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Father and daughter receive housing from Peter McVerry Trust

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NEW HOME NEW HOPE: Spencer Wheeler, one of the new tenants who moved into the Peter McVerry Trust’s housing units in Killarney. Photo: Graham Seely/Peter McVerry Trust

“We were in a constant limbo land of uncertainty”

By Michelle Crean

One father and his young daughter are now feeling safer and more secure after receiving one of 15 housing units from the Peter McVerry Trust in Killarney town.

Spencer Wheeler says that he and his daughter “were in a constant limbo land of uncertainty” but now have “a safe” space to call their own.
The charity, which is working in partnership with Kerry County Council, said it is working to increase housing pathways for people experiencing homelessness in the county.

The national housing and homeless charity has delivered 15 social housing units in Killarney housing over 30 people.

"We are delighted to be able to help meet the housing needs of people impacted by homelessness in Kerry," Pat Doyle, CEO of Peter McVerry Trust, said.

"We have been working closely with the Council to understand the need that exists locally and how best we can be of support to people in the county. We are now working on developing housing pathways to ensure people can exit hostels and B&Bs and get the wraparound supports they need once housed. All our tenants will receive ongoing support from our dedicated Housing With Supports team who are available to them 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

On Friday last, official figures released by the Department of Housing showed a decrease of 13 percent in the number of people accessing emergency accommodation in Kerry to 113 people.

“The challenge is to grow the number of homes we can provide and in particular the number of one-bedroom homes, as they are the type most needed, yet are the hardest to come by. We are looking at any possible opportunities, including long-term vacant buildings, commercial properties that can be converted to residential, or vacant sites with planning permission. We’d encourage anyone that has a property, which would be suitable for social housing in Killarney or Tralee, to contact us so that we can secure more housing options to help tackle homelessness in Kerry.”

SECURITY

Spencer added that before living in his new two-bedroom apartment he was in a homeless hostel with his daughter in Tralee for approximately a year and a half.

“We were in a constant limbo land of uncertainty. It all happened really quickly, we received a letter from the Council saying we had been referred to the Peter McVerry Trust. I had never even heard of it beforehand.

“Being in a hostel, it was very hard for me to go out and actually look for work, so now we have a safe area, I can actually get out there and start to get a bit more work. The fact that we have somewhere which is ours where we can close the door, and she can do whatever she wants and relax, without having to worry about other people coming into the kitchen and things like that, is really nice for her. She has her own room here as well, which she is starting to mess up!”

 

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Five local postmen retire with 185 years service

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Five local postmen retire with 185 years service

RETIREMENT NIGHT: Pictured at the retirement party held at Killarney Racecourse on Saturday, October 3, celebrating a combined 185 years of service with An Post, are Connie Brady, James Foley, Terry Potts, Pat Cronin, and D.J. Cahill.


Five well-known local postmen celebrated their retirement at a special function held at Killarney Racecourse on Saturday night, October 3.


The event brought together current and former An Post colleagues to mark the combined total of 185 years of service delivered across Killarney and surrounding areas.
Delivery Services Manager Terry Potts retired after 43 years with An Post. He began his career in Dublin, where he worked for 10 years, before moving to Killarney in 1993 for a further 33 years.
Pat Cronin completed an impressive 51 years of service between Killarney and Farranfore, spending 44 of those years delivering post on the Farranfore route.
James Foley served 35 years with An Post, delivering on routes across Killorglin throughout his entire career.
D.J. Cahill marked 32 years of service based out of Killarney post office, delivering mail across Killarney town, Killorglin, Kilcummin, and Headford.
Connie Brady retired following 24 years with the postal service, spending 17 years in Killarney town before completing his service in Killorglin.
The celebration offered local postal staff an opportunity to gather and catch up ahead of the busy Christmas rush.

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New Streetscapes murals launched at College Square

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A colourful collaboration between the Kerry Local Creative Youth Partnership (LCYP) and the Architecture Kerry Festival at Kerry County Council launched yesterday evening at College Square.

Titled Streetscapes, the open-air public art installation officially opened at 5pm on Thursday, accompanied by a performance from the Killarney Youth Drumming Band THUMP! under the guidance of Urs Wenk from Drum Dance Ireland.


The public art project features a series of wall murals depicting Killarney through the eyes of local children, exploring freedom, play, and potential future evolutions of the townscape.

The artworks reimagine Killarney’s iconic landmarks and streets, blending youthful imagination and curiosity.


Supported under the Creative Ireland Programme, the installation is mounted on the gable wall of Reen’s Life Pharmacy in College Square, where it will remain on public display until March 2027.


Speaking at the launch, Daniel O’Shea, Youth Development Officer at Kerry ETB, stated: “Streetscapes is a wonderful celebration of how children see things. Their creativity brings new perspectives to the townscape, and we are proud to support their ideas and their art through this public artwork.”


Deirdre Enright, Co-Ordinator of the Local Creative Youth Partnership at Kerry ETB, acknowledged the community support behind the initiative: “We are very grateful to Reen’s Life Pharmacy who have shared their built space with us. Huge credit is due to the artistic team from Me+The Moon whose dedication to creativity and to children’s art shine through in this work.”


The project forms part of the annual Architecture Kerry Festival and receives funding through Creative Ireland and the Department of Education and Youth via Kerry ETB and Kerry County Council.


Victoria McCarthy, Festival Organiser and Architectural Conservation Officer at Kerry County Council, welcomed the continued inter-agency project: “It’s always a great event for Architecture Kerry and we are so pleased with this collaboration between public sector organisations. It remains a key feature of the Architecture Kerry programme.”
See next week’s Killarney Advertiser for full photographic coverage of the event.

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