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Listowel - Ireland’s Literary Capital
Listowel is a market town in County Kerry, Ireland, and is situated on the River Feale, 28 km from the county town, Tralee. The combined population of Listowel Urban and Rural Districts is 22,668; the town itself has a population of 4,823. Listowel has a long history dating back to 1303 where it first appears in the Plea Roll. Fortress to the Fitzmaurice family the town developed around Listowel Castle and its magnificent market Square, one of its many distinguishing features. A distinctive feature of the streets of Listowel is the colour and variety of its shop front designs. Most notable are The Maid of Erin in The Square, The Harp & Lion and The Emporium in Church Street. These unique items of plasterwork are the work of local craftsman Pat McAuliffe (1846-1921). The Maid of Erin depicts a Romantic image of Mother Ireland surrounded by a harp, a wolfhound and other symbols of Eire. Sandwiched between the bustling city of Limerick and the world renowned tourist haven of Killarney, one could be forgiven for dismissing Listowel as another one of the seemingly endless rural towns in Ireland catering more for the strong local farming community, than to the visitor. Home to Kerry Group, one of the worlds largest food producing companies, Listowel is indeed a traditional agricultural centre, however, in recent years the town has recognised the need to look beyond this traditional industry, and develop its strong cultural identity for the economic benefit of the town. Central to this has been the development of a number of major tourist attractions in the town including the Seanchaí – Kerry Literary & Cultural Centre & the Lartigue Monorailway, and the designation of Listowel as a Heritage Town in 2000, one of only 26 Heritage Towns in Ireland. North Kerry Writers: Listowel is acclaimed nationally and internationally as a place of literary excellence. Its writers, poets and playwrights have captured the essence of rural Ireland – to make us laugh or weep, or simply wonder. To honour this great literary talent, The Seanchaí Centre opened in 2001 and encompasses an audio-visual interpretative museum on the great North Kerry writers including John B. Keane, Bryan MacMahon, Brendan Kennelly, Maurice Walsh & George Fitzmaurice, ( the link will download a short leaflet on the writers and their works), Located in a magnificently restored 19th century Georgian residence in Listowel’s Town Square, Seanchaí is a museum of words & spirit where the imaginative worlds of the great Kerry writers are evoked. The Seanchaí Room entices the visitor to sit and listen to the history of storytelling in Ireland and how it was the precursor to the written word. This is exemplified in Ireland’s most famous storyteller, Eamon Kelly, himself a Kerryman. ‘Storytelling’, he claims, ‘is the oldest form of entertainment. It was practised before the written word. The stories were handed down from generation to generation, and in ancient Ireland the seanchai was held in such high esteem that he sat at the same table as the king.’ Take a journey with the Kerry writers through historical and scenic North Kerry in a stunning audio-visual presentation in the Landscapes Room. Learn about the places, people, traditions and customs that influenced the writers in their works – from the harshness of the Atlantic waves crashing against Ballybunion’s rugged cliffs to the magnificent spectacle of the Wren Boys as they perform through the streets of Listowel. Travelling through the Centre pause and read from the many writers of Kerry; from the experiences of the Great Blasket Islanders - Peig Sayers, Thomas O’Criomhthain and Muiris O’Suilleabhain - to the humorous verse of Robert Leslie Boland. When a Listowel man takes a drink from any tap in this lovely town ‘Tis not only water thats going down, but the purified secrets of the dead Flowing into his belly and through his head No town here or in any land will do this for your body and mind Inspiration flows through the graveyard sod Turn a tap in Listowel, out flows God! written by Brendan Kennelly 
Just 10 minutes drive to the Seaside
Check out Gem’s Event Calender 2018 and see what festivals are on around Kerry. Just click on the name to learn more about the event... TripAdvisor also have a good list of the Top things to do in Listowel – 14 Listowel Attractions.
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Top things to do in Listowel Town
The Kingdom of Kerry Great Southern Trail
The extension of the Great Southern Trail from Abbeyfeale to Listowel was completed and opened to the public on the 7th September 2022. The Great Southern Trail (GST) is a unique 85km stretch of countryside in West Limerick/North Kerry. It is the route taken by the Limerick - Tralee railway line, which opened in 1867/1880 and closed in 1975/1977. The 10km section from the Limerick Border to Listowel has been opened to the public by Kerry County Council who now own 50km+ of the old North Kerry railways. This is an amazing asset to biking and walking in safety for everyone. Free parking for cars is available at the town park on Bridge Street and at the nearby old Neodata site, with a safe access to the Greenway through the park. more information can be found here.... 
In 2021 Tidytowns, Listowel did itself proud, gaining 7 extra marks, retaining its Gold Medal status for the 13th year & being Highly recommended in the County Awards. Listowel won Irelands Tidiest Town and best small town awards 2018.
Childers Park & Woodlands Childers Park & Woodlands in Listowel retained their Green Flag award again this years for 2021. Green Flag for Listowel Town Park - A first for Kerry Childers Town Park and Woodlands on Bridge Road in Listowel has been awarded the prestigious Green Flag Award for 2018/21 . The park is one of only 43 parks to receive this accreditation within Ireland and one of only 1,800 such parks worldwide. The award provides international recognition and is a benchmark for green spaces indicating that they are clean, safe and well managed – similar to the Blue Flag accreditation for beaches. It is the first time ever that a park in County Kerry has received this accreditation. This year our neighbor's at Abbeyfeale Community Leisure Ltd - Páirc Cois Féile / Abbeyfeale Park and Tralee Town park won the 2020 Green Flag Awards also. This beautiful park in the heart of Listowel offers something for everyone, walks, tennis, 18 hold pitch & putt course, leisure centre, playground, unique plants in the Garden of Europe and much more. Fantastic attraction well worth visiting. Walking Trails Walkways including the development of the one-kilometre Millennium Walk, two-kilometre Feale Walk and four-kilometre River Walk are clearly signposted with new colour coded way-markers and are included in the new guide. They are also clearly identified on new maps hand-painted by local artist Amy Sheehy and which are displayed on lectern units throughout Childers Park and Woodlands. The Riverside Path (4 km) takes you along the River Feale and traverses many distinctive features of the town including Listowel Bridge, the Dandy Lodge, Childers Town Park and The Garden of Europe. The Garden of Europe, opened in 1995, which contains over 3000 trees and shrubs. If you like beautiful natural scenery and relaxing walks, you will love our town park. Our ‘River Walk’ takes you along the meandering embankment of the river Feale, with fantastic views of Listowel Castle and Listowel Bridge. The peaceful Gurtinard Wood is a vestige of one the largest natural alder and ash forests in the country, and is today home to a remarkable variety of flora and fauna. Just walk down the side of the Castle to start the walk and go left along the river. Check out the old handball alley as you stroll along the river wall. Read the history and the podcasts of times gone by .... at CoisCéim, curated by Caoimhe Coburn Gray. Listowel is also a great base for exploring the beautiful County Kerry and located near the Tarbert Ferry port – a gateway to County Clare and Galway. See what else to do in Kerry by checking out the Kerry Gems online edition. In Listowel why not...
Acknowledgement
A great place for further research on the town of Listowel by a great Blogger, Mary Cogan, called: Listowel Connections, which has been recently upgraded to its own website.. I gained quite a lot of information for my about page from Mary's blog. Thank you Mary. Another great website I came across is: North Kerry Reaching Out. . Aww...just recently checked this website out and its no more, a shame. They do have a Facebook page, too many companies are doing away with their websites in favour of Facebook, a pity as not everyone wants to be on Facebook. Got the photo of Cattle dealing in the Square in Listowel, ca. 1900: Here. Great archive of old photos. |
