Terrace Talk Show Wins Gold Medal Award At IMROs

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RADIO Kerry received a top prize at the IMRO Radio Awards tonight, which was held virtually this year.

Radio Kerry’s Terrace Talk was shortlisted in the Local/Regional Sports Programme category for a tribute show following the passing of Kerry athlete and Olympian Jerry Kiernan earlier this year.

The show was presented by Andrew Hickson and produced by Ivan Hurley.

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Students in the Radio Kerry Digital Journalism and Radio Broadcasting course with Kerry College were also nominated in the Short Feature category, for their entry The Power of a Phone Call.

The IMRO awards mark the best in Irish radio broadcasting and recognise those who have made contributions over the year. Over 700 entries were received for this year’s awards.

Kerry International Film Festival Launches Programme Of Events

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KERRY International Film Festival (KIFF) officially launched their 2021 film festival programme this evening online.

Celebrating its 22nd edition, this year’s festival will take place October 14 – 17 and will present a blended film festival that promotes and showcases film and filmmaking talent across 15 in person physical events and 30 online screenings.

Speaking at the launch Eibh Collins, Festival Director said; ‘We are delighted to be able to bring KIFF back onto the big screen with Cinema Killarney as our main venue.”

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“We are also thrilled to be returning to Tralee for our closing night film, which will screen at Siamsa Tíre.”

“Running parallel to the in-person programme, we have a robust and exciting online programme streamed from the KIFF website to audiences’ devices-of-choice. KIFF endeavors to ensure that those who cannot travel, or those who are not yet ready for travel in the current phase of the pandemic, will still be able to enjoy the best of Kerry International Film Festival from the comfort of their own homes.”

In advance of the festival, KIFF will present the 2021 Maureen O’Hara winner, with a special ‘In Conversation’ interview with eight-time Academy Award-nominated film producer and president of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy (ET: The Extra Terrestrial, Indiana Jones, Star Wars).

Kennedy oversaw the rebirth of the Star Wars Universe including the most recent trilogy which showcased Kerry to legions of film fans the world over.

This event will be hosted by producer Rebecca Flanagan (Smother, Handsome Devil) and will be available to watch online from Oct 11th.

The festival will open on Thursday 14th October with Death of a Ladies’ Man, starring Gabriel Byrne, and will close with the Irish Language feature Foscadh (Shelter), which recently won Best First Feature at the Galway Film Fleadh.

Foscadh was also recently selected by the Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) as Ireland’s entry to the Oscars Best International Feature Film category for the upcoming 94th annual Academy Awards.

Alongside these in-person cinema screenings, KIFF has an exciting selection of New Irish Shorts Feature Films’ and documentaries, including the Damien Dempsey-centered Love Yourself Today, Tadhg O’ Sullivan’s, Dublin International Film Festival-winning, To The Moon and dramatic documentary features Who we Love & The Yellow Wallpaper.

Some of the online programme highlights include KIFF’s three new themed strands. The ‘Something’s Not Quite Right’ Strand, KIFF’s Environmental strand presented by Irish actor Jack Reynor, and KIFF’s All Abilities strand.

“Indie and low-budget filmmaking is something KIFF strives to support,” said Eibh. “With the DIY filmmaking community growing fast whilst showcasing some of the best new and emerging Irish filmmaking talent, KIFF is excited to take this opportunity to highlight a spooky developing trend and to showcase some of the new talent in this area.

“Thus, KIFF will be presenting Something’s Not Quite Right, a series of screenings showcasing this genre that includes a selection of horror and psychological thrillers, including Irish & Irish-US co-production The Yellow Wallpaper, Bring out the Fear, Save me from Everything and Gateway.”

“We are excited to announce that Irish actor Jack Reynor is KIFF’s newly appointed Green Ambassador. In celebration of Jack’s role, he and the programming team have put together a daily online selection of international environmental documentaries that highlight the challenges our environment faces today, including Hell or Clean Water (Canada), Uni Yama Aida (Japan) and Walk the Tide Line (Finland).”

Amongst these highlights is a film programme to celebrate their new All Abilities submission field, dedicated to promoting the lives, stories and artistic expression of people with different abilities and disabilities.

This selection includes Irish and International fiction and documentary shorts and the feature documentary Only I Can Hear.

Kerry talent is also to the fore and they have two programmes of Kerry Connection short films and they are honoured to support Kerry writer Katie McNiece’s Feature Who We Love’, directed and co-written by Festival alumni Graham Cantwell.

These films and more will be in the running for the prestigious KIFF Awards. The winners will be announced on Sunday 17 October at the KIFF Awards Brunch in J.M. Reidy’s Killarney.

KIFF has gone from strength to strength over the past 12 months as they gained over 17,000+ live streams during their online festival in 2020 and recently generated the largest number of film submissions in the festival’s history to date.

