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And finally, here’s the news we brought you in December…
• At the beginning of December we told you about a Tralee man who was involved in a shipwreck while taking part in the Volvo Ocean Race.
Brian Carlin from Cloghers, a member of Tralee Bay Sailing Club was with the Danish crew Team Vestas Wind when their vessel hit a reef in the Indian Ocean 300 miles north of Mauritius. The crew had to be rescued and brought to a nearby island and all are safe and well. (click here)
• AFTER an 18 year-long wait for work to begin on a new National School in Blennerville, the day finally came on Monday December 1.
A brand new two storey school will be built on a site next to O’Shea’s Texaco in the village. Planned as a 60 week project, it is hoped pupils and staff will be in the new school by Christmas 2015. (click here)
Continued below…
• A BLENNERVILLE native won €350,000 in the Lotto Plus 1 draw last Wednesday and said he’d share his winnings with his children.
John Foley (77), now living in Williamstown, Co. Galway, his daughter Annette Keegan and son Timothy Foley celebrated winning €350,000 at National Lottery offices in Dublin. (click here)
• SECONDARY school teachers in Tralee joined their comrades all over the country in the one day strike on December 2 over changes to the Junior Certificate.
Thousands of students attending Presentation, Mercy Mounthawk, CBS The Green, Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí and Coláiste Gleann Lí had a day off as members of teaching unions walked the picket line outside the schools. (click here)
Continued below…
• A FORMER footballer of the year, an inspirational youth movement leader and one of our most well-known landmarks, featured in a video that showcased the astonishing skill of hurling.
And it was all to promote a new organisation which is the brainchild of a Derryquay native, Eamonn Sayers. (click here)
• On December 5, the death took place of the former Independent Deputy for Kerry South, Jackie Healy Rae.
The 83 year old Kilgarvan man had been ill for some time and died in Kerry General Hospital. A post on his son Michael’s Facebook page read: “It is with a sadden heart that I have to inform people of the passing of my father, my friend and my mentor Jackie Healy Rae. May he rest in peace.” (click here)
• There was more sadness as one of the legends of Irish handball passed away.
Tom ‘Roundy’ McEllistrim from Ballymac, who won several All-Ireland titles in an illustrious career which spanned decades, passed away on Sunday morning, December 7. He was 75. (click here)
• THE building which currently accommodates The Kerryman newspaper and AIB offices sold on December 9 at auction for €960,000. This was €85,000 over the reserve price.
The tenants will not be affected by the sale. It was one of three Tralee properties sold at an Allsop Auction at the RDS Dublin. (click here)
• There was more tragic news when a woman died in a car crash on December 13 at Ballincrossig Cross near Lixnaw. She was 50 year old Catriona Dowling (nee Boyle) of Ballyduff.
Originally from Dublin, but living in Kerry for many years, Mrs Dowling, a mother of three, was a German teacher in Presentation Secondary School in Tralee. (click here)
• Timothy V Murphy’s stock continued to rise when it emerged he had scored a role in the hugely popular HBO drama ‘True Detective’ alongside fellow Irish man Colin Farrell.
Murphy, a native of Oakpark, is currently filming in LA playing Russian gangster Osip Agranov in the series. (click here)
• And finally, in December, after taking nearly six months to reach the 1,000,000 page view mark on TraleeToday.ie, we achieved our second million in just two months.
On October 8 we passed the magic million mark and on December 8, we went over 2,000,000 views from 190,000 users according to our Google Analytics data.
One wonders what January and indeed the rest of 2015 will bring…