placenamesLisselton
Lios Eiltín
School history, a farmer’s railway restoration and a modern literary festival reveal different ways Lisselton has carried its past forward.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Lios Eiltín · Irish · main form · validated name
- Lisselton · English · main form
Place & story
A school in Loughanes
Saint Eiltín’s National School was established for boys and girls in 1871, with its building completed in 1878 at Loughanes. The school identifies novelist Maurice Walsh among its former pupils. A replacement opened on a two-acre site in 1983. Further work in 2017 added a classroom, a multipurpose room and learning-support spaces, extending an institution with roots in the nineteenth century. [2]
Rebuilding the Lartigue line
In August 1976, RTÉ reported on farmer Michael Barry’s efforts to preserve the Lartigue Monorail at Lisselton. The steam-powered line had linked Listowel and Ballybunion from 1888 until 1924. Barry initially intended to reconstruct three supporting trestles, but publicity brought offers of surviving railway parts and encouraged a larger plan for twelve trestles and a carriage. The report captures a local preservation project decades after the railway’s closure. [3]
Remembering a bardic court
The Ballydonoghue Bardic Festival honours Pádraig Liath Ó Conchubhair, whom its organisers identify as a Lisselton-born poet and hedge-school teacher of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Their account credits him with establishing an annual gathering of poets, Cúirt na Súagh. The modern festival continues that literary association through competitions and workshops in Irish and English, with its 2026 programme placing poetry, fiction and songwriting sessions at Lisselton National School. [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Kerry
- Barony
- Iraghticonnor
- Coordinates
- 52.49199, -9.57553 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1411688 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Lisselton. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- History: Saint Eiltíns / Lisselton National School · Lisselton National School
- Rebuilding The Lartigue Line 1976: report broadcast 13 August 1976 · Tom MacSweeney / RTÉ Archives
- Ballydonoghue Bardic Festival: history and 2026 programme · Ballydonoghue Bardic Festival
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.