Vincent and his history of printing in north Kerry
THE Listowel Arms Hotel was the venue for the launch of Vincent Carmody’s latest book, which captures the social history of north Kerry through the medium of posters.
‘Listowel: A Printer’s Legacy’ tells the story of printing in north Kerry from 1870 to 1970. The book offers an amazing collage of 160 posters advertising horse fairs, drama, dances and political parties. Vincent’s research of each poster provides a valuable historical context. The posters are a snapshot of life in north Kerry that might have been lost but for Vincent collecting posters over the years.
“People can write about history, but this is presenting history in a unique way. If these posters had not been saved and retained a whole period of our history would have been lost forever,” Vincent said.
The book’s five chapters covers the story of printing, the huge part posters played in promoting ballads, local auctions, public notices, drama and entertainment.
“They were the internet of the day and that’s how people communicated and showed off their businesses and events. Each poster is very precious to me and I started collecting them in the 1980s,” He said. At the launch was Billy Keane, while Gabriel Fitzmaurice, Kay Caball, Sean Kelly MEP and Mr Justice Bryan McMahon also attended along with Vincent’s family and friends.