Lispole (Part2) Carl O’ Flaherty My father Paguine was an unapologetic Lispole supporter. He admired their pride of parish, ruggedness and unquenchable spirit. They contested their first final in years in 1966 against Castlegregory. The teams were lead around the field by Denny Joe Griffin's accordion band. Thomas 'the Champion' Griffin lead the parade with the tricolour held boldly in his hand. The match turned out to be a damp squib. It rained goals and the Castle lads put Lispole to the sword. Within a year Lispole would return and achieve a notable victory. Kerry footballer Séamus Murphy was their trainer and he was ably assisted by Jackie Dowling.Paguine's bar was packed to the rafters as the cup was filled and refilled in celebration. These victories were just a stepping stone and a bridge to the all conquering Lispole team who achieved an unbelievable six west Kerry championships in a row from 1982 to 87. However, just as noteworthy was the development of a pristine playing pitch and a clubhouse in the parish comparable with any club in the country. The whole parish got behind the project. However, special mention should be given to the leadership of John L O'Sullivan and Johnny Barrett. The field was officially opened in 1979 in a star studded game between Dublin and Kerry. During the mid sixties I spent more time in the bar than I did in my own home in Grey's Lane. Like all youngsters I was attracted by the colourful characters among the loyal clientèle that frequented the small snug including, Sean 'Carney' O'Sullivan, Jama Griffin, Jimmy 'Jippy' Griffin, Francie Hickson, Danny Dan 'The Caonaí' O'Sullivan, Gearoíd Garret Fitzgerald, Michael Brosnan (Goulainn), Laurence Kavanagh and many many more. I soon realised that the prominent surnames were Griffin, Brosnan, O'Sullivan, Fitzgerald and Moriarty. Families were often defined with nicknames which were derived from place names or perhaps their mother's maiden name. Different Griffin families were referred to as the Carrs, the Briens, the Browns, the Hutches, the Battys, the Bushes and the Micíls. Possibly the most baffling for me was the Griffin known as just 'F'. Maybe he was an actor in a James Bond movie, I innocently wondered. Another charming aspect about Lispole which fired my imagination were the mysterious place names. We didn't have these wild and secret places in Dingle like Lug na gCapall, Páirc na Fola, Bothar na gCat, Crúibín na Muice, Tobar na Múdán, Cnocán na nAsal. Tobar na gCeann,Cuas an Chlampair, Beárna na Gaoithe and Puckisland, incorporating both mythology and enchantment. Lispole has clung defiantly to its identity. This is best illustrated by its annual festival 'Féile Lios Póil'. I was in attendance on that first day in the community hall when Elizabeth Farrell (Ardamore) was selected as the first Rós na Féile. A number of years later she married Dingle's football stalwart Brendan Devane. Their four lads play without fear with Lispole's great rivals Dingle; Brian, David, Declan and Paul – man of the match in Dingle's recent victory over Dr. Crokes in the Kerry club championship final. Lispole's loss is certainly Dingle's gain! However, in recompense Brendan's brother, Eugene, was the 'bainisteoir' of the all conquering Lispole team of the early eighties. Inaugurated in 1979, the Féile has gone ó neart go neart and highlights what is best in county life and Irish culture. All aspects of parish life are celebrated, including ; Gaelic games, historical walks, sheep show, flower and vegetable demonstrations, Irish dancing and the incomparable run to the summit of An Stricín. Someday, discover the authentic Lispole. Leave your car and take to the byways. Follow the arc of the Stricín from Lisdorgan and amble to Puckisland where the wild flowers and heather are a joy, grasshoppers, grey crows and gatekeepers(butterflies) abound.Watch the sheep dogs on the hill side as they pause with pointed ears then crouch and sprint as they obey the whistles and commands of their masters and return an errant ewe to the flock. Follow the trails of the different hillfarmers from Listorgan and continue east. Sheep remain loyal to their area on the hill. You can identify the different flocks on the Stricín like a patchwork quilt. Hill-farming is a labour of love with many endless hours of rambling the zig zag paths. They check the animals for such exotic delicacies as maggots, fluke,galar cam,cumerolladh( Blackleg) or 28 West Kerry Live
