Listowel Thread

starlight09

cyning wrote: »

Lovely writer wrote: »

Before computers, no mobiles, before telephone cards. QUOTE]

:eek: No telephone cards even???!!

Anyone know where there is like Irish set dancing or dancing classes in and around Listowel? I can't dance and need to learn

Join the club, I cant do much either. I could manage a polka badly but I would love to learn to jive. It would be a fun way for me to lose some weight also.

cyning

starlight09 wrote: »

Join the club, I cant do much either. I could manage a polka badly but I would love to learn to jive. It would be a fun way for me to lose some weight also.

A fun way to lose weight aswell.... Anyone know where there is jiving too anywhere in and around Listowel too?! Or something similar?

Cherry Tree

Tuesdays in Clounmacon Hall; set dancing; great fun; €5. Come at 8.15 for a quick lesson before the dancing proper starts.
September is usually the season for beginners but if you have any clue at all you could pick up the steps now.
Causeway is the venue for adult step dancing. I don't know when and where but ask around.
Jiving I don't know anything about. Try the Family Resource Centre. They might put on a class. They are looking for ideas

starlight09

Thank you cherry tree.

listowelbelle

Don't know about dancing in family resource centre, but they have most of the local residents doing a "Dance of rage" most mornings as their alarm system wakes everyone up on a regular basis at about 4 am !!!!!!

boroman

Election 2011
The scramble for Dail seats is barely two days old and already our town is blighted by election posters. Why! with the present state of the economy the various candidates have to go and waste enormous amounts of euro and time on the printing and erection of posters which are unneeded at a time when already the media, newspapers, television and radio is reaching saturation point with election news.
I admire the decision of the Tralee U.D.C. taken at their November meeting to ban all posters from been erected on lampposts, fences or anywhere within the town centre’s shopping area.
I leave the last word to Cllr Michael Gleeson who is standing as an Independent candidate in South Kerry, in the last County Council election he opted to run without using posters and he is reported as saying “I contested the 2009 local election without using posters, the decision was favourably commented upon by many and did not most certainly have an adverse effect on the vote that I received”

Fogra,
So as not to be accused of hypocrisy, I will put my hands up and admit that in my run for a place on the Listowel U.D.C. in 2009 I did succumb to this practice, in doing so I put up 5 small home made posters which cost 50euro, if in future I will have a chance to have another run, I will donate the money to a charity.

Lovely writer

"I admire the decision of the Tralee U.D.C. taken at their November meeting to ban all posters from been erected on lampposts, fences or anywhere within the town centre’s shopping area."


I was glad to see that Tralee are following the example of Cork , Passage West . All of the posters are nothing but an unsightly mess.

I am reluctant to bring politics into the Listowel Thread but I think this is worth looking at.

http://www.valueireland.com/2010/11/there-were-warnings-about-our-current-difficulties-as-far-back-as-2000/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nValueIreland+%28ValueIreland.com+-+Better+Purchasing+Decisions+Through+Better+Information%29

ChurchStreet

Since the topic of the election has come up on the thread I must say one thing that is very striking about this election and is also very sad, is the fact that alot of absent faces from the town will have no say whatsoever in the future of this country. I think it is long over due that we give our emigrants the vote, like most other western countries. UK nationals can vote in Westminister elections for 15 years after leaving their homeland. Taking away the birth right of peolpe forced to look for work further a field only puts salt in the wound. FF put it in their 1997 election manifesto and after 14 years in power never delivered.
Like it saids in the 1916 Proclamination "All the children of the nation are to be cherished equally".

boroman

Am I been hypercritical when I point to the fact that the Labour candidate (and a fine outstanding young man at that) in the forthcoming election is an elected member of the Tralee U.D.C. who do not allow any election literature to be displayed in the centre of Tralee town. Is it hypocrisy then that the Labour party (along with the other parties) festoon our town with posters due to the fact that our esteemed council did not have the foresight to pass a similar law? Is it possible the Labour party by showing an example and taking the honourable lead by removing their posters, then the other parties will follow suit. My vote will go to those who do not deface the streets of Listowel.

ejmaztec

ChurchStreet wrote: »

Since the topic of the election has come up on the thread I must say one thing that is very striking about this election and is also very sad, is the fact that alot of absent faces from the town will have no say whatsoever in the future of this country. I think it is long over due that we give our emigrants the vote, like most other western countries. UK nationals can vote in Westminister elections for 15 years after leaving their homeland. Taking away the birth right of peolpe forced to look for work further a field only puts salt in the wound. FF put it in their 1997 election manifesto and after 14 years in power never delivered.
Like it saids in the 1916 Proclamination "All the children of the nation are to be cherished equally".

