THE new Kerry Rose was crowned at the selection night in the Killarney Heights Hotel tonight.
Fifteen contestants were hopeful of the opportunity to represent the county at the festival in August but it was Emer Dineen from Castlegregory who was announced as the winner.
Emer Dineen (23) graduated University College Dublin, and is now a paediatric radiographer based in Temple Street hospital, covering both Tallaght and Connolly’s paediatric wings.
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A love of working with and helping children was furthered when lifeguarding in the summers off from college. Emer loves Gaeilge and more recently has begun learning Irish Sign Language, which has arisen from a desire to better understand Lámh- a manual sign system designed to help people with communication in Ireland, Volunteering at Barretstown is very important to Emer and her family.
Congratulations to Emer and best of luck representing the county at the Festival this August.
CBS The Green hosted its prestigious annual awards ceremony on Thursday night, recognising the outstanding achievements of its students over the past year.
This event celebrated not only academic success but also the commitment, resilience, and effort demonstrated by the students.
Every nominated student received either a certificate, medal or a plaque as a testament to their contributions to school life, including awards for School Spirit, Academic Excellence, and Achievement in the Sporting Field. The evening also featured an address by Paschal Sheehy.
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A standout moment of the evening was the presentation of the Donal Walsh Live Life Award to Calvin O’Sullivan O’Shea.
Calvin was honoured for his incredible spirit and resilience following a severe head and neck injury sustained during a League of Ireland U14 game while playing for Kerry FC.
Despite this significant challenge, Calvin has inspired both in the classroom and on the soccer pitch, where he played and coached the team to their first-ever Munster final win.
His recovery and perseverance have deeply moved and motivated the entire school community.
Additionally, Calvin received the Soccer Coach of the Year Award from teacher Mr. Brian Horgan.
Introducing the award, Mr. Horgan said, “As difficult as it was for him to not lace up his boots every game and wear the no. 9 jersey which he has made his own, he instead picked up the pad and pen and took up the role as assistant manager for both the 1st-year and U15 soccer teams.”
Special award mentions included the Gaisce Awards awarded to Fionn Heaslip and Cian Heaslip, who achieved the Silver Award and are now progressing towards their Gold Awards.
In terms of academic excellence, the Leaving Cert High Achievers 2023 Award was presented to Tomas O’Connor, Donagh Stephenson, Joel Sunil Varghese, Jimmy Maunsell, and Cillian Lynch.
The Students Council Award acknowledged Preston O’Keeffe, the ISSU International Officer, and David Morrissey, the Vice Chairperson of the School Student Council, for their exemplary leadership and dedication. David Morrissey has been a member of the Student Council for the past four years and currently holds the position of Deputy Chairperson.
Preston O’Keeffe joined the Student Council in First Year and has served as Chairperson for the past three years, consistently advocating for the student voice.
This unforgettable evening highlighted the remarkable talent and hard work of CBS The Green students, celebrating their achievements and encouraging them to continue striving for excellence.
The ceremony not only marked the conclusion of a year of hard work but also set a high standard for future accomplishments within the school community. Scroll down for photos…
THE Kerry ladies senior footballers will play in the Munster Championship Final this Saturday afternoon.
After their narrow victory over Waterford in the last round, Cork provide the opposition in the decider which will be played at the Mallow GAA Complex with a 4pm throw-in.
Tickets for the match can be purchased by clicking here. Here’s the Kerry team….
TRALEE Tidy Towns has expressed their gratitude to local businesses for the incredible efforts they have put into projects over the past year.
The local Tidy Town group has had an exceptional year since the last tidy towns adjudication in June 2023. Shortlisted in three national awards, including Ireland’s Best Kept, .IE Digital Towns and the Clean Coasts Ocean Heroes Awards; the steering group was delighted to see a further acknowledgement of the hard work going on in Tralee with a record 19 points increase in the last adjudication report.
This was no small feat and is testament to the mammoth work going in to make the town a better place to live in, work in and visit from a growing number of volunteers under the Tralee Tidy Towns effort, from the Kerry County Council Tralee MD; from local schools and university, in addition to a huge increase in support from Tralee Chamber Alliance and local companies and businesses in the town.