foot-rot. They also have to be extra vigilant during the lambing season to protect the ewes from the scourges of foxes and grey crows. In truth the number of sheep and flocks have dwindled drastically over the years, however, the following farmers are still loyal to this traditional method Paudie Beagley, Brian Devane, John Joe Garvey, John Noel Hanafin, Theresa Rafter Moriarty, Paudie Hanafin and John Joe Griffin all from Lisdorgan,Michael Brosnan, Michael Sullivan and Dermot Kavanagh of Reenboy, Timmy Bob Fitzgerald and Sean Moriarty from Boherbrack and from Gowlane Mike Jim Fitzgerald, Sean Lovett, John O'Sullivan, Pakie Begley and Mike Joe Sullivan. Next lean on a gate, look towards Puckisland and breathe in the fresh mountain air while a rainbow disappears soon followed by a shower of soft rain – pure, simple and wonderful! Alternatively, take a southerly route and ramble from Minard Castle to Kinard, breathtaking sights await. Sit on a cairn and enjoy the majestic solitude as the Iveagh peninsula and Macgillycuddy reeks come into view. Forget about Spain, the crowded beaches of the Canaries or the multitudes of humanity in Rome or Paris. You have just discovered an ideal site, your Shangri-la, a rare and golden nugget of peace and solitude.Whilst at the bridge in Minard on the road which head north to Doonties, linger a while and reminisce. On a dark night in January 1943 a barrel of rum drifted towards the nearby shore and was rescued with loving care. What luck! A gift from God during the dark war years.That same week 70,000 German soldiers surrendered at Stalingrad and the Allies captured Tripoli. This was “The Emergency” in De Valera's Ireland. Would this incident have repercussions on the world stage? Not Likely. However, the church and state ruled the country with a vice like grip. News of the illicit booty reached the ear of the authorities. Garda Folan and Garda Cronin cycled from Annascaul to enforce the law and confiscate the rum. After exhaustive house searches, fruitless digging of manure hills and haylofts, they departed empty-handed. The rum had already been released from the large barrel and poured into numerous containers and bottles and cunningly disposed of in ditches and stone walls. There were many nights of celebration and revelry. “The pubs were open late in Doonties again last night” was the local catchphrase around Lispole. Perhaps their greatest delight was in defying the boys in blue! Also that year there was a local emergency when little or no seaweed came ashore on the local beaches. This was a disaster for most homes because the seaweed was relied upon as fertilizer which guaranteed a good yield of potatoes. It was decided to invite Canon Lyne from Dingle to come to Minard school and to celebrate mass. He made a special appeal during the mass that the lord would send a storm and a bountiful harvest of seaweed. He was duly paid an offering of one pound note. Three days later the fiercest storm in living memory broke. Sheds were uprooted, houses lost slates, and there was severe flooding. Mountains of seaweed arrived but the damage was widespread. The cure was worse than the disease! In pre-famine times, this countryside was densely populated. The combined parishes of Minard/Kinard reached almost four thousand inhabitants in the 1830's. The authorities encouraged the farming communities to grow flax and establish small linen industries. They offered a modest bounty for the purchase of flax seed and spinning wheels. Nearly eight hundred received the premium in Corca Dhuibhne in 1796 of which ninety three were from Minard/ Kinard drew “ An Deontas” including Ashes, Barrets, Bowlers, Brosnans, Cahills, Cain, Clifford, Connors, Currens, Doolins, Devanes, Fitzgeralds, Griffins, Garveys, Hicksons, Kennedys, Mahoneys, Moriartys, Noonans and Sheeys. Roam or cycle to Kinard where noted ship captain and smuggler Big John Griffin defied the authorities and imported the best French wines and luxury goods. His niece married an Ashe from the west and so introduced the name into Lispole. In more recent times notoriety came to Kinard when local girl Bríde O'Sullivan discovered a bottle which contained the name of an American G.I. from a liberty ship at Kinard Strand. The story took wings. Post war America was craving for a feel good story. He visited Kinard to meet Bríde. He stayed at Foxe's guest-house at The Mall. They visited the lakes of Killarney and were besieged by journalists and photographers. Years later Bríde married our neighbour Peter Hand. Another Kinard native was Paddy Joe Batty (Griffin). A tearaway character who didn't give a tinkers curse about church, state or convention. I remember him coming into Paguine's with a wild smile on his face and a brown jute coarse bag slung over his shoulder.This was the common type of shopping bag used by country
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