The terrible fear in the classroom when, on Monday morning, a teacher, after a weekend of over-indulging, throws off his jacket, rolls up his shirt sleeves and bellows to the terrified class: “Blood will be spilled on shirts today.”
That is the very graphic memory of Sneem man Sonny Looney and how it propelled him to go working in Parknasilla Hotel, where he stayed for over 50 years.
The Saturday Supplement on Radio Kerry, from 9.00am to 11.00am, this Saturday morning will hear some great stories in advance of the Sneem International Storytelling Festival that runs from November 8-10.
The programme, presented by Frank Lewis, will pay tribute festival founder Batt Burns for his very full and rich life and the impact his creativity and commitment has had on so many.
“Batt Burns was a leader in Sneem. He brought Americans for storytelling and in this way developed a new kind of tourism.
“He started the Sneem International Storytellig Festival. We salute and thank him,” he added.
He programme will feature musical interludes with the South Kerry Rosen Choir, director Brad Dicks and accompanist Tetyana Budzen singing in St Michael’s Church in Sneem.
Frank Lewis and his four guests – Sonny, Batt, James O’Shea and Mo Stafford, spent hours swapping stories a mile up the Kerry Way west of Sneem in the wooded Oureegh area.
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