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Over the past year, Tralee Tidy Towns has embarked on a range of new projects such as a repair café, an energy clinic, a family heritage trail and large-scale clean ups of Cockleshell on Tralee Bay and the River Lee.
In fact, when they submitted their application for the Tidy Towns Ireland competition 2024 last week, it included an impressive 104 projects across eight categories including community, streetscape and public places, greenspaces and landscaping, nature and biodiversity, sustainability, tidiness and litter control, residential streets and housing areas and approach roads, streets, and lanes.
Tralee Tidy Towns chairperson, Brendan O’Brien said: “we are delighted with the support we are getting from our town stakeholders, and I will be honest and say we could not do it without them.
“The Tidy Towns application is always a showcase of a team effort to do our best for our town and we can see that effort increasing year-on-year. This year, we want to improve this effort again and we are appealing to business owners and property owners around the town to help us again this year and keep an eye out around their own premises – particularly on simple things like litter and the presentation of the shop/property.
“I would also like to thank all those who are supporting us in any small way – it all helps and motivates us to keep going.”
Colette O’Connor CEO of Tralee Chamber Alliance added; “Tralee Chamber and its members are delighted to support the efforts of Tidy Towns who are doing phenomenal work here in Tralee.
“Earlier this year we issued a joint communication to businesses encouraging them to take pride in the appearance of their buildings, keep up the maintenance, ensure their bins and skips are secured and invest in planting. It is fantastic to see now as we head into the critical period of judging that so many businesses have undertaken works to repair and enhance their buildings across various locations in the town. A number of new businesses have opened too which has added to the aesthetics of the town centre. We urge everyone to continue supporting Tidy Towns’s efforts and to get in touch if they would like more information,” she concluded.
KERRY International Film Festival (KIFF) has announced that Amy-Louise O’Callaghan has been appointed Programming Director for KIFF 2024.
She will curate a special programme to celebrate 25 years of the festival, which takes place from October 17 – 20, 2024, across a variety of venues in Killarney.
KIFF also hosts county-wide film events throughout the year. In this capacity, Amy-Louise presented a selection of award-winning KIFF films to a full house in Dingle as part of the brilliant Féile Na Bealtaine festival.
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Amy Louise is a film programmer and illustrator who has spent the last few years working in the Irish Film Institute on its annual schools programme, delivering an extensive selection of Irish and international films to young people throughout Ireland.
On her appointment, Amy Louise said; “I’m delighted to be appointed the Festival Programming Director for 2024. Coming from North Cork, access to arts and culture in rural areas has always been very important to me. Local film festivals like KIFF offer the opportunity to experience a huge variety of cultures and experiences, and everyone of all ages should feel welcome to come in and enjoy what’s on offer. I’m very excited to join such a great team to deliver a dynamic programme next October.’
Speaking about the appointment, KIFF chair, Grace O’ Donnell, said: “We are so delighted to welcome Amy-Louise to our KIFF 2024 team. Her passion and enthusiasm for the arts are exactly what KIFF celebrates. She is a perfect fit to head up our silver jubilee year.”
AN acclaimed, powerful play will be staged in Tralee next week by the talented Zyber Theatre Company.
‘The Game’ written by John Fraher, was first performed in Siamsa Tíre back in 1992. It’s an emotional drama set within the confines of a dysfunctional family and their associates, where life becomes a game.
The Tralee-based theatre group is known for its wonderful productions and the cast of five — George Lowe, Mags Slattery, Eoghain Sheehy, Sorcha Uí Shuilleabháin and Rory O’Mahony — have been busy rehearsing since before Christmas to deliver performances from Wednesday, May 22 to Friday, May 25 at 8pm nightly.
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The play has been performed by various drama groups down the years to great acclaim by those attending and this production will no doubt emulate those stagings.
In fact, writing in The Kerryman back in 2002, when the play was staged at Siamsa Tíre, Michael Commane said; “The Game’ is a serious study of what failure, misery, pain is about. It is anything but a laugh, but a play no one should miss”.
