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Locally distilled whiskey now in shops

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FAMILY SPIRIT: Maurice O'Connell on the grounds of Lakeview House in Fossa where he is distilling the Liberator brand of whiskey. Photo: Valerie O'Sullivan

By Sean Moriarty

 

The Liberator range of Bonded Whiskeys which is distilled by Wayward Irish Spirits in Fossa is now available in local shops.

Five Killarney retailers; Carryout; Casey's O'Shea's; Foley's Spar and Daly's SuperValu, now stock the whiskey brand that can trace its very foundation to Irish civil rights hero Daniel O’Connell.

Wayward Irish Spirits is a family owned Irish Whiskey company based at the Lakeview Estate in Fossa.
It reconnects the founder, Maurice O’Connell, with his family’s roots of supplying spirits to the gentry of Kerry.
As early as 1450 the O’Connells were based at Ballycarbery Castle near Cahersiveen, importing wines and brandies from Spain. The imposition of excise duty in 1661 didn’t stop them and they moved up the coast to Derrynane and grew the business there.

“My forebear Daniel O’Connell’s independent spirit and sometimes wayward approach inspires how we craft whiskey at our family’s historic Lakeview Estate on the shores of Lough Leane in Killarney,” Maurice O’Connell said.

With Daniel O’Connell’s rise to political prominence, the smuggling was quietly dropped and in 1820 Maurice’s great, great, great-grandfather James (Daniel’s younger brother) moved to the Lakeview Estate.
The name Wayward derives from the insult levelled at Daniel O’Connell by the British Prime Minister, Robert Peel, who called him ‘that wayward Irishman’. The family own the insult with pride.

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Joey Sheehan wins historic sixth Dr Crokes Captain’s Prize

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Accomplished golfer Joey Sheehan scooped the Dr Crokes GAA Club Golf Society Captain’s Prize for the sixth time following the outing at The Killeen Course at Killarney Golf Club on Friday.

Society Captain Niall Botty O’Callaghan and his mother Eileen O’Callaghan hosted the prizegiving function in The Failte Hotel, where Joey was presented with a painting of the fourth hole at Killeen by local artist and Dr Crokes member Paul Downey.


Joey Sheehan won his first Dr Crokes Captain’s prize back in 1997, which was the start of an historic four-in-a-row.

He collected his fifth Captain’s prize in 2006 before adding his sixth with the 2026 title last Friday.

Over the years, he has also won two Dr Crokes Presidents prizes, numerous other society outings, and the Eddie Barry Memorial Cup three times as player of the year.


The prize giving function in The Failte featured speeches from society officer Brendan Keogh, Captain Niall Botty O’Callaghan, and overall winner Joey Sheehan.

During the speeches, a number of recently deceased local people and others from recent years associated with the Dr Crokes Golf Society were remembered.

Among those fondly remembered were Brian O’Regan, John O’Mahony, Ewan MacIndoe, Gerry Collins, Paudie O’Callaghan, Malachy Walsh, and Seani McCarthy.


The Dr Crokes Captains Prize was once again sponsored by Mike Buckley of Kerry Coaches. Following overall winner Joey Sheehan, the full list of prize winners included John Lynch in second, Finian Moran in third, and Liam Hartnett in fourth. Sean Brosnan took fifth place, followed by Maurice O’Donoghue in sixth, John O’Leary in seventh, Paudie Sheahan in eighth, Colm Galvin in ninth, and Eamonn Fitzgerald in tenth.

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Discussion on Irish-American literary voices

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The second series of talks for the new ‘Summer in Killarney’ festival took place at Killarney House in Killarney National Park, focusing on the lives and work of literary figures F. Scott Fitzgerald and Mary Lavin.

The event, titled ‘The Great Irish-American Voices of F. Scott Fitzgerald & Mary Lavin’, featured presentations by authors Gráinne Hurley, writer of Gratefully and Affectionately: Mary Lavin and The New Yorker, and Killarney native Patrick O’Sullivan Greene, author of Gatsby: Death of an Irishman.

Following their presentations, both authors joined Irish Times journalist Ronan McGreevy for a panel conversation exploring the impact of both writers on American literature.

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