc.news/grave-error1/
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NATIVE Children Canada; The German pastor, theologian, and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer reportedly said that “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
From the middle of the 1930s, Bonhoeffer was trying to wake the German Lutheran Church to the impending crisis that eventually resulted in the Holocaust. In fact, he spent his last couple of years trying to bring the German church to oppose the genocide. Bonhoeffer was hung by the Nazis about a month before the war ended.
Is Bonhoeffer’s warning relevant to Canada?
Many Canadians seem to believe that employees of the churches that managed most of the Indian Residential Schools (IRS) engaged in genocide against Indigenous children.
The Chief Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), Justice Murray Sinclair, told host Matt Galloway on the CBC radio program The Current that between 15,000 and 25,000 Indigenous children are missing from these schools. In Justice Sinclair’s mind, a genocide had taken place.
Even more damning, the House of Commons, including members of all political parties, passed a motion by NDP MP Leah Gazan that claimed that the IRS system was a genocide against Indigenous children.
No evidence was presented, but the motion passed unanimously without debate.
https://tnc.news/2024/02/01/op-ed-church-false-residential-school-claims/
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The Dublin Book Festival has announced its biggest programme to date ahead of its return this November.
Dublin Book Festival 2023 will run across five days from 8-12 November, with events taking place at Printworks at Dublin Castle and a number of partner venues, including the National Library of Ireland, the National Botanic Gardens, 1WML, Glass Mask Theatre, the Wild Duck, and the Royal Irish Academy.
https://dublinbookfestival.com/
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As a young man, Jack London joined the crew of a schooner bound for seal hunting in the Pacific.
When his ship pulled into port in the Bonin Islands, Jack gazed with wonder upon the jungle-covered volcanic peaks and breathed in the exotic scent of the tropics. “It was my first foreign land,” he remembered. “I had won to the other side of the world, and I would see all I had read in the books come true. I was wild to get ashore.”
Jack and his best mates spotted “a pathway that disappeared up a wild canyon, emerged on a steep, bare lava-slope, and thereafter appeared and disappeared, ever climbing, among the palms and flowers.” The men were stirred to follow the trail, sure they’d discover “beautiful scenery, and strange native villages, and find Heaven alone knew what adventure at the end.”
But as they disembarked, they came first to the island’s pier, where other sailors were partying. Jack’s companions suggested they have a drink before starting on their hike, and London acquiesced.
Jack made it no further ashore. He ended up spending the entirety of his leave at “a drinking-place which was very like a drinking-place at home or anywhere else over the world.”
Many of us get stuck in a similar “tourist trap” — both literally, and figuratively.
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By Hannah Brockhaus
Lisbon, Portugal, Aug 6, 2023 / 03:35 am
The next World Youth Day will be held in Seoul, South Korea, in 2027, Pope Francis announced at the conclusion of the final Mass of World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal.
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1769. Seizure by Customs of 42 Casks of Leaf Tobacco on Bere Island. Lodged in his Majesties Stores in Skibbereen.
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Dr. John O’Donovan L.L.D., The O’Daly Family (Bards Muintervara) 1852, Extract
https://durrushistory.com/category/odalys-bardic-family/
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Poetry
A Poignant Poem of Family Love
The Week After St Patrick’s
John McGrath
The week after St Patrick’s, my mother
pressed his suit and packed his case,
drove him to the station for the early train
from Ballyhaunis to the crowded boat,
then on to Manchester and solitude
until All Souls came slowly round again.
I don’t remember ever saying Goodbye.
At seventeen I took the train myself
and saw first-hand my father’s box-room life,
the Woodbines by his shabby single bed.
I don’t remember ever saying Hello,
just sat beside this stranger in the gloom
and talked of home and life, and all the while
I wanted to be gone, get on with mine.
Westerns and The Western kept him sane,
newspapers from home until the time
to take the train came slowly round once more.
Lost in Louis L’Amour, he seldom heard
the toilet’s ugly flush, the gurgling bath
next door. Zane Grey dulled the traffic’s
angry roar outside his grimy window.
Back home the year before he died we spoke
at last as equals, smoked our cigarettes,
his a Woodbine still, and mine a tipped.
My mother would have killed us if she’d known.
The phone call came as winter turned to spring.
I stood beside him, touched his face of ice
and knew our last Hello had been Goodbye.
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Story from Mark Holan’s Irish American Blog
Civil War Toll on The Lartigue
Mark Holan
Anti-government forces in the Irish Civil War attacked the Listowel and Ballybunion Railway several times in early 1923. Damage to the rolling stock and stations of the 9-mile monorail between the two Kerry towns, and the impracticalities of operating such a unique line in the newly consolidated Irish rail system, forced its permanent closure in October 1924.
