Listowel (Irish: Lios Tuathail, meaning ‘Tuathal’s ringfort‘) is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, 28 km (17 mi) from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,794 according to the 2022 census, the third largest in the county. Listowel is also the name of a townland within the town and an encompassing civil parish. Described by the organisers of Listowel’s writers festival as the “Literary Capital of Ireland”, a number of internationally known playwrights and authors have lived there, including Bryan MacMahon and John B. Keane. read more…
Kenmare (Irish: Neidín, meaning ‘the little nest’) is a small town in the south of County Kerry, Ireland. The name Kenmare is the anglicised form of Ceann Mara, meaning “head of the sea”, referring to the head of Kenmare Bay. It is also a townland and civil parish. Kenmare is in the Kerry constituency of Dáil Éireann. read more…
Cahersiveen (Irish: Cathair Saidhbhín, meaning ‘Little Sadhbh‘s stone ringfort‘), sometimes Cahirciveen, is a town in the south-west of Ireland, in County Kerry. As of the 2022 census, it had a population of 1,297. Cahersiveen was designated as a “Gaeltacht Service Town” in June 2023, when the then Minister of State Patrick O’Donovan launched the “Cathair Saidhbhín Language Plan” alongside Kerry County Council. read more…
Scallops are characterized by offering two flavors and textures in one shell: the meat, called “scallop”, which is firm and white, and the roe, called “coral”, which is soft and often brightly coloured reddish-orange. Sometimes, markets sell scallops already prepared in the shell, with only the meat remaining. Outside the U.S., the scallop is often sold whole. They are available both with and without coral in the UK and Australia. read more…
The Great Famine, also known as the Great Hunger (Irish: an Gorta Mór), the Famine and the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of mass starvation and disease in Ireland lasting from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a historical social crisis and had a major impact on Irish society and history as a whole. The most severely affected areas were in the western and southern parts of Ireland—where the Irish language was dominant—hence the period was contemporaneously known in Irish as an Drochshaol, which literally translates to “the bad life” and loosely translates to “the hard times”. read more…
