Continuing our Review of 2014, here’s some of the news we brought you back in July…
• On July 1, we told you about the first All-Ireland title won by the John Mitchels GAA Club with their Under 14 side victorious at the Féile competition in Galway.
The Under 14 side won five games on the way to the final where they were victorious against Kilkenny side, Dicksboro (click here)
• We spoke to Barry O’Shea of Kerins O’Rahilly’s who called for an end to county championship football being played in the summertime.
The club was rocked by the departure of 11 players from the senior panel going to America to work and play football for the summer. (click here)
Continued below…
• John McCarthy of B Mobile in The Square, the town’s only Ticketmaster agent, told us about the Garth Brooks fiasco and how he was dealing with a lot of disappointed people. (click here)
• It was decided in early July that the new Mayor of Tralee, Cllr Jim Finucane, would get an annual allowance of €12,000.
Sinn Fein Cllr Toireasa Ferris proposed that a figure of €2,000 would be more appropriate.(click here)
• A spate of vandalism in Fenit and damage to the lighthouse there, prompted some residents to call for the Garda station to be reinstated.
Locals were horrified when it was discovered that vandals had smashed windows and gained entry to the lighthouse where they caused more damage to the interior. Then, the following weekend, tyres of vehicles were slashed on the pier. (click here)
Continued below…
• A former Rose of Tralee is to star with Kylie Minogue and Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, in a Hollywood blockbuster action movie.
Tara Talbot, who won the Rose title in 2011, landed a role a new action film called ‘San Andreas’ which has a $100m budget and was being filmed in her hometown of Brisbane and on the Australian Gold Coast. (click here)
• Na Gaeil man, Michael Griffin, was in the news again when he got World Cup winner, Mesut Ozil, to sign his GAA jersey after the final whistle of the biggest game in the world. (click here)
• July 24 was a big day for the Cotter/Kirby families as the Brogue Inn opened its doors again. The Rock Street institution closed in April 2013, but is now back in business. We gave you a peek at what the interior looked like on the morning it opened. (click here)
Continued below…
• There was a huge turnout for a protest against the bombing of Gaza in the Square in late July.
The Sinn Fein-organised demonstration saw about 300 people gather with Palestinian flags and placards protesting against the IDF bombing of civilians in Gaza. (click here)
• It was revealed in July that the Tralee bypass is now set to cost more than double the original estimate.
In a presentation of an audit of Kerry County Council’s finances at the July monthly meeting, it was found that the builders of the bypass, Bam Construction, had originally estimated the cost at €30m but it is now seeking €76m from the local authority. (click here)