musicians, poets and drama performers over the years. It was often in the Marian
Hall where the villagers came to hear the finest of music, see acts of comedy,
and be enthralled by the old story-tellers.
Past performances there have included the well known ‘seanchaí’ Eddie Lenihan,
who told of fierce mythical battles involving the Fianna, as well as poetry
recitals by our own Gabriel Fitzmaurice, Dan Keane and Cormac
O’Leary.
A myriad of ‘talent’ shows have been held in the Hall over the years that gave welcome opportunities to the young locals to sing and play music in front of their neighbours. These shows would culminate in brilliant comedy sketches bringing the night to an end amid rapturous laughter and applause.
We have included here for you now, a snippet of the culture of the village in spoken and written word. (Just click the links below!)
Boghole Boys
In 2004, Gabriel Fitzmaurice presented a radio show on Radio Kerry called ‘The Boghole Boys’. Most of North Kerry were glued to the wireless each Monday night to hear the stories, songs, music and poems being performed by people from Moyvane, Knockanure and the surrounding parishes.
Here are the full recordings from four of our pubs along with another show where some of the more famous local poets and singers performed in the studio. All audio downloads are in Windows Media Audio format (.wma).
- Mairead Kearney’s (February 2nd, 2004)
Length: 45mins – Size: 5.5mbs - Joe’s Bar (February 16th, 2004)
Length: 46mins – Size: 5.6mbs - Flynn’s Bar (March 8th, 2004)
Length: 46mins – Size: 5.6mbs - Brosnan’s Bar (November 22nd, 2004)
Length: 50mins – Size: 8.4mbs - Dan Keane, Peggy Sweeney, John Looney, Hannah Mai Collins and Mick McConnell (January 19th, 2004)
Length: 46mins – Size: 5.6mbs
Poetry
- The Village Hall
– a verse by G. Fitzmaurice which tells the tale of the old shows that took place in the hall before the new one was built. - Willie’s Car
– ingenuous poetic description of a well known village character by Dan Keane - Jimmy Nolan
by Gabriel Fitzmaurice - Billy Cunningham
by Gabriel Fitzmaurice - The Kerryman
by Dan Keane - Old Jack Fitz’
by Gabriel Fitzmaurice - Willie Dore
by Gabriel Fitzmaurice - Memories
by Tom Scanlon (the Punter)
Stories
Story-telling too is a treasured gift that has found plenty of expression in Moyvane. Sometimes the ‘sean-chai’ would come from outside the parish but here are some told by natives:
- Wit and Wonder
by Dan Keane - Changes in ‘Newtown’
by Maurice Cunningham - Souls of Song
by Dan Keane - Carnival
by Dan Keane - Trades in Moyvane
by Dan Keane - My Own Place
by Gabriel Fitzmaurice - Where History Meets Poetry : “The Valley of Knockanure”
by Gabriel Fitzmaurice - Modern Wrenboys
by Aine Cronin - The Three Wise Men of Moyvane
Anonymous
Songs/Ballads
The Songs of Moyvane and its surrounding area are many, varied and surprisingly unknown. With the help of this website, they will get a rebirth so that they may be carried on to future generations.
- The Valley of Knockanure
by Tim Leahy - The Rose of Newtownsandes
Anonymous - The ‘Boro’ and the Gleann
Anonymous - The Rattle Away Breed
Paddy O’Connor - Newtown vs Tarbert
by Paddy Enright - Raid on Knockanure
by Willie Finucane - Road to Newtownsandes
by Patrick McCauliffe
Tradition
Here is a tribute to some native people of Moyvane who have carried on the tradition of Irish music and culture to other parts of the world: