News
Three Killarney men take on 2,500km cycle challenge
WILD WAYS: Brothers Donnacha Cassidy (foreground) and Benny Cassidy pictured leaving home in The Park on Wednesday for the epic challenge.
EXCLUSIVE
By Sean Moriarty
Three Killarney men set off from Derry on Thursday in an attempt to cycle the entire Wild Atlantic Way.
The famed 2,500km driving route passes through nine counties and three provinces, stretching from county Donegal's Inishowen Peninsula in Ulster to Kinsale, County Cork, in Munster.
Brothers Benny and Donnacha Cassidy from The Park, and Tom Daly who is secretary of Killarney Cycling Club, have set a target of between 300 and 500kms of cycling a day and hope to arrive in the County Cork tourist town within six days. Their daily target will depend on weather and other prevailing conditions.
Benny is no stranger to ultra-cycling events and only last weekend finished fourth on the Cycling Ireland sanctioned Donegal Atlantic Way Ultra Cycle. He completed that event in 19.5 hours and only stopped for a total of 20 minutes.
Last weekend’s route started and finished in Letterkenny and covered the Inishowen Peninsula as well as the entire coastline of County Donegal.
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HILLS OF DONEGAL: Benny Cassidy passes through Mamore Gap on last weekend's Donegal Atlantic Way Ultra Cycle with his father Brendan driving their support vehicle.[/caption]
His brother Donnacha, and Tom, revisited most of last weekend’s route on Friday before heading south from Donegal town.
The brother’s father Brendan acted as support vehicle driver last weekend but this week they are on their own.
“Cycling Ireland events require a support vehicle, especially for the night sections,” Brendan told the Killarney Advertiser. “I know how hard it was as I had to drive for those 19 hours. This week’s event is about personal challenges rather than a competition.”
The trio hope to arrive in Kinsale by Tuesday. Their finish estimate is based on Benny’s previous solo attempt in 2018 when he took six days to complete the challenge.
New temporary entrance at Dunloe Hotel
Motorists travelling along the L4040 in Beaufort are being advised to exercise caution in the coming weeks following changes to the road layout at The Dunloe Hotel & Gardens.
A temporary site entrance and new tarmacadam surface have been installed on the L4040 to manage traffic during ongoing construction work at the hotel.
Temporary site hoarding, entrance gates, and a mobile site cabin are now in place to allow heavy machinery and construction vehicles safe access to the grounds as redevelopment progresses.
The temporary road layout will remain active for the duration of the multi-phase hotel upgrade works.
Once construction is fully completed, developers will remove the temporary entrance and return the hotel entrance configuration to its original layout.
Exploring the National Park after dark
Killarney Parish marked the annual Season of Creation by teaming up with the Killarney National Park Education Centre for an after-dark nature event in the park.
Led by newly appointed Parish Administrator Fr Pat O’Donnell, the local community group took part in a Nocturnal Nature Ramble organised in conjunction with European Youth in Parks Day and its ‘Parks in the Dark’ initiative.
Education Centre staff Chris Barron and Tara Buckley guided participants through the park to observe wildlife that becomes active after dusk.
Using bat detectors and night-vision binoculars, the group tracked local nocturnal species and learned about the nighttime ecosystem within the park grounds.
New temporary entrance at Dunloe Hotel
New temporary entrance at Dunloe Hotel Motorists travelling along the L4040 in Beaufort are being advised to exercise caution in...
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