PHOTOS: The News From December…

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Continuing our review of the year, here’s some of the stories we brought you in December…

• KIERAN Donaghy announced  that he will not be retiring from the Kerry team and is available for selection in the 2018 season.

He spoke to his family and Eamonn Fitzmaurice and decided he will retire when he can’t help Kerry anymore.

Donaghy will turn 35 in March and is looking to his 14th season in a Kerry jersey. He enjoyed another great season in 2017 and was nominated for an All-Star.

• COUNCILLOR Toireasa Ferris was selected by the Sinn Féin membership to go forward as the party’s next general election candidate in Kerry, at a packed party convention held at the Kerins O’Rahillys club.

She was nominated by a number of cumainn in the county. The convention was being held as a result of the announcement by Deputy Martin Ferris that he would not be seeking a nomination. Toireasa Ferris was the only name to be put forward by the membership in the county.

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• A PUBLIC campaign began to restore diving boards to the bathing slip at Fenit with a committee hoping to have them installed by next summer.

The Restore Fenit Diving Boards Campaign Committee has been working over the past five months to compile an evidence-based technical proposal which they believe should result in the diving boards installed again.

• A NEW brand identity was  launched in December which will be used to market Kerry at home and abroad.

With the theme of ‘Kerry – Your Natural Escape’ – the Destination Kerry brand includes icons, imagery and messaging for use on all multiple platforms and highlights some of the top attractions and characteristics which attract visitors to Kerry as well as promoting the unique visitor experience on offer.

• THE co-founder of a Tralee based company was named as the  overall “Best Young Entrepreneur” for the county as Kerry’s best young entrepreneurs were announced at the County Final of Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE) competition  in the Ballygarry House Hotel.

The overall “Best Young Entrepreneur” for the county was named as Rob Durran who is Co-founder of the company Xi (Research and Development) Ltd. trading as Xintec based in Tralee.

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• TRALEE Credit Union will be known as ‘Cara Credit Union’ after the motion to change its name was passed at their 50th AGM in The Rose Hotel.

It was decided to change the name to as there are now three offices in Tralee, Castleisland and Killorglin and the directors felt the  name “Tralee Credit Union” is not fully inclusive of these towns and hinterlands. The possibility of any future mergers was also a consideration.

• THE Mall and Bridge Street in Tralee re-opened to traffic in mid-December following the completion of works costing approximately €1.7m as part of the Tralee Active Travel Town Project.

New taxi bye-laws also came in and the part-pedestrianisation of The Mall is now in place. The Mall will be closed to through traffic from 10.30am to 6.00pm daily.

• THE Austin Stacks faithful gathered in the clubhouse in Connolly Park in December for the launch of a book nearly two years in the making.

Austin Stacks ‘A Centenary History 1917-2017’ is a superb book full of photographs, profiles of past players, club officers and the club history which no doubt has found its way into thousands of homes this Christmas.

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• GARDAI were advising the public that professional beggars are operating in Tralee.

They say there are organised professional gangs coming into town and in one case a person was arrested, searched and was found to have €650 in cash on them by the end of the day.

Gardaí have been carrying out operations and say the individuals are being picked up in what they describe as upmarket cars and dropped into town for the day to beg for money.

• THE Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Brendan Griffin TD, welcomed the news from his Departmental colleague Minister Ross, that Kerry Airport is to receive over €1m in grant aid towards operating costs.

Welcoming the allocations Minister Griffin said: “This grant is in addition to the €583k already allocated to Kerry, bringing the total grant for the year to close to €1.6m.”

• FOR the second year in a row, the crib in The Square was vandalised.

A group of three or four youths were seen next to the crib and soon after the perspex was broken and the baby Jesus figure taken rom the crib. The figurine was later found and the perspex replaced.

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