The show begins at 8pm nightly. Tickets: €21/€19 +Booking fee and is suitable for people aged 18 and over. Contact the Siamsa Tíre box office 066-7123055 or click here to book online.
THE folks at St John’s Parochial School on Ashe Street, Tralee are looking forward to welcoming the wide community to an event this Sunday morning as a fundraiser for their school.
The children, their parents and staff are planning the school’s second annual fun run in Tralee Town Park to help fund school yard and play space upgrades.
The Principal of St John’s Parochial School, Mike O’Toole, said: “Our numbers have doubled in recent years – from 38 to 75 students and from two to four teachers – since 2022. The play spaces have become more crowded and we would love to make these areas as productive and play friendly as possible.
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“Astro Pitches and Playgrounds cost up to €20,000 and €45,000 respectively and proceeds from this year’s fun run will go towards our Yard Rejuvenation Fund. Unfortunately, and despite being a DEIS school, there is no funding from the Department or grant available to bring our children’s dreams to fruition.”
Anyone who wants a fun day out, while keeping fit at the same time can register from 10.15am at the park entrance opposite the KDYS on Denny Street while the run itself will start at 11am.
THE weather is set to be dry and mild for the weekend so this bodes well for the Tralee Food Festival which kicks off this evening.
It’s set to be a wonderful weekend of markets, demos and music events and it all starts with the launch at the Abbey Car Park at 5.30pm.
To coincide with the opening, there’s a special Office Chair Racing event which will see the Tralee MD candidates in the upcoming local elections wheel into action against each other in what should be great fun. It’s all in aid of the Kerry Mental Health Association.
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This will be followed by an outdoor cabaret from members of Tralee Musical Society at 6.30pm at the specially erected marquee in the Abbey Car Park.
Next up at 7.30pm in the marquee is the excellent Noel McAuliffe and Shane Murphy so head along and enjoy the atmosphere.
If you fancy a drop of the strong stuff, then Bailys Corner is hosting a Whiskey Tasting Experience at 8pm (but pre-booking is necessary at the bar).
A good start then but there’s so much to come over the weekend!
TRALEE International Resource Centre (TIRC), Killarney Immigrant Support Centre (KASI) and the African community in Kerry (AFCOM) are celebrating Africa day with a big day of celebration in Tralee Town Park.
The three groups are organising an African party for the entire county, on Sunday, May 26 which will bring together different African cultures and traditions and hopefully bring together international and local communities across Kerry.
Everyone, from young to the old, is invited to attend the fun family day out that will showcase a different culture and provide plenty of entertainment.
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The event will celebrate traditional African food and African drumming and Tralee Town Park will host Africa-themed displays. Many of those from Africa, now living in Kerry, will showcase their traditional African dress.
The family fun event will also have a DJ, face-painting, bouncy castles and games, in what promises to be a truly multi-cultural event for all to enjoy. Africa day will be opened by Mayor of Tralee, Cllr Terry O’Brien, at 2pm.
Co-ordinator of TIRC, Mary Carroll, said, “this day is an opportunity to celebrate African diversity and success and join Africans around the world in highlighting the cultural and social energy of the continent. And importantly it will support integration and inclusion by bringing different cultures and communities together.”
“This type of initiative is more than just good fun, it is about raising awareness and encouraging integration as the different communities come together. Music, games and food is a fun way to achieve this very important goal. It makes us realise what we have in common; we all have families, we enjoy our children having a fun day out, we like nice food, music and laughter is appreciated by us all.”
Mary continued; “This is our third time holding an event like this, and each year it gets bigger and better! In the past years it was wonderful to see so many people coming to try African food, and learning so much about the different cultures, and meeting and talking together, in a fun way. The African drumming is always a highlight at the event also.”
Africa day runs from 2pm-5pm on Sunday May 26 and everyone is urged to come along to this family fun event that will be both educational and entertaining.
The event, which was officially launched this week, is supported by Funding from Irish Aid at the Department of Foreign Affairs, facilitated through Kerry County Council.
The organisers are very grateful for the use of Tralee Town Park and for all the help from local groups and businesses including Sean Murphy Electrical contractor.