Passengers and mail on the LBR had been targeted by Irish republican forces during the Irish War of Independence, 1919-1921. In January 1923, during the civil war, armed men forced the Ballybunion stationmaster to open the line’s office, goods store, and waiting room, which they doused with petrol and paraffin oil and set on fire. Within an hour a similar attack occurred at the Lisselton station, about halfway between the two terminuses.
Such destruction is generally attributed to the IRA forces opposed to the Irish Free State. These “irregulars” also cut down about 1,700 yards of telegraph wire and six poles between Listowel and Ballybunion, matching attacks along other Irish rail routes.
Nicknamed the Lartigue after inventor Charles Lartigue, the monorail was “suspended indefinitely” in early February 1923 due to the sabotage. Nearly 40 employees lost their jobs, impacting about 100 family members and ancillary businesses.
With the train out of service, a char-a-banc and motor car service began operating between the two towns, but it also came under attack in March.Once the civil war ended later that spring, the Lartigue was repaired in time for the busy summer season at Ballybunion, a seaside resort. By mid-July, the Freeman’s Journal reported the Lartigue “has already, particularly on Sundays, been taxed to almost its fullest capacity in the conveyance of visitors.”
Like the Lartigue, however, the national newspaper also would have its run ended in 1924.
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An Díseart
An Díseart acts as the centre for a lively community giving expression to and promoting Celtic Culture and Spirituality as an integral part of our local heritage.
Housed in the former Presentation Convent premises in Dingle/Daingean Uí Chúis. Founded in 1998, An Díseart developed as a centre for research into all areas of Irish Spirituality and Celtic Culture including theology, language, literature, art, laws, folklore, values, spirituality, history, music, archaeology and customs led by the late Msgr Padraig Ó Fiannachta and associated with his valuable collection of manuscripts and books now housed in the Dingle Library.
Located in this peaceful haven on Green Street, Dingle, An Díseart occupies a neo-gothic building designed by JJ McCarthy. Described as “breathtaking”, “magnificent” and “a national treasure”, by some of its visitors, the building is home to a beautifully proportioned chapel in which can be found twelve lancet windows created in 1924 by one of the foremost stained glass artists of all time, Harry Clarke. The windows, along with the tranquil walled gardens, first laid out in 1849, have become a popular attraction for the many visitors in Dingle.
https://dinglefilmfest.com/venues/
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BOOK: The 10 Critical Laws of Relationship
The 10 Critical Laws of Relationship- By Robb D. Thompson
Have questions about your future? The relationships you keep hold the answer to where you’re going. This faith-based read explores how to better connect with those in your life so you can open the door to your God-given purpose. Christian Nonfiction- £0.99 £11.39
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Cave Drawing
Burhan and his team began to explore the caves in the area and, a few days later, he entered one of them alone. Burhan glanced up and saw a painting of a familiar animal: a Sulawesi warty pig, a medium-sized, hairy boar with small pointy ears and short legs. Burhan had grown up with just this sort of wild pig, which is relatively common on Sulawesi, and which Burhan described to me, laughing, as a crop-destroying nuisance, akin to “a plant disease.” Gazing with recognition at this pig, Burhan also noticed the painted silhouettes of two human hands toward its rear. The over-all look of the art work suggested to Burhan that it was very old—but how old?
Thus began a long process of trying to give the cave art a proper date. Experts were brought in from Griffith. Maxime Aubert, an archeologist and geochemist, decided to use a method called uranium-series dating. He removed some of the calcite on the surface of the painting, which archeologists sometimes call “cave popcorn,” and then analyzed it. Anything under the calcite layer had to be at least as old as what was on the surface.
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Faith and Fury The Evangelical Campaign in Dingle and West Kerry 1825-45 is published by WordwellBooks.com and is also available from all good local booksellers, including in-person or online at Dingle Bookshop.
Bryan Mac Mahon’s previous books include The Great Famine in Tralee and North Kerry (2017) and Ascend or Die: Richard Crosbie, Pioneer of Balloon Flight (2010). He has a particular interest in the history of his native Co. Kerry and has published articles in a range of historical journals including History Ireland, The Irish Sword, The Kerry Magazine and Journal of the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society.
https://mykerryancestors.com/faith-fury-dingle-west-kerry-1825-1845/
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North Kerry Literary Trust recently launched history of the Earls of Kerry
The Book on the Fitzmaurice Family was compiled by Kay Caball
Jimmy Deenihan said the Trust was 'delighted' to publish Kay's work. "Evidence of the physical impact of the Fitzmaurices is dotted across the North Kerry landscape, including Ardfert Friary, Listowel Castle, Ballybunion Castle, Ballymacaquim Castle, Rathoneen Castle, the Hermitage in Lixnaw, and what was once the jewel in the crown, the Old Court in Lixnaw," Jimmy explained in his foreword to the history.
