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By Mattie Lennon
BALLYKNOCKAN GRANITE QUARRIES MADE PROUD BY PETRA O' FLAHERTY AND THE FIFTY-FIFTH YEAR OF LISTOWEL WRITERS’ WEEK.
I was born and reared within spitting distance of the famous granite quarries in west Wicklow. Some of you may recall a piece that I wrote some years ago about four Cullen brothers from Ballinastockan who served their time as stonecutters in Ballyknockan quarries. They all immigrated to the USA and certainly made headlines as stonecutters there.
And it’s not surprising that the passed the craft down to their descendants. Cullen brothers Patrick and Bernard, sons of Laurence from Ballinastockan, worked on the 20 ton replica of the Great Seal of Minneapolis which was hoisted onto the wall of the Minneapolis Auditorium in the 1960s. The Minneapolis Tribune of 17th February 1967 had a picture of Myles Cullen dwarfed by the Seal, which was 26 feet in diameter. Bernard remarked: 'The Great Seal was so big we had to hire a ballroom so that we could lay it out.' Myles Cullen's sons say their father's work felt normal and common to them when they were young. Every Saturday they would help clean stone dust from a workshop that their father and uncle bought, and be rewarded with a soda pop. Today, they say, they are amazed by their father's work. The Westin Hotel, Minneapolis, has two more monuments to the Cullen brothers. They sculpted the larger than life figures of a mechanic and a farmer which stands on either side of the main entrance. The building was formerly the Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank.
Michael McLaverty said, “Stone is lasting: all life ends in death, but stone lives on” and so it does. Ballyknockan is in the news once again and this time it’s because of a Ballyknockan female, Petra O’ Flaherty, who is in her fourth year apprenticeship as a Stonemason and Stonecutter. She is the first registered female stonemason apprentice in Ireland for over 30 years and, was competing with more than 3,000 applicants from the UK and Ireland to reach her place as one of the ten finalists in the national final of the Screwfix Trade Apprentice Final and the chance to bring to Ballyknockan a bundle of tools plus training and technology worth €10,000.
Like the Cullens Petra comes from a long line of stonecutters, the seven generations before her followed the craft but her grandfather believed that the tradition went back further.
There are seven phases in the course and she does the college phases in Kerry College, Tralee. And can’t speak highly enough of her instructor Tom Little. “He is one of the most amazing stone cutters and stone masons in all of Ireland, if not the best.” The admiration is mutual. Tom Little has this to say, "Petra O'Flaherty is representative of a new wave of craftspersons working with stone who are taking ownership of this craft and reinterpreting it on their own terms. Though proud of her family tradition of stoneworking, which goes back generations, Petra is not confined or defined by this tradition but rather takes it as a source of inspiration and a point of departure to explore new possibilities. With craftspersons like Petra the ancient craft of stonecutting is in safe hands and sure of its place in the future." High praise indeed.
Petra loves the Ballyknockan granite and would probably agree with the character in Seamus Murphy's 'Stone Mad' who referred to the Ballyknockan granite as being 'like oatmeal' and commented on how easily carved it was.
She was up against nine finalists, five electricians, a plumber, two carpenters, and a wood manufacturer/joiner. We hoped that she’ll bring the prize to Ballyknockan, the Granite Village and we weren't disappointed. And it certainly was no surprise tp Tom Little.
Petra O'Flaherty
And for the May holiday weekend apart from celebrating Petra's fabulous win, we had Féile an Chnocáin, a community music and heritage festival set in Ballyknockan, an annual event which honours its unique cultural legacy alongside traditional and contemporary music.
The festival brought together locals and visitors for a vibrant line-up of live bands, guided historical walks, and a lively community field day featuring market stalls and a pop-up Gaeltacht. It served as a vital celebration of the area’s local artistry, heritage, and tight-knit community spirit. Among the highlights was a guided walk with TCD's Biodiversity Officer Collie Ennis, who wandered through Ballyknockan Village, up to the old quarries to find some odd characters. That took place on Saturday, May 2, at 1.30pm, the group met at the picnic area. The big day for the family was the ‘Family Field Day and Craft Market’, which happened on Sunday, May 3, from 1pm to 5pm. A great time was had by all.
And speaking of art, by the time you read this Listowel Writers' Week 2026 will have finished. This most prestigious literary festival in Ireland if not in Europe, was openrd om May 27th
Space doesn’t permit me to go through all the fabulous events (the Editor says that I don’t ever use one word where ten will do) but it included a Personalised Master Class on Writing a Novel given by Christine Dwyer Hickey , Joe Philpott talking to the famous Billy Keane and an absolutely fantastic trilogy of One-Act plays written and performed by Mike Murfi, not to be missed.The Listowel Arms Hotel was packed to the rafters for a tribute to the late Mickey MacConnell. Award-winning broadcaster and presenter Miriam O' Callaghan opened the festival in the Ball Room of the Listowel Arms Hotel on Wednesday 27th May And it was aal go nfrom there on. More than 100 events which included something for everyone.
Here's a link to show you what you missed this year and if you are in this green and misty island at the end of May 2027 remember where to go
Go to https://writersweek.ie/programme-2026/ and you'll see what you missed this year.
And before I go, there are two books hot off the press which you shouldn't miss. Replies, Responses and Lame Exchuses and Over the Wall to the Trinity Ball, by that man of many parts Richard Marsh . You can cut out the middle-man by contacting the author himself at richard@richardmarsh.ie
See you in July!
This issue appears in the ezine in the blog www.pencilstubs.net at Google Blogger with the capability of adding comments at the latter.
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