.
Continuing our review of 2017, here’s some of the news we brought you in May…
• THERE was a frightening incident for staff at a hotel in Dingle in early May when a man entered Benners Hotel in the town early in the morning and attempted to rob the premises. Gardaí said he threatened staff with a “sharp weapon” but he left empty-handed.
• THERE was great news from Clifford & Sons Gala in Mounthawk when a person won €500,000 in the Euromillions plus draw.
The person later collected the money from lottery headquarters and said he planned on buying a house. ‘This win couldn’t come at a better time. On the day of the draw, we went to look at some second hand cars and we were haggling over a hundred euro on the price! I think we will be able to afford a new one now,” he smiled.
• IT was a special morning on May 6 as thousands made their way to CBS The Green for the second annual ‘Darkness Into Light’ Tralee walk in aid of Pieta House.
The Kerry Rose cut the tape to set the masses off at 4.15am, as musician Danny Goggin sang ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ to the thousands passing by.
They were part of 150,000 people who took part in walks in Kerry and around the country.
.
Tamara Goggin.
• THE Brehon Hotel was the venue for the glamour of the Miss Kerry 2017 contest in early May and the venue was packed to see another north Kerry winner.
After Niamh Enright from Listowel was crowned last year, she handed over her title to a Ballyduff lady, Tamara Goggin.
She beat 20 other beautiful women from all over the county, watched by a packed audience of families and friends of the contestants at the Killarney hotel.
• THE resurfacing of the canal walkway was completed in May with the section from the lock gates to the bridge at Blennerville opened.
Now people can walk the 2.4km walkway from the Marina to the Lock Gates on the tarmac surface, making it an almost 5k round trip with stunning views of the Sliabh Mish mountains.
• THE Bishop of Kerry, Ray Browne, announced that there will be no more funerals on Sundays from September 1.
The announcement was made at Masses in mid-May. No funerals will take place on Sundays in all parishes in the diocese of Kerry i.e. Mass Funeral Service or burial.
• JOHN ‘Tweek’ Griffin retired from inter-county hurling after 15 years involved with the Kerry team.
The Lixnaw clubman won a number of honours with Kerry over the years and was a huge inspiration to many with his skill and versatility in many positions on the field.
Continued below…
.
• DENNY Street became a two-way street again on May 22 and the reaction was very positive from the public and traders.
The parallel parking makes a noticeable difference to the width of the street and traffic flows freely both ways.
• THERE was a large crowd in attendance on May 22 for the rededication of the Ashe Memorial Hall to the patriot Thomas Ashe.
Local TDs, county councillors, businesspeople and many with a great interest in Irish history were present as well as members of the Ashe family, including his niece, Eileen Quinn from Dublin and her family.
• AN Oakpark native was reeling after her ‘parenting parody’ video received millions of views on Facebook.
Riona O’Connor, whose parents Sean and Ita live in Lisbeg, is an actress and comedian living in London who has the Facebook page, ‘Riona — The Unnatural Woman’.
She uploaded a video of her song about the travails of being a mom, to the tune of Rag n Bone Man’s hit Human and it went viral getting millions of views on the social network.
• IT was a momentous day on May 30 for Fenit and the RNLI as a member of the British royal family came to the village.
HRH The Duke of Kent, Prince Edward, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, arrived by helicopter during a beautiful sunny afternoon, seeing the area at its best.
The Duke of Kent has been President of the RNLI since 1969 and was on a tour of Irish stations.
He was taken on a tour of the facilities by Fenit RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager, Gerard O’Donnell. He met the crew of the Fenit Lifeboat and was shown around the boathouse before a reception was held for him.