"The Fitzmaurices also influenced the future literary and cultural landscape of North Kerry, through their role as patrons of the arts...The Fall of the Fitzmaurices covers the period from 1697 to 1818, spanning the lordships and earldoms of Thomas, William and Francis Fitzmaurice. It describes the grandeur of the Old Court during the time of Tomas Fitzmaurice and Anne Petty, while also explaining the background and context to the scene of desolation described by English writer Arthur Young when he visited Lixnaw in 1776, after Francis the 3rd Earl of Kerry abandoned the Old Court.
"In addition to providing an exhaustive historical analysis of this essential aspect of Kerry and Ireland's history, Kay Caball also succeeds in giving the reader an insight into the excesses enjoyed by society's upper classes during this period, whether it be in Dublin, London, Paris or Lixnaw. While researching The Fall of the Fitzmaurices, Kay consulted a wide variety of sources, including the correspondence between Francis and his land-agent, Christopher Julian. Housed in the Archives Nationales in Paris, these letters provide a unique window into the socio-economic conditions prevailing in North Kerry at this time. The relevance of these letters as primary source material adds greatly to the importance of Kay Caball's book," Jimmy wrote, adding:
"Our hope is that this book ... will encourage more academic research into one of Ireland's oldest families and their period of dominance in North Kerry."
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In 1954 Dorothea Lange travelled to Ireland with her son Daniel Dixon to make photographs for an article that was published the following year in Life as "Irish Country People." The trip and article were prompted by her close reading of a 1937 by the Harvard anthropologist Conrad M. Arensberg, who collected six lectures under the title The Irish Countryman. Arensberg based his findings on time spent in the village of Luogh in County Clare. The four aspects of Ireland that interested Arensberg, the anthropologist, probably motivated Dorothea Lange, the longtime observer of human behavior, to propose the photographic project to Life as something the public would enjoy. It was first of all an ancient land that possessed the remains of the Celtic world and continued to practice old ways. It was known as the "land of the devout," with religious belief an important part of daily existence. It was also a place where life was hard, arduous work was necessary, and bleak realities had to be faced. This aspect, in combination with the wit and good nature that existed in spite of it, may have been what inspired Lange's best pictures and made her time there satisfying. During her two months in Ireland, Lange photographed in Ennis, the seat of County Clare, as well as in the countryside.
Adapted from Judith Keller, Dorothea Lange, In Focus: Photographs from the J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2002), p. 70 and 72. © 2002 J. Paul Getty Trust.
An illuminated manuscript is a book written and decorated completely by hand. Illuminated manuscripts were among the most precious objects produced in the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, primarily in monasteries and courts. Society's rulers--emperors, kings, dukes, cardinals, and bishops--commissioned the most splendid manuscripts.
https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/
BOOK: Black Abolitionists in Ireland – Book Launch – Wednesday, 28 October, 6pm. Celebrating the launch of Professor Christine Kinealy's new book Black Abolitionists in Ireland, celebrating the 175th anniversary of Douglass's historic Irish visit.
WORKHOUSE: Bridget (Biddy) Ryan who gave her address on arrival in Sydney as ‘Bruff’ is one of the intriguing stories of the Earl Grey Orphans and one we have not solved entirely.
When Bridget was originally ‘selected’ by Lieutenant Henry in Listowel Workhouse, her address on the Minutes of the Board of Guardians, on 11 September 1849 was ‘Listowel’. However, when she arrived in Sydney on the Thomas Arbuthnot on 3 February, she declared her native place as Bruff, Limerick, age as 16, her parents as Anthony and Johanna, and that her father (a Soldier) was living in Sydney. She was able to read and write. It was noted ‘State of Health, strength and probable usefulness: Poor’. https://mykerryancestors.com/the-kerry-girls-earl-grey-famine-scheme/
Crowned Cousins
By Alan Palmer
The British and the Germans share a long history of connection — from 1714 to 1760 and 1837 to 1901, their heritage and interests were bound through marriage and bloodlines. Explore the Anglo-German dynastic relationship in this fascinating account.
Assault from the Sea: 1939–1945
By J D Ladd
British and American forces had to master amphibious warfare during World War II. This definitive account details how the Allies combined sea, air, and land power in critical operations like those at Normandy and Okinawa.
History
£0.99 £2.99
Amazon
Presidents in Crisis
Presidents in Crisis
By Michael K. Bohn
Many US presidents have had their leadership tested by high-stakes international emergencies. A former director of the White House Situation Room explores some of these pivotal moments in a fascinating study.
History
The Dutch House
The Dutch House
By Ann Patchett
In this Sunday Times bestseller with over 65,000 five-star Goodreads ratings, siblings Danny and Maeve grapple with their pasts and futures as decades go by. “Patchett leads us to a truth that feels like life rather than literature” (The Guardian).
Bestsellers, Women's Fiction, Literary Fiction
People Can’t Drive You Crazy If You Don’t Give Them the Keys
By Dr. Mike Bechtle
How do we handle those difficult people in our lives while maintaining our own sanity? An acclaimed communications expert offers simple and uplifting solutions from a Christian perspective
Hiroshima Maidens
By Rodney Barker
After the devastation at Hiroshima, 25 injured Japanese women came to America for reconstructive surgery. This extraordinary story of how they rebuilt their lives is “beguiling… Evokes a range of human emotions” (The New York Times)
The Outrageous Queens
By Marc Alexander
Discover some of history’s most infamous queens who ruled through intrigue, intelligence, and military might. Covering notable leaders from Boudicca to Caroline of Brunswick, this book shares the stories of women whose wits and wiles changed the world
How the Irish Won the American Revolution
By Phillip Thomas Tucker
This fresh look at the American Revolution focuses on the forgotten Irish soldiers who may have comprised at least 40 percent of Washington’s army. A fascinating historical exploration!
Life on the Death Railway
By Stuart Young
While being held as a prisoner of war — first at the infamous Changi camp and later at one of the Death Railway camps — British soldier Stuart Young endured horrifying conditions and brutal abuse. This memoir chronicles his harrowing captivity and the comradeship experienced among prisoners.
Ballydonoghue/ Lisselton check Kman 11 Oct 1991.
FRIDAY night was a historic night for the local pioneer centre, when they launched their first ever Pioneer Parish Magazine in style at the Castle Hotel, Ballybunion. The 250 plus crowd which attended were the true supporters of the local Pioneer Centre. The attendance of Dick Spring, Ned O'Sullivan and Jimmy Deenihan added to the occasion. The book was launched by Mr. Bob Daughton of Dromerin and he praised the hard work of the book committee. Dick Spring and Ned O'Sullivan spoke proudly of the work being achieved by the Ballydonoghue organisation. Ned staled that Ballydonoghue through the talent shows has been put on the map right around the world. Ned also stated that it was one of the finest magazines he had ever seen. Dick Spring started by saying he was not present at Dr. Garret FiizGerald's launch the night previous but was proud to accept the kind invitation from the Ballydonoghue Pioneers. He praised the work being achieved by the local Pioneers and knew of the success which has been achieved. He recommended the magazine to everyone at home and abroad. Sarah Buckley, the editor, was presented with flowers as a thank you gesture from the pioneers. After all speeches were over the chairman Mr. Ned Joe Kennelly cut the cake which was presented in book style. Presentations were then made to Bridget Kennelly, Denzie Collins and John Paul McMahon for 50 years’ service to the local Pioneers. After all this a buffet dinner was available for all invited guests. Dancing continued into the early hours of Saturday morning. It was a night that the local pioneers can be very proud of. Mr. Maurice O'Mahony must be congratulated on the work which went into the presentation of the speeches. Maurice was the presenter and carried out his task very professionally.
The Castle Hotel must be also be complimented.
A special thank you to all speakers and lo all invited guests who attended in support of the Pioneers
Listowel Connection
The MacSweeney family, Librarians
A while back we were talking about Listowel library. I received an email from Billy MacSweeney outlining his families long association with the library;
"Vincent is correct about the Carnegie Library. The original Carnegie
Library in Listowel was where Mick ("Four Goals") Barrett has his Tyre
Centre on Bridge Road. In my youth it was a shell. I was told that my
Grandmother Annie (nee Carmody) Gleeson was the first Librarian,
followed for a short time by her daughter Jo and then by my mother
Maisie (nee Gleeson) McSweeney, each of whom did some training in
Trinity College. The Library burned down but I have no further
information. The next Carnegie Library at the top of Church St was built
sometime before 1940. My mother was the Librarian there until she
retired; each of my brothers and sisters acted as unofficial librarians
in their turn as we grew up. It was a great education for us."
From Laois to Kerry by Michael Christopher Keane
(Beechgrove, Ovens, Cork
€20 + P&P; contact: mjagkeane@gmail.com).
J. Anthony Gaughan
This little book falls into two parts. The first deals with the Laois origins and continuing presence in Kerry of the Moores, Kellys, Dowlings, Lawlors, Dorans, Dees, and McEvoys. The second part records the remarkable lives of their transplanter and landlord Patrick Crosbie and his successor Sir Pierce Crosbie,
The above surnames are among the most popular family names in North Kerry at present. The ancestors of those people once resided in what is now known as Co Laois. This is an account of why and how they were transplanted to Kerry by Patrick Crosbie in 1607-9.
The surnames belonged to members of the Seven Septs (clans) of the O’Moore territory. In the early seventeenth century they opposed attempts by the English to pacify the midlands. Eventually they were vanquished and their leader, Owny Rory O’Moore, was killed in battle.
The authorities in London decided to expel the Seven Septs from their ancestral lands and replace them with loyalist settlers. Land was available in Kerry following the ethnic cleansing of Munster during the Elizabethan-Desmond war. Patrick Crosbie, who already had extensive landholdings, was given a grant of some 25,000 acres in North Kerry and undertook to settle the O’Moore Septs as tenant farmers on his new acquisition.
Michael Keane, himself a descendant of one of the Septs, traces the continuing strong presence of the Laois Sept descendants in Kerry through the centuries down to the present day.
He also records that some members of the Seven Septs were able to avoid the transplantation by taking refuge in forests and other inaccessible places. In addition some of the original transplantees, despite a sentence of death being imposed on those who returned, found their way back to their ancestral lands. Hence the prevalence of their surnames also in Co Laois today.
In part II the author provides detailed profiles of Patrick Crosbie (d. 1610) and his son Sir Pierce Crosbie (1590 -1646). Patrick Crosbie also known as Patrick MacCrossan belonged to a family who were rhymers to the O’Moore chiefs. This, Keane points out, is the generally accepted view of post-1922 historians. In so doing he makes some insightful comments on the claims of historical revisionism.
Patrick Crosbie was better than most other people at weaving his way through the corrupt and Machiavellian politics of his time. From the 1580s onwards he was a trusted English ally for which he received grants of extensive landholdings in Queens County (now Laois) and Kerry.
Commander
Sir Pierce Crosbie inherited Tarbert along with extensive land and properties in North Kerry and Laois following the death of his father in 1610. He was close to the royal court, where he acted first as cupbearer and then gentleman to the king’s chambers. A member of the Irish Parliament and of the Privy Council, he was also a distinguished military commander and was involved in successful campaigns on the continent. After crossing swords with Thomas Wentworth, the Lord Deputy, he found himself in jail. However, following Wentworth’s execution for treason, he soon regained his standing at the royal court.
Despite the dominance of the Protestant religion and the advantages of subscribing to it, Pierce appears to have remained a Catholic throughout his life and had a prominent role in the Catholic Confederacy in his later years. When he died in 1646, the Crosbie legacy in Kerry was assured. By virtue of their extensive landholdings the family was to dominate the local politics and society of the county for the next three hundred years.
This study of the Crosbies and their tenants from Co Laois is a valuable contribution to the local history of North Kerry, and will be of particular interest to those bearing the surnames of the Seven Septs of the O’Moore county.
“PLAY THE CARDS YOUR DEALT” by local man Gerard Mulvihill further copies have been printed and are available from Woulfe & Flavin bookshops. Proceeds to Enable Ireland.
NEW BOOK – Christopher Keane, Tarbert and Cork has written a very interesting book “From Laois to Kerry” a detailed account of the transplantation of the Moores, Kellys, Dowlings, Lawlors, Dorans, Dees and McEvoys to Tarbert in 1607 and the continuing presence of these surnames in North Kerry and West Limerick to the present day.
BOOKLET: Nesta FitzGerald, daughter of the late Knight of Glin, and Declan Downey, Tarbert and UCD, have launched a booklet on “An Architectural Tour of County Limerick.
BOOK: As A Matter of Fact by Eamon O’Riordan, was launched by Councillor Jerome Scanlon in Castlemahon Community Hall on Wednesday August 3rd. The book is a compilation of stories written by his father, the late Michael O’Riordan from Feohanagh, who was the parish correspondent for the local Weekly Observer/Vale Star newspapers.
From Listowel Blog
This dance, known as a wireless ball coupled with a fancy dress parade, was held also in the Gymnasium on Saturday March 1st 1924 .
The committee listed are as follows;
President; Mr Seamus Wilmot;
Hon Sec; Mr. P.V. Fahey;
Hon. Treas; Mr. R.I. Cuthbertson
Committee; Messer’s C.Tackberry, M.Hannon, T.Moore, J.Farrell, M.Naylor, J.O’Sullivan, J.Medell, J.Walsh and T.P. Cotter.
It is interesting to note the data on this card such as the admission price where the men had to pay an old shilling more than the ladies, 8/6 pence compared to 7/6 pence.
There is nice line stating that “Mr. Dunne’s Orchestra is personally conducted”
The back page gives information on the Wireless Concert
It states that “Subscribers will be entertained to a programme Broadcasted from the following stations; London; Paris; Bournemouth; Manchester and Glasgow.
Detailed Programme can be seen in the Irish Independent of Saturday March 1st.
The set is fitted with the latest and most up-to-date-Loud Speaker”
From Listowel Blog
Maurice O'Mahony launched his memoir and history of the school where he has been principal since 1973. When he took to the stage in St. John's on March 5 2016 the tale he had to tell was an extraordinary one.
Maurice came to the school in 1973, aged 20 years. He must have been one of the youngest principals in the country at the time. When he came, Coolard had no running water, no electricity and no telephone. It must have felt more like 1873.