The Irish government would be too scared to give the vote to emigrants, as they probably wouldn't appreciate Ireland becoming a Marxist republic.

Lovely writer

Church Newsletter

UpTheAshes

ejmaztec wrote: »

The Irish government would be too scared to give the vote to emigrants, as they probably wouldn't appreciate Ireland becoming a Marxist republic.

Although I'm not sure if Ireland would become a Marxist republic, I'm inclined to agree with ejmaztec that successive governments have been scared to let emigrants vote in case they would vote against the "nod and a wink", "I'll take care of it" type of politics that has gone on for years. To people living outside the country it is fascinating to see people like Michael Lowry topping the poll in their constituencies.(He's just one example that springs to mind). In the US, where I live, I think there's not much doubt he'd be in jail. I'm not saying the US is perfect either, mind you.
My mother, God rest her, was a US citizen and I remember polling cards coming in the post to our house in Listowel for her to vote in US elections. The US government obviously felt that overseas citizens had a right to vote, and maybe even the US government valued their opinions. I can't see it happening anytime soon in Ireland though.

Lovely writer

I understand that there are about forty million "Irish" in America. The logistics of trying to sort out which of them is entitled to vote In the Irish General Election would put a huge strain on the already strained financial resources of this country.

I would also be afraid that the "Irish" in America might have an unrealistic romanticised view of Ireland. If you remember the support that was given to the IRA during the nineteen seventies and eighties you will understand what I mean.

UpTheAshes

Lovely writer wrote: »

I understand that there are about forty million "Irish" in America. The logistics of trying to sort out which of them is entitled to vote In the Irish General Election would put a huge strain on the already strained financial resources of this country.

I would also be afraid that the "Irish" in America might have an unrealistic romanticised view of Ireland. If you remember the support that was given to the IRA during the nineteen seventies and eighties you will understand what I mean.

I should have clarified that I meant Irish born people- holders of Irish birth certificates, as indeed my mother was US born and thats the only reason that she could vote in the US.
I think the total of people who are Irish born in this country (USA) might total 200,000 or 300,000 at the most, but that's just a guess, certainly not 40 million. There would no doubt be many more around the world between England, Australia, Canada etc.
Many people will be emigrating in the near future because of the way the country was mis-managed and I'm fairly sure that some of those who have to leave will feel a certain sense of bitterness that they will be excluded from voting once they leave Ireland's shore although they are Irish people having grown up in Ireland, have family members still living in Ireland, and in some cases even own property in Ireland. Many would not leave the country at all but see no option but to leave because of the way the country is at the moment. By the time this crisis is over there won't be many families in Ireland that will not have been affected by emigration.
It's a thorny subject but I still think that perhaps people who had voted in Ireland and been issued a polling card should be allowed to retain the right to vote from wherever they live.

ejmaztec

UpTheAshes wrote: »

I should have clarified that I meant Irish born people- holders of Irish birth certificates, as indeed my mother was US born and thats the only reason that she could vote in the US.
I think the total of people who are Irish born in this country (USA) might total 200,000 or 300,000 at the most, but that's just a guess, certainly not 40 million. There would no doubt be many more around the world between England, Australia, Canada etc.
Many people will be emigrating in the near future because of the way the country was mis-managed and I'm fairly sure that some of those who have to leave will feel a certain sense of bitterness that they will be excluded from voting once they leave Ireland's shore although they are Irish people having grown up in Ireland, have family members still living in Ireland, and in some cases even own property in Ireland. Many would not leave the country at all but see no option but to leave because of the way the country is at the moment. By the time this crisis is over there won't be many families in Ireland that will not have been affected by emigration.
It's a thorny subject but I still think that perhaps people who had voted in Ireland and been issued a polling card should be allowed to retain the right to vote from wherever they live.

