O’Connor’s (Abbeyfeale)

Credit: Seán Lynch, ‘The plasterwork of Pat McAuliffe of Listowel’ (Siamsa Tíre, Tralee, 2009):

‘Life is short, the art long’, in Latin, above an Anglo-Saxon fertility charm in Old English, which translates as:

‘Hail to thee, Earth, mother of men!

Be fruitful in God’s embrace,

Filled with food for the use of men’

The work of local plasterer and craftsman Pat McAuliffe (1846–1921). For more on McAuliffe’s life and work see Seán Lynch, ‘The plasterwork of Pat McAuliffe of Listowel’ (Siamsa Tíre, Tralee, 2009):

‘McAuliffe’s use of Latin (and later French and Anglo-Saxon) mottos upon building facades is reflective of a strong literary tradition in the region. The Catholic Church, and the format of the mass, and the hedge school had all traditionally encouraged a rural Latinity. An eclectic knowledge became part of the culture of the region.’