Maurice is still at the helm today and the school has all the modern trappings, internet, white boards, SNAs, a secretary etc., etc.
When the principal of his old school, Ballydonoghue rang him one day to ask him for the names of all the teachers who had taught in Coolard, he undertook a search and discovered that, while all the pupils names were recorded, some of the teachers' names were in danger of being forgotten. Thus began the long years of research to gather together as comprehensive a history of the school as possible. The culmination of that research is a magnificent magnum opus which will be treasured by local historians and everyone who has a link with the school.
The school has been through many trials and strifes and has seen much success, Thankfully we rarely hear about school boycotts nowadays but Coolard had one in its history and it lasted for 15 months. It is not as famous as the boycott in Drimoleague which is still not talked about to this day. It had at its heart though the same cause, i.e. the appointment of a principal. You can read all about Coolard's strike in Maurice's book.
The local community has resisted any efforts to amalgamate their school with the other Primary school in the parish and under Maurice's stewardship it has gone from strength to strength.
I'd advise you to go out and buy yourself a copy of A History of Coolard School 1846 to 2016. It will soon be a collector's item. An interesting feature of the book is that it contains the name of every pupil who was ever on the roll there.
BOOKS
TEAMPALL Ban, Aspects of the Famine in North Kerry 1845/52, by John Pierse gives us a great insight into the famine period.
The book contains 282 pages with details and pictures of Listowel and district. John began the book by first researching the history of Teampall Ban, and then he looked at the workhouse, then the convent and finally attempted to understand what happened locally in the years around the famine. John has spent years researching material which will help us all to know more and understand better the years 1845 to 1852. The book has a fine index, sections cover potatoes failure in North Kerry, Death burial, emigration and evictions, folklore relating to the famine, Famine Relief Committees, Union Ledgers, Conditions in workhouse fever hospitals and relief works. Also covered Parliament Reports, Relief Collections list, Quakers, numerous letters and newspaper reports from the period.
The book also contains a host of illustrations, including workhouse, Pierce Mahony, Soup Boiler, Cross at Teampall Ban and a picture of Mother Mary Augustine Stack 1801-1888. Also among the many items is the letter of Fr John Long PP Murhur, Newtownsandes of 23 April 1847 and a list of subscribers from Knockanure and Newtown.
DAN KEANE
What could I say about Peggy?
Nothing but the truth.
I loved her songs and her singing
I heard away back in my youth.
Her songs were food to my Soul
Her voice was a thrill to my ear.
I loved her then as a child,
It was mutual and sincere.
I love her today as a friend
And the memories shared together.
Her songs still lift my soul
Like the lark warbling o'er the heather.
What can I say about Peggy?
Thanks for the joy she has given.
Blest be the dawn of our friendship
When Peggy was only seven. ----
Dan Keane
When Georgie Sandes went down to hell the Devil got the thongs,
Saying a long time I have waited to roast this tyrant Sandes.
The poor he hunted from their beds, the rich he robbed and broke,
And now he'll be tormented with plenty of fire and smoke
.
Dan Keane
Willie's Car
by Dan Keane
No more he'll drive his motor car in country or in town,
They dug a grave in Murhur Church and laid poor Willie down.
He trod the earth for eighty years till called to Heaven's bar
And no more we'll hear the hooter of Willie's motor car.
This car it was a model ingeniously designed,
Its mechanism perfect and controlled by Willie's mind.
In every modern aspect it was car complete
And its travelling speed was governed by the power on Willie's feet.
If perchance the gears would stick, then Willie's sheer delight
Was a gentle push from rearward to get the gear stick right.
But when delivering telegrams he was not slow to state
That for motor car manoeuvring he'd need a wider gate.
The car was ever free from rust, the paint was always new
And the steering kept responding to Willie's point of view.
Its parking rights were legalised immune to all offence
And its lamplight was a beacon from the soul of innocence.
A mechanical chameleon that changed to suit the scene,
It was a hearse, a hackney car or a private limousine;
Poor Willie he was likewise in professional regard -
An undertaker, parish clerk or at times a civic guard.
Still the zenith of his pleasure was before a crowd to stand
To perform his parish duties with bell rope in his hand.
His spirit stirred to beating bronze as solemn swells would rise
And his mirth was manifested in his wild expressive eyes.
He never new hire purchase, no tax was ever owed,
It was insured by statute of every traffic code;
It was a very special car that none could comprehend
For 'twas shaped in Willie's garage in the land of let's pretend.
So Willie drove for many a day on country road and street
With his own peculiar friendship for all that he would meet;
His stainless soul and happy heart kept Heaven's gates ajar -
I feel I hear from Paradise the sound of Willie's car.
