#1Writing & Arts
John B. Keane
1928–2002Irish playwright, novelist and essayist (1928–2002)
13 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Famous people · Listowel, Co. Kerry
21 famous people were born in Listowel
With articles in 13 languages, John B. Keane is the most widely known. Second place goes to the Irish linguist T. F. O'Rahilly, third to Richard Alphonsus O'Connor. Only 2 towns in Co. Kerry list more. The largest group, 9, was born between 1922 and 1969.
Born here
21
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
John B. Keane
13 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1830
John Connors
Youngest
1981
Tadhg Kennelly
Most common field
Sports
7 people
What stands out about Listowel’s famous people
★ What stands out · Through the years
When Listowel’s famous people were born
More were born in the 1950s than in any other decade: 5.
SportsPolitics & LawScience & MedicineFaithWriting & ArtsMilitaryFilm, TV & StageNotable
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
The best known
Born in Listowel
First, John B. Keane (13 languages), then T. F. O'Rahilly (11) and Richard Alphonsus O'Connor (7).
#1TO#2
Science & Medicine
T. F. O'Rahilly
?–1953Irish linguist (1882–1953)
11 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
#3Faith
Richard Alphonsus O'Connor
1838–1913Canadian Catholic bishop (1838–1913)
7 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Known for
What Listowel is known for
Listowel has 3× the usual share of scientists and doctors.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed in Irish towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Listowel
18 more names, born between 1830 and 1981.
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Nearby, Abbeyfeale has the most on record, with 7.
Questions about famous people from Listowel
Who is the most famous person from Listowel?
John B. Keane (Irish playwright, novelist and essayist (1928–2002)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 13 languages. Next come T. F. O'Rahilly and Richard Alphonsus O'Connor.
How many famous people were born in Listowel?
21 people born in Listowel have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 28 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Listowel known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 7 of the 21. That is 33% of the town’s list, against 32% across Irish towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Listowel?
John Connors, born in 1830. The youngest on the list was born in 1981.
Who counts as from Listowel?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Listowel’s urban area (the CSO’s 2022 urban area), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a county or just “Ireland”, a townland or village we don’t list, another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations, how many Wikipedia and sister-site articles cover each person) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). A birthplace is placed in a town by its own Wikidata item, its Logainm place name, or a point inside its CSO 2022 outline; a birth recorded only as one of the five cities stays on the city’s page. Ranked by the number of articles. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across Irish towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (8)
- John B. Keane: Gotfryd, Bernard, photographer, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Richard Alphonsus O'Connor: Hopkins, J. Castell (John Castell), 1864-1923 and Cochrane, William, 1831-1898, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ned O'Sullivan: Houses of the Oireachtas, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Michael J. Stack: Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Connors: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Tadhg Kennelly: Flickerd, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Henry Marshall: RexGregorian, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Bryan MacMahon: Irish Defence Forces, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).