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Continuing our review of stories we brought you in 2019, here’s the news from February…
• THE month started on a positive note with funding of over €1.5m announced for two road projects near Tralee.
Included in the funding was €800,000 for Tralee Northern Relief Road to link Tralee By-pass with Bracker O’Regan Road and €750,000 for the Tralee to Fenit realignment Phase 1.
• THE cheque for Tralee’s Darkness Into Light event was presented at Kirby’s Brogue Inn.
The cheque of €41,198.97 raised in the 2018 event was presented to Con O’Connor, Co-ordinator of Pieta House in the South West, by the Tralee DIL committee.
Outgoing Chairman Aidan O’Sullivan said he was thrilled that in his final year the Tralee walk had raised such a large amount.
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• GARDAI made another drug seizure when they arrested and charged a man in his 20s and seized approximately €57,000 worth of suspected cannabis resin and €700 worth of suspected cocaine and cannabis herbfollowing an operation in Camp.
• KERRY welcomed the Dubs to Austin Stack Park in February and the two teams served up a classic encounter with the Kingdom getting the better of the All-Ireland champs.
Thousands of Dubs made the trip down and packed out the town providing a huge boost for pubs, restaurants and hotels, creating a fantastic atmosphere throughout.
• KERRY County Council accepted a silver award for Best Disability Access & Inclusion Initiative for The Mall shared space in Tralee, at the All Ireland Community and Council Awards.
The 2019 winners of the awards were announced at a Gala Awards Ceremony on Saturday, February 9 in Croke Park Stadium.
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• TRALEE had new All-Ireland champions thanks to the exploits of Mercy Mounthawk basketballers back on February 13.
After some disappointments for the school, the Under 15A boys side went to the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght and won the Subway All-Ireland Schools final beating Galway side St Joseph’s College Bish, by 45 to 28.
• ACCORDING to the annual report, over 30,000 more people travelled through Kerry Airport in 2018 compared to the previous year which represents a 9% increase year-on-year.
There was a 12% jump in the number of people traveling on the Kerry-Dublin route. The final figures for the 12 months from the 1st January to 31st December 2018 saw just over 365,000 passengers pass through Kerry Airport compared to 335,000 in 2017.
• KERRY County Council hosted a Civic Reception to honour the work of Fionnbar and Elma Walsh and the Donal Walsh #Livelife Foundation.
At a reception at County Buildings in Tralee, the legacy of Donal Walsh and the work being done by his parents to promote his message of positivity was acknowledged by the Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council, Cllr Norma Foley and her elected colleagues.
Members of the Walsh family as well as family and friends of the late Donal Walsh were present in the Council Chamber to hear congratulations for the efforts of the foundation which has raised over €500,000 for charitable causes.
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• AFTER their victory over Dublin, it came as no surprise when tickets to the Kerry game against Mayo on St Patrick’s weekend in Tralee sold out three weeks in advance.
• GARDAI in Tralee took the unusual step of advising members of the public not to carry large animals unrestrained in the back of the car.
The warning came after a video went viral in February of a car in the McDonalds Tralee drive-thru with a calf in the backseat.
Sergeant Tim O’Keeffe said they had received a number of calls over the past week asking if it was an offence or not.
• KERRY once again dominated the annual Tripadvisor Top Irish Beaches list announced in February, but a local beach doesn’t hold the No.1 spot.
Banna Strand, a previous winner, was at No.2, last year’s winner Inch Beach was at No.3, Derrynane at No.5, Coumeenoole Beach in west Kerry at No.6, Rossbeigh at No.8 and Ladies Beach in Ballybunion is at No.9. They were all beaten by Inchdoney Beach as Cork gets one over on Kerry.