BOOKS: Jimmy Deenihan will launch at 4pm a book called The Captains Wife by Dorrit O Shaughnessy at Shaughnessy’s Pub, Glin on Nov. 27th. Sean O Faolain Weekend at Rathkeale on 25th and 26th Nov. details from 086 124 9955.
DAN Keane launched his book of limericks "A Kerrymans limericks" on Friday 18th November at the Seanchai Centre, Listowel. The launching was by Gabriel Fitzmaurice, it was a night of music, song and story telling.
Thomas Doodle esquire,
the Doodle anthem.
(1)
Our song is sung for Doodle Tom, he made us free,
He is no gom, our Doodle Tom,
The champion of love and liberty,
Three cheers for Tom, three beers for Tom,
Three cheers and beers for Doodle and for victory.
(2)
He took the sick mans head away and gave us porter free,
He topped the poll in old Listowel,
And gave us polly goats to see,
Three cheers for Tom, three beers for Tom
Three cheers and beers for Doodle and for victory.
Viva la Doodle.
A TRIBUTE TO SONNY MURPHY
(1923 – 2010)
Sonny, as people knew him best, was a kind man with a gentle soul. He loved
life and his family. Up to the day he died, he used to tell my grandmother
that she was the finest woman to ever come out of Abbeyfeale. He loved Mary
more than anything else in the world. He loved his garden, nature and was a
great fisherman.
He would have been well known around the parish as he was the postman to
many houses in his time. He worked very hard in the bog and when the turf
was coming home he would have the boys up at the crack of dawn to bring the
turf down from the bog. He used to have the wheelbarrows lined up at the
side of the road.
His love for football was unreal. He was so passionate about it. My
grandfather was so proud to play for his parish and also played for
Limerick. In his time playing for Athea, he played in three county finals in
1948, 1949 and the most important year, the year they won 1950, he scored
the winning goal that day. He also won a Munster medal with Limerick.
It was so lovely to hear my grandmother tell me about the wonderful man she
married 55 years ago. She said, he was a wonderful husband with a kind
heart, she also said he was a great model father. I guess as their
grandchild I would like to say and pay tribute on behalf of his 6 brothers
and sisters, 13 children, 36 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren that we
were all very lucky to have both Mary and Sonny in our lives. They supported
us all no matter what the circumstances were, my grandfather was a gentleman
to the tips of his toes. It broke all our hearts when he passed away at home
on the 23rd of June 2010. Grandparents are the people that are there for you
unconditionally.
My grandparents have inspired and touched each of our lives in a special way
and for that we are eternally grateful to you both.
Lizzie Murphy
Boroman from Listowel Boards
Draws in Listowel
(1) TO BE DRAWN FOR
At the market Listowel
On Sunday 8th March 1931
A splendid Silver Watch
…………………………..
The property of Michael Walsh
Tickets ………………6d each
(2) TO BE DRAWN FOR
At Michael Doyle’s Dromin
On Saturday 19th May 1929
A Splendid Bicycle
The property of Michael O Brien
………………………………..
Tickets ………………………1/- Each
And the third one which I think is real social history.
(3) No. 344 BAZAAR AND
Grand Drawing of Prizes
Fe Comairle Ceanntair Sinn Fein, Ciarraide Tuaid
PRIZES
1. Photo of Austin Stack. 3 Six of our North
Kerry Martyrs.
2. Alarm Clock. 4 A Watch.
Luac………………………….6d
Drawing starts at 7.30 p.m. in the Hall at BEDFORD, LISTOWEL.
on January 26th. 1930.
EIRE SAOR. EIRE SEANMAR.
Catherine Lawless, lectured at Ul claimed she found the great grandmother of Jesus called Ismeria.
According to the legend, Ismeria is the daughter of Nabon of the people of Judea, and of the tribe of King David," wrote Lawless. She married "Santo Liseo," who is described as "a patriarch of the people of God." The legend continues that the couple had a daughter named Anne who married Joachim. After 12 years, Liseo died. Relatives then left Ismeria penniless.
Call of the Wild
By: Robert W. Service
Have you gazed on naked grandeur
where there’s nothing else to gaze on,
Set pieces and drop-curtain scenes galore,
Big mountains heaved to heaven, which the
blinding sunsets blazon,
Black canyons where the rapids rip and roar?
Have you swept the visioned valley with the
green stream streaking through it,
Searched the Vastness for a something you have lost?
Have you strung your soul to silence?
then for God’s sake go and do it;
Hear the challenge, learn the lesson, pay the cost.
Have you wandered in the wilderness, the sagebrush desolation,
The bunch-grass levels where the cattle graze?
Have you whistled bits of rag-time at the end of all creation,
And learned to know the desert’s little ways?
Have you camped upon the foothills,
have you galloped o’er the ranges,
Have you roamed the arid sun-lands through and through?
Have you chummed up with the mesa?
Do you know its moods and changes?