I think that emigrants leaving the parish-pump behind, seem to be more interested in the future of Ireland as a whole, and very few would be voting on issues local to the homes they left behind. This is the impression that I got when speaking to family and friends in the UK over the years.

boroman

I can see merits on both sides. However I think if it was to be implemented it would be a logistical nightmare. We always have been and I am afraid that in the future an exporter of a great number of our young citizens, and that is the reality.
Whether our people have gone to the Americas, England, Europe or Australia we are lucky that the majority have prospered and done well for themselves. All of these emigrants are automatic Irish citizens and would then be eligible it this vote was allowed, however, also eligible would be children and grandchildren of any Irish citizen no matter where they are from in the world should they apply for citizenship papers. (I know this as I helped a Chicago cousin in his quest for a passport. I am not sure whether it continues to great grandparents).

My opinion for what it is worth is, if it was agreed to give an acknowledgement to qualified Irish Diaspora then I would set aside a certain number of Senate seats in which only those from outside the country and registered could then vote for. I would also allow those registered to vote in the Presidential Election. Then again if we can believe Enda Kenny, if Fine Gael are elected the Senate will more than likely get the chop.

I am thinking aloud when I ask, would this also give emigrants and their descendants of our countrymen from Northern Ireland also the right to vote if they had taken out citizenship papers and then applied to be entered on the voting register? Am I right in saying the Good Friday Agreement copper fastened this?

In the case of American citizens abroad having a vote, I think this country in particular has never had any problem as their emigration numbers would be very little and when compared to the size and population of the country the numbers would be minuscule. I am not too sure whether children of American born people living abroad can claim citizenship. I am not aware of The British rules, however like America; England had considerable more immigration than emigration down through the years.

Cherry Tree

I think that this is getting ridiculous. If this were to reach your conclusion our government would be elected by a majority of people who do not live in this country.
Here's my suggestion. Create a new constituency for the diaspora. Let them raise the funds to sort out the logistics of who can vote and when and how. When they are ready, we'll have a referendum and let them have their very own representation.
All parties are committed to electoral reform anyway so now would be a good time to put it to them.


Another thought: Maybe this conversation should be moved to
http://www.boards.ie/ge11.

Lovely writer

When they are ready, we'll have a referendum and let them have their very own representation.


The question is who will be entitled to vote in THAT referendum?

boroman

Whatever I have to say on the subject will be within the confines of our own little corner here, will leave the real heavy election stuff!!!!! to the supposed experts, allicadoes and party hacks over in their own space. Up the boro every time.

ChurchStreet

boroman wrote: »

Whatever I have to say on the subject will be within the confines of our own little corner here, will leave the real heavy election stuff!!!!! to the supposed experts, allicadoes and party hacks over in their own space. Up the boro every time.

Last word To Boroman, Up The Ashes!!!

UpTheAshes

Maybe it's time for another Tom Doodle! I think he'd get a lot of first preferences.

ejmaztec

At least we can be thankful that there aren't any Healy-Raes in North Kerry.

littlemissteach

Hi
Just wondering is Ballybunion Knitwear still in operation??If so does anyone have contact details?Many thanks

boroman

Have just made an enquiry and was told that the Stack family who owned Ballybunion Knitwear closed it down at least 20 years ago.

ejmaztec

There still seems to be a shop/unit

http://www.goldenpages.ie/Knitted_Goods/Ballybunion_Knitwear_Ltd/IE_30011028_9999_1001

boroman

For those who would be unfamiliar with the name Tom Doodle let me explain.
An idea conceived in the back room of Curly O Connors bar in Church Street by a group of idealistic young men (John B. Keane,Tommy Murphy, Sean Grogan, Danny Kelliher, George Finucane and Willy O Connor) back in the early spring of 1951 has by now entered the realms of local folklore, history and legend. The idea that I refer to was the creation of Tom Doodle and the Independent Coulogeous Party.
Having invented the Politician the executive of the Doodle Party as they had become to be known, decided that they would advertise him as a candidate in the forthcoming General Election of that year, however a suitable candidate would have to be found in order to personify Doodle.

