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Killarney mayor to honour Loreto Sister with humanitarian award

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THE 2017 Hugh O’Flaherty International Humanitarian Award will be awarded to Sr Orla Treacy, a Loreto Sister in South Sudan. Sr Orla, from Bray, Co Wicklow, will be presented with the award by Cllr Niall Kelleher, Mayor of Killarney Municipal District, on Saturday evening, November 4, at a ceremony in the Killarney Avenue Hotel.

This year marks the tenth year of the memorial commemoration of the Monsignor, organised to raise awareness of his humanitarian work during World War Two when he and his colleagues in the Rome Escape Line saved over 6,500 people from the clutches of the Nazis who had occupied Rome at the time.
Sr Orla was nominated by Martin Rosney from Bray, Co Wicklow.

Born in 1973, she moved with her family at the age of two to Tralee where her father Blaise Treacy took up the position of Kerry County Secretary. She was educated initially at Presentation Convent Tralee, until at the age of six when her family moved to Bray, Co Wicklow, where she attended Loreto in Bray, completing her Leaving Cert in 1991. Having studied at the Mater Dei Institute she subsequently taught in Irish schools.

After spending a summer in India with the Loreto Sisters, at the age of 24 she decided to join the Order. Based at the Loreto Convent in Rathfarnham, she was professed as a Loreto sister in September 2005, but within a year, she headed to the large African state of Sudan with four other Loreto nuns to establish a mission in a diocese the size of Italy with just two secondary schools.

She has spent the last 11 years in Sudan, experiencing the trauma of South Sudan becoming an autonomous independent state in 2011 followed by civil war in 2013. Today, South Sudan is widely considered one of the most fragile states in the world with continuing conflict and unrest. Sr Orla is now the principal of Loreto Secondary School in Rumbek in Lakes State, in South Sudan where they have over 500 boys and girls.

The chairperson of the Hugh O’Flaherty Memorial Committee, Jerry O’Grady, said, “Sr Orla possesses and displays the bravery and humanitarian commitment we have come to associate with the recipients of this Award. At a young age and with a bright future ahead of her in Ireland, she decided instead to dedicate her life to those in need in what was already then a virtual war zone.”
 


 
Sr Orla Treacy with students at her school in Rumbek, South Sudan. Pic Courtesy of Paul Jeffrey/Loreto Sisters

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Killarney Gardaí await post-mortem results as Muckross Road scene remains cordoned off

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Killarney Gardaí await post-mortem results as Muckross Road scene remains cordoned off

Gardaí investigating the discovery of a woman’s body at a residence on Muckross Road in Killarney are awaiting the results of a post-mortem examination to determine the direction of their inquiries.

It is understood that a full murder investigation is expected to be launched.

The deceased has been named locally as Jamey Carney, an American national in her 40s and the mother of a 13-year-old girl.

The scene at the domestic residence remains cordoned off today for a full technical examination, with a visible Garda presence continuing at the location.

An incident room has been established at Killarney Garda Station under a Senior Investigating Officer. Local businesses in the area have already begun supplying CCTV footage to assisting officers.

Speaking to the Killarney Advertiser, local councillor Martin Grady expressed the deep sense of shock in the area.

“I want to offer my condolences to the family,” Cllr Grady said. “This is an awful shock to the local community. I encourage anyone to come forward with any information they may have to An Garda Síochána. Whoever committed such a crime is a cowardly person and should get the maximum penalty.”

Gardaí continue to appeal to anyone who was in the Muckross Road area between the evening of Monday, July 6 and the afternoon of Tuesday, July 7 to come forward. They are particularly appealing to road users and business owners who may have dashcam or CCTV footage from the area during those times.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Killarney Garda Station on 064 667 1160, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.

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Council to monitor bus parking spaces in town centre

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Council to monitor bus parking spaces in town centre


Kerry County Council is to monitor the use of town bus parking spaces over the summer months following calls to return specific roadside bays to regular car parking.


The issue was raised by the Mayor of Killarney, John O’Donoghue, at the Killarney Municipal District meeting.
Cllr O’Donoghue asked the Council to monitor town bus parks nightly. He proposed that if these parks are not full, the bus spaces on the Anam Centre side of Railway Road should revert back to car parking.
He said that the roadside area can fit three to four buses, which could instead provide parking spaces for around ten cars.
Cllr O’Donoghue added that town parking is under severe pressure during the summer, particularly with one main car park unavailable for over a month, meaning every extra space would help.
“I do not believe the bus parks in the town to be full very often, so do not see the need for roadside parking in the town,” Cllr O’Donoghue said.
In its official reply, Kerry County Council stated that it continues to monitor bus parking spaces throughout the town. The local authority added that the laybys provided on East Avenue are strictly for bus set-down only, and confirmed that officials will monitor these specific spaces to ensure drivers adhere to the rule.

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