Then listen to the Wild — it’s calling you.
Have you known the Great White Silence,
not a snow-gemmed twig aquiver?
(Eternal truths that shame our soothing lies.)
Have you broken trail on snowshoes?
mushed your huskies up the river,
Dared the unknown, led the way, and clutched the prize?
Have you marked the map’s void spaces,
mingled with the mongrel races,
Felt the savage strength of brute in every thew?
And though grim as hell the worst is,
can you round it off with curses?
Then hearken to the Wild — it’s wanting you.
Have you suffered, starved and triumphed,
groveled down, yet grasped at glory,
Grown bigger in the bigness of the whole?
“Done things ” just for the doing, letting babblers tell the story,
Seeing through the nice veneer the naked soul?
Have you seen God in His splendors,
heard the text that nature renders?
(You’ll never hear it in the family pew.)
The simple things, the true things, the silent men who do things —
Then listen to the Wild — it’s calling you.
They have cradled you in custom,
they have primed you with their preaching,
They have soaked you in convention through and through;
They have put you in a showcase;
you’re a credit to their teaching —
But can’t you hear the Wild? — it’s calling you.
Let us probe the silent places,
let us seek what luck betide us;
Let us journey to a lonely land I know.
There’s a whisper on the night-wind,
there’s a star agleam to guide us,
And the Wild is calling, calling … let us go.
VENUS
Two hundred and fifty years ago, it was not so simple a task. And yet, in 1761 and 1769, hundreds of astronomers from more than a dozen nations stationed at more than 130 locations around the world turned their telescopes simultaneously to the sky to observe the transit of Venus. They did so — at great peril and against heavy odds in many cases — because they believed that the transit held the key to one of the most pressing quests of the age: the distance between Earth and the sun and, by extension, the size of the solar system.
By establishing the time and duration of the transits, they hoped to work out the elusive question of distance. But there was one problem: Astronomers had to view the transit from as many places, as far apart as possible, around the globe. Depending on their position in the Northern or Southern hemispheres, they would see Venus crossing the sun on a slightly different track. With the help of relatively simple trigonometry, these different tracks would allow them to arrive at a measurement. They had to travel to the outposts of the known world, and no single national effort would be able to make this happen.
Nations at war had to collaborate. Much of Europe as well as North America, the Caribbean and India were involved in the Seven Years War, but scientific societies in London, Paris, Stockholm and other cities coordinated dozens of intrepid astronomers who crossed national and colonial borders to get to Tahiti, the Arctic Circle, Siberia, India and beyond. Scientists paved the way with passports to guarantee safe passage (it didn't always work), dispatched instructions across the globe on how to view the transit, and instrument makers worked around the clock to provide them with the best telescopes.
One of the most important locations during the transit in June 1769 was California (then in Spanish hands) because the entire transit would be visible there. Because the Spanish had pretty much ignored the first transit, the French decided to organize their own expedition under the command of Jean-Baptiste Chappe d'Auteroche, an astronomer who had observed the first transit in Siberia. The Spanish king was willing to cooperate and provided the necessary permission and even a vessel to get the French from Europe to the Americas.
Heartprints
Whatever our hands touch -
we leave fingerprints!
On walls, on furniture,
doorknobs, dishes, books.
There's no escape!
As we touch we leave our identity.
Oh God, wherever I go today,
help me leave heartprints!
Heartprints of compassion,
of understanding and love,
Heartprints of kindness
and genuine concern.
May my heart touch a lovely neighbour,
or a runaway daughter
or an anxious mother,
or perhaps even a friend.
Lord, send me out today
to leave heartprints.
And if someone should say
"I felt your touch",
May that one sense YOUR LOVE
Touching them through me!
Author unknown
NZ Tablet 2 Aug. 1895 p 15
OLD IRISH HILL.
I'm weary and sick of the sights of the town,
Though haughty its mansions and high its renown.
O, if some good fairy would but set me down
On an old Irish hill in the morning
My soul ever sighs for a sight of the fox.
By dear old Kinvara or down by Kilkee,
Or where Moher cliff in their majesty free
Fliag back ocean billows in scorning.
An old Irish hill where the crag is so steep,
The air is so sweet and the heather so deep—
Oh I gladly I'd labour and soundly I'd sleep
O an old Irish hill in the morning.
But if the day came for the bold mountaineer
To strike for the hearths and the homes we hold dear,
And ringing on high on the startled air clear,
The blast of that bugles gave warning—
where could oar boys make a sturdier stand,
To strike a stout blow for the cause of our land,
Than massed in their might on the sides green and grand
Of an old Irish hill in the morning
I From an old Irish hill I like eagles we'd sweep,
And chase the false foe through the valley like sheep—
Ob, a harvest of hope for our Erin we'd reap,
On an old Irish hill in the morning
Fahey.