05/25/2026
Irish writer BRYAN MACMAHON born September 29th 1909 and the story behind THE PEBBLE .
It was the summer of 1975 , I was just 16 and David 17 . We were going on one of our first dates , a walk down by the river Feale .David went swimming and when finished bent down and picked up a pebble that had caught his attention . " Here, this is for you he said , keep it " I went home and put the pebble in a drawer . I kept the pebble through break ups and reconciliations , through an engagement at 19 and a breakup at 20 through David emigrating to Canada and then coming back to Listowel two years later asking if I was ready ? When we finally reconnected and I joined him in Alberta in 1985 I brought my pebble with me . Sometime that year I asked if he remembered our first summer date . He did and remembered the pebble despite not seeing it in over a decade . Christmas 1986 was my time to be surprised , without my knowing he had taken the pebble from my box of trinkets and brought it to The Goldsmith .
On our next trip to Listowel my great friend Bryan MacMahon stopped me on the street wanting to chat about my life in Canada . He commented on the interesting necklace round my neck and was delighted with the story I told him . He subsequently wrote a short story based on the incident which was included in the book A Bakers Dozen , an anthology of short stories and later read on BBC radio . Bryan was a wonderful writer of great renown ( He was one of the founding members of Listowel Writers Week ) and was a great friend and mentor to me.
23 years ago my friend Ian Cameron suggested I call my new business The Pebble . I didn't love the name at the time but over the years I realize how special a name it is . I am so grateful to Bryan and Ian . It has been the privilege of a lifetime to operate my small gem under his provenance
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