News
New St hostel up for world eco award
NOMINATION: The Black Sheep Hostel on New St has been shortlisted for an award by Hostel World in the Extraordinary Sustainable Hostel category. Pictured is Kevin Leahy. Photo: Valerie O'Sullivan
By Michelle Crean
It may have been their toughest year in business but that hasn't stopped one local eco friendly hostel from being nominated for a prestigious award. The Black Sheep Hostel, who have been in business just five years with an ethos of protecting the environment, have been shortlisted in the Extraordinary Sustainable Hostel category by Hostel World.
And it's not the first time they had their hard efforts recognised. In 2018 the business, which is a 19th-century townhouse in New Street, was voted third best hostel in Ireland, followed by Best Hostel in Ireland in 2019. Last year they were listed as one of the top five best hostels in Ireland.
The eco-adventure hostel opened the 'Coffee Shack' last May as the hostel business was practically non-existent due to the ongoing pandemic, and owner Kevin Leahy said this new sideline which is supporting the main business is "going from strength to strength".
They're up for the award due to their commitment to the environment as all their electricity comes from renewable sources, they have a 30 foot polytunnel in the back garden where they grow their own vegetables and herbs, and their chickens are mainly fed food waste from the hostel kitchen. They also have an organic composting system and they've a big focus on buy local where possible.
Compostable takeaway cups and Fair Trade coffee are the norm, and they reuse their coffee grinds in the garden as well as give to customers to take home to their own compost heaps.
"We have a really good recycling policy," Kevin told the Killarney Advertiser.
"We buy local where we can."
The HOSCARs judges selected The Black Sheep Hostel as one of the five Extraordinary Sustainable Hostels finalists but now it’s up to the public to help them win. They are up against hostels in England, Namibia, Greece and Kenya.
"Vote to keep Killarney going. Vote for the Irish business," Kevin added.
To vote for The Black Sheep Hostel go to www.hostelworld.com, then to their blog section and search Extraordinary Sustainable Hostels.
Two young local girls showed great business initiative on Saturday ahead of the Kerry v Donegal match at Fitzgerald Stadium.
Erin McSweeney and Jessie Doolin set up a sweet stall outside a house on Lewis Road, catching the thousands of football fans walking towards the grounds.
The enterprising pair did a busy trade selling soft drinks, sweets, and chocolates to the passing crowds before throw-in.
Their match-day venture also caught the attention of the national sports media, with a photograph of the girls at their stall captured by Sportsfile photographer Stephen McCarthy ahead of the game.
Noel O’Neill has claimed first place in the Unrestricted category of the latest Killarney Camera Club competition, which focused on the theme of the ‘Kerry Landscape’.
His winning photograph, titled ‘Conor Pass Lake and the Three Sisters’, features a detailed study of Mullaghveal located beneath the Conor Pass.
The image captures the wide sweep of the valley, utilizing an elevated viewpoint that allows the glacial landscape to unfold toward the Atlantic horizon. The composition highlights the quiet lakes in the foreground against the dark, rocky slopes of the valley, with the distant outline of the Three Sisters adding further depth and scale to the scene.
The judges praised the photograph as an outstanding example of landscape work, noting its effective balance of composition, light, and perspective to capture the vastness of the West Kerry terrain.
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