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Students paying €3,500 despite closed universities

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By Sean Moriarty

Parents of university going children are up in arms with on-campus accommodation providers who are charging for full terms despite universities being closed. Thousands of students have not attended physical university lectures since Christmas. More have not attended colleges since last October.

Accommodation providers are still charging parents for facilities that are not being used.

The situation only applies to first year students who had to pre-pay for accommodation for the first term between September and January.

Second term rates are now payable to ensure student accommodation from now until May or June.

Parents who have already paid over €3,500 for on-campus between September and January are now expected to fork out the same amount for the rest of the school year despite students not attending the school.

Local councillor Niall ‘Botty’ O’Callaghan is one of many parents affected. He is son is a student at the University of Limerick but has not been on campus since last October.

The councillor now faces a €3,700 bill to cover the remainder of the year despite the fact the university is closed and there is no immediate evidence on when they might reopen.

“I have taken this up with the university but they say it's not their problem as they sub-contract their student letting,” he told the Killarney Advertiser. “That is not right and they know it. They need to return this money to families. I know one local man who has two sons in college – he has been caught for €3,500 twice. Every day we see Higher Education Minister Simon Harris spouting about other departments but he does not want to do anything about this and this is his department."

Cllr O’Callaghan is going to raise the issue at the next meeting of Kerry County Council in an effort to force the issue onto the national agenda.

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Chamber pays tribute to late Dick Henggeler

Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce has expressed condolences following the death of Dick Henggeler, the well-known owner of The Rose Hotel in Tralee. Mr Henggeler passed away peacefully at […]

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Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce has expressed condolences following the death of Dick Henggeler, the well-known owner of The Rose Hotel in Tralee.

Mr Henggeler passed away peacefully at his home in Baltimore, USA surrounded by his Aghadoe-born wife Eibhlin (née Moriarty), their son Franz, and other family members.
Dick and Eibhlin purchased The Rose Hotel in 2015 in tribute to their late daughter Dorothy, who represented Washington DC in the 2011 Rose of Tralee Festival.
The Chamber said Mr Henggeler would be remembered for his warmth, good nature and positive approach, as well as for being a forward-thinking and knowledgeable businessman.
“He knew how to run a good hotel and that was and still is very obvious at The Rose Hotel, which is a great success story,” the Chamber said.
It added that continuity of ownership will remain in place, with Eibhlin, Franz, daughter-in-law Amber, and grandchildren Conrad and Rowan continuing to honour Dick’s legacy and vision for the hotel.
“Dick took enormous personal pride in Tralee and all of Kerry and he was always available to generously support any community initiative or endeavour undertaken in Killarney,” the Chamber said.
“He will be greatly missed by all that knew him but he leaves a wonderful legacy.”

He will repose at O’Shea’s Funeral Home, Killarney, on Friday (October 17), from 4:00pm to 6:00pm. The funeral will arrive at St Mary’s Cathedral on Saturday morning at 10:00am for Requiem Mass at 10:30am, with burial afterwards in Aghadoe Cemetery. The Requiem Mass will be live streamed at https://www.churchservices.tv/killarneycathedral.

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Beaufort Film Night returns with French drama-comedy

Beaufort Film Night will return on Friday (October 17) at Cullina National School, with a screening of the French drama-comedy The Marching Band. The film tells the story of Thibaut, […]

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Beaufort Film Night will return on Friday (October 17) at Cullina National School, with a screening of the French drama-comedy The Marching Band.

The film tells the story of Thibaut, a successful conductor recently diagnosed with leukaemia. A search for a bone marrow donor reveals that he was adopted and has a brother, Jimmy, a cafeteria worker.
The two meet, discover a shared love of music, and form a strong bond through an unexpected collaboration with Jimmy’s workplace band.
The Marching Band (French title En Fanfare) will screen at 8.30pm. Admission is €7, cash only, and will cover the motion picture licence fee.
The film has a 12A rating and is in French with English subtitles.
Beaufort Film Night is a non-profit community group that screens cultural English and international films that usually do not receive general release in Kerry.
The event is supported by Kerry County Council Arts Office and Access Cinema. Cullina National School is providing the venue.
Further details are available on Beaufort Film Night’s Facebook page @BeaufortFilmNight.

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