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Pat O’Mahony with Mary O’Brien as he cuts the tape to officially unveil the new St Brendan information panel. Photo by Dermot Crean
THE official unveiling of the new information panel on St Brendan The Navigator took place this morning in Fenit.
The information panel, which is in both Irish and English, is located adjacent to the playground and the entrance to the new greenway. It’s divided into three sections, with the first giving a brief history of St Brendan and beginning of a timeline of his life.
The second panel gives information on the statue of St Brendan (and its sculptor Tighe O’Donoghue/Ross) which overlooks the entrance to Fenit Harbour, while the third section concerns the St Brendan Way — the chain of sites in north Kerry associated with the saint.
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It also has a tribute to Fr Gearóid Ó Donnchada who was instrumental in the erection of the statue and led a fundraising local heritage group to bring St Brendan’s story to the fore in the village.
Welcoming the crowd on Thursday morning, Interim Chairperson of the Fenit Town Hall, Mikey Moriarty, paid tribute to all responsible for the getting the information panel installed.
The idea for the panel came about from Mary O’Brien from Fenit and Claudia Kohler from Kerry County Museum.
Fr Kieran O’Callaghan who blessed the information panel. Photo by Dermot Crean
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The cost of the panel, including installation, was €9,000. A Council grant of €4,000 was allocated while the St Brendan’s Statue Committee gave €3,000. This was aided by Cllr Deirdre Ferris who gave €1,000 from her councillors allocations and another €1,000 was allocated by the Council for installation.
Mikey Moriarty thanked Cllr Ferris and Mayor of Tralee Cllr Mikey Sheehy, who were both present, for their work promoting Fenit Village.
He also thanked Fr Francis Nolan and Fr Kieran O’Callaghan who came to bless the new sign and Michael Pierce of the Town Hall committee for helping co-ordinate the project. Local schoolchildren were also present while there was also traditional music for the entertainment of those in attendance.
Claudia Kohler said the new sign was a long time coming and replaced original panels installed by the late Fr Gearóid Ó Donnchada.
She said the new panel is dedicated to Fr Gearóid who, when he arrived there back in the 1980s, was instrumental in bringing St Brendan back the local community in Fenit
Another great servant of the Fenit community, Pat O’Mahony, performed the cutting of the tape to officially unveil the sign. Scroll down for photos…
At the unveiling of the St Brendan information panel in Fenit were; Claudia Kohler of Kerry County Museum, Pat O’Mahony, Michael Pierce, Shaun Daughton, Jean Foley of Kerry County Council, Mayor of Tralee Cllr Mikey Sheehy, Mary O’Brien, Chairperson of Fenit Town Hall Mikey Moriarty and Cllr Deirdre Ferris. Photo by Dermot Crean
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Photo by Dermot Crean
Musicians entertain those present. Photo by Dermot Crean
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