KIFF recently announced Kerry Airport as its title sponsor for 2021 and they are very grateful to be working with them alongside other key partners including The Arts Council, Kerry County Council, The Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA), Randles Hotel Killarney, RTÉ Supporting the Arts, The Plaza Hotel Killarney, Tower Records, Kerry Broadband, J.M. Reidy’s as well as a wealth of local Kerry businesses.

All of this and so much more can be found on our website. Tickets, pre-booking and festival passes will be available to purchase from 6pm on Friday 1st October from www.kerryfilmfestival.com

Kerry Parents And Friends To Receive €169,000

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AN announcement of €169,000 in funding has been made for Kerry Parents and Friends Association through the Strengthening Disability Services Fund.

This one-off grant is to provide targeted support to reform disability services, build the capacity of disability organisations and to improve the quality of life of those who rely on these services.

The fund will be used in a variety of ways, including the development of facilities, progressing wellbeing programmes, provision of counsellor/ psychotherapy services as well as other essential projects.

Kerry Parents and Friends Association is awarded the grant funding to redevelop their Approved Housing Body.

Minister for Education Norma Foley welcomed the news saying;  “I welcome this funding which will provide a major boost for Kerry Parents and Friends Association – who provide such vital services throughout Kerry.”

108 New Cars Sold In Kerry In September

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NEW car sales remained almost the same in Kerry last month compared to September 2020, according to the latest statistics from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI).

There were 108 new car registrations in the county in August 2021 compared to 109 in the same month last year, an drop of less than one per cent.

In the first nine months of this year there have been 2,121 new car sales in Kerry while last year there were 1,867 in the same period, an increase of 13.6%. Nationally, new car registrations are up just over 19% at over 100,000 sold.

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So far this year, Hyundai is the most popular make of car in Kerry with 281 units sold so far this year, with the other Top 5 made up of Toyota (277), Volkswagen (239) Ford (220) and KIA (217).

The Hyundai Tucson is the most popular model sold this year on 148 units, with Kia Sportage (93), Toyota Corolla (80), Ford Focus (76) and Volkswagen Tiguan (70) making up the top five.

Diesel cars were the most popular engine type in 835 units with 638 petrol. Next is 334 petrol/electric vehicles sold, a rise of nearly 54% on the same nine-month period in 2020, 102 petrol/plug-in electric hybrid (+143%), 102 Electric vehicles (+96%) 100 diesel electric (+809%), ,  eight petrol/gas and two Diesel/Plug-In Electric Hybrid.

Tralee LEA Had Highest COVID Incidence Rate In Kerry In Fortnight Up To Monday

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THERE were 152 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Tralee Local Electoral Area in the 14 day period up to Monday, September 27, according to figures available on the Government’s COVID-19 data hub.

This is a 14-day incidence rate of 460 per 100,000 of the population, above the national incidence of 389 per 100,000 as of Monday, September 27. It’s the highest COVID case rate of the six LEAs in the county.

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In all, there were 485 new cases recorded in Kerry during the fortnight period, up from the 467  cases recorded in the fortnight up to September 20.

The LEA with the second highest incidence in the county is the Killarney Electoral Area which saw 134 new cases, a current 14-Day Incidence Rate of 452.6 per 100k of the population.

There were 33 cases in the Corca Dhuibhne Electoral Area, a rate of 232.7 per 100,000. Kenmare had 58 new cases, a rate of 231.4 per 100,000. Castleisland which saw 54 new cases and a rate of  315 per 100,000.

The Listowel Electoral Area saw 54 new cases and a rate of 188.3 per 100,000. There have been 8,162 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Kerry since the pandemic began.

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Kerry Projects To Benefit From SEAI Grants

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A RANGE of Kerry organisations will receive funding to upgrade their energy systems as part of €57m in grant aid from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.

Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan announced on Thursday that 83 projects nationwide are to benefit from the grants.

“Farms, GAA clubs, healthcare facilities, and retailers from Kerry all sought and received funding,” says the Green Party former Dáil candidate for Kerry, Cleo Murphy.

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“Businesses, like Morans’ Garage in Dingle and the Randles Court hotel in Killarney are upgrading. Kerry County Council itself applied to improve glazing, insulation and heating controls. It’s very encouraging to see such a range of organisations working to reduce their energy consumption.”

More than 2,000 private homes nationwide have also been granted funding for retrofitting.

Green Party Kerry branch chairperson and Tralee representative Anluan Dunne pointed out that this investment will achieve energy savings which will amount to €156 million, or 25,000 MWh, each year.

“Reducing our energy consumption makes sense on so many levels,” he says. “It will reduce energy consumption, create financial savings, and give us warmer homes and offices. It will also generate local employment for trades people with retrofitting skills. Organisations in Kerry have really stepped up to the mark here and I hope it will encourage others to consider energy upgrades and retrofitting.”