In explaining it at one stage John B. said
‘To find the right man, not an easy task- but where there is a will there is a way. The will was ever present, the way followed suit. We found our man. Call it destiny, call it what you will, he was born to fill the role. Never was a part played with such subtle distinction. He literally was to live the short few hours of his only appearance’
John B. later recalled the Doodles preparation and journey to town.]
'With George Finucane and William A. O Connor, both members of the Executive , we drove in O'Connors car to a secluded area in North Kerry. Here we dressed the actor for his part. A flowing beard as befitted such a patriarch, was the first item of his apparel. A clawhammer coat of uncertain vintage, a smart bowler hat and an outside pair of horn-rimmed glasses constituted the remainder. We checked our watches,exchanges meaning glances and hotfotted it to Kilmorna Station which is the last stop before Listowel. As the train drew in the strange figure of Doodle was the subject of curious and doubtful glances from the passengers. William O Connor sped swiftly away while George Finucane went to the ticket office and purchased three first class tickets for Listowel. After a short bdelay the train puffed laboriously on its way. George looked nervous. I considered diving through the open window before we reached our destination. Doodle was the epitome of composurer'
In Carmodys ‘North Kerry Camera’ Fr. Kieran O Shea recalled,[/FONT][/SIZE]
‘One sunny summers morning in 1951 the people of Listowel awoke to find placards attached to telephone poles (things are still the same after 60 years), urging them to vote for Tom Doodle;
Vote Number One: Tom Doodle
Use your Noodle,
Vote for Doodle,
Doodle on the Ball,
Next stop the Dail.
We all wondered what was up. People were asking themselves who was this Doodle. Was he really going to stand in the General Election….? A few days later, word was spread that Doodle would address a public meeting the following Thursday night’.

Over the years I have heard very many describing their memories of that night, however I would compare many of these akin to those who claim to have witnessed Munster’s famous victory over the All Blacks. Some of whom I have heard claim that they were at the rally that night were years younger than myself and I was a mere seven.

Fr. Kieran O Shea explained in ‘North Kerry Camera’
‘As I made my way to the railway station- we heard that Doodle would arrive by train-I joined a long stream of people. At the station close on a thousand curious people had already gathered. Eventually the train arrived. All heads turned expectantly wondering what would happen next. A door opened and out stepped this man dressed in a black swallow tailed coat, top hat, side whiskers and beard. Doodle was here .We did not know what to make out of it all. We didn’t care, because we were too excited, Doodle got into a lorry, climbing the front railing….’

And so began Doodle’s triumphal journey through the streets and on to his Field of Dreams in the town’s Small Square.

To be continued.

michael999999

UP THE GLEANN!!

Cherry Tree

I'm on tenterhooks, Boroman.
Was the gig-rig in place?
Was Doodle unmasked as a fraud or were the voters then as gullible as now and vote for style over substance?
Did the Collogeous Party issue a manifesto?
Were they in favour of abolishing the Senate?
Where did Doodle stand on the emigrant vote?

boroman

Have no fear, nearly all aspects of that unique night will be revealed.:cool:

UpTheAshes

Cherry Tree wrote: »

I'm on tenterhooks, Boroman.
Was the gig-rig in place?
Was Doodle unmasked as a fraud or were the voters then as gullible as now and vote for style over substance?
Did the Collogeous Party issue a manifesto?
Were they in favour of abolishing the Senate?
Where did Doodle stand on the emigrant vote?

Tom Doodle and the Independent Coulogeous Party did indeed have an election manifesto and made several promises including
1. To plough the Rocks of Bawn.
2. To turn back the Shannon.
3. To set up a factory for shaving the hair off gooseberries.
4. Free treatment for sick heads.
5. To give Leprechauns the vote.
This is where it gets tricky - Doodle did not specify if he was talking about strictly indigenous Irish Leprechauns or whether he meant all Leprechauns including emigrant Leprechauns scattered around the world, but at first glance it seems like a blanket statement. He did not mention giving the vote to ordinary emigrants at all.(at all).