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Continuing our review of 2023, we look back at some of the news we brought you in March…
• THE official unveiling of the new information panel on St Brendan The Navigator took place in Fenit in early March.
The information panel, which is in both Irish and English, is located adjacent to the playground and the entrance to the new greenway. It’s divided into three sections, with the first giving a brief history of St Brendan and beginning of a timeline of his life.
The second panel gives information on the statue of St Brendan which overlooks the entrance to Fenit Harbour, while the third section concerns the St Brendan Way.
• SINN Féin Party President Mary Lou McDonald delivered the main address at the centenary commemoration of the Ballyseedy Massacre on Sunday March 5 at the famous monument outside Tralee.
2023 marked 100 years since one of the most infamous acts of the Civil War took place, when nine IRA prisoners were removed from Ballymullen Barracks in Tralee, tied to a mine and blown up by Free State forces at Ballyseedy Cross just outside Tralee.
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• THE Tankard in Kilfenora was one of the winners in the Munster Regional Finals the 2023 Irish Restaurant Awards which took place in the Strand Hotel, Limerick.
Top establishments in each county were named. The Tankard won in the Best Customer Service Kerry category.
• THERE was widespread shock and sadness at the news of the passing of Tralee man and Offaly GAA football manager, Liam Kearns on March 12.
The Austin Stacks man was 61. A retired Garda sergeant, he had previously managed Limerick, Tipperary and Laois.
He played 10 times for the Kerry in county league campaigns from 1984 to ‘86. He won an All-Ireland minor medal for Kerry in 1980 and won a Kerry Senior Football Championship medal with Austin Stacks in 1986.
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• THE Tralee St Patrick’s Day parade provided a spectacle of colour and noise with hundreds of people taking part.
As usual, there was a real community feel to the occasion with the town’s clubs, organisations and local businesses getting into the spirit of the day.
Local Community Garda, Mary Gardiner, was the Grand Marshal for the day and she really enjoyed the occasion, waving to the crowd who gave her a great ovation.
• ON March 23, Gardaí arrested two people, a male in his 60s and a female in her 50s, in relation to the discovery of the body of a male infant at White Strand, Caherciveen, on April 14, 1984.
They were arrested in the Munster region on suspicion of the offence of murder and were detained at Garda Stations in the south of the country under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984. They were later released without charge.
On April 14, 1984 on White Strand Beach in Caherciveen the lifeless body of a new-born baby boy was found in a bag. The baby was called Baby John and he is buried in Caherciveen.
• TRALEE jockey Bryan Cooper announced his retirement from race riding on March 24.
The 30 year old who enjoyed Gold Cup success on Don Cossack in 2016, along with 39 Grade 1 successes, released a statement to that effect.
“I am lucky to have had a wonderful career over the past 14 years as a jockey. To my family, the owners, trainers and stable staff who have supported me throughout my whole career, I can’t thank you enough for some incredible days,” he said.
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• MORE good news emerged for holidaymakers when Kerry Airport has announced that French Airline Chalair was to launch two new summer routes to Quimper and Brest in Brittany.
Commencing on July 1st, the seasonal summer service would operate every Saturday with a flight time of less than 1 hour 40 minutes from Kerry to France on board a 70-seat ATR 72 aircraft.
• THERE was a positive end to the month with Garvey’s Tralee Warriors were crowned InsureMyVan.ie Men’s U20 National League champions after overcoming Titans of Galway in a pulsating final at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght on March 31.
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