Listowel
town in County Kerry, Ireland
Listowel ( LISS-tohl; Irish: Lios Tuathail, meaning 'Tuathal's ringfort', pronounced [l̠ʲɪsˠ ˈt̪ˠuəhəlʲ]) is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, 28 km (17 mi) from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,794 according to the 2022 census, the third largest in the county. Listowel is also the name of a townland within the town and an encompassing civil parish.
The town has been described by the organisers of Listowel's writers' festival as the "Literary Capital of Ireland". A number of internationally known playwrights and authors have lived there, including Bryan MacMahon and John B. Keane.
Location
Listowel is on the N69 Limerick – Foynes – Tralee road. Bus Éireann provides daily services to Tralee, Cork, and Limerick. The nearest railway station is Tralee. Listowel used to have its own railway station on a broad gauge line between Tralee and Limerick city; however, this was closed to passengers in 1963, to freight in 1978, and finally abandoned and lifted in 1988.
The public source identifies “Listowel” as town in County Kerry, Ireland. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Listowel, town and County.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Listowel”, the useful work is to connect “town in County Kerry, Ireland” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q996487. VIAF identifies the subject as 126600307. The Library of Congress control number is n92011801. Authority coordinates are 52.447, -9.486. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2022, 1963, 1978 and 1988.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Listowel”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Listowel primary sources, Listowel archive and Listowel research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Listowel”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Listowel” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.