Connect with us

News

Pressure mounts on council regarding future of St Finan’s

Published

on

0208995_St_Finans.jpg

By Sean Moriarty

Elected officials from the Killarney Municipal District are puting Kerry County Council management under pressure to make decisions on the future of the St Finan’s Hospital site.

The old hospital – idle since 2012- and its surrounding gardens is currently owned by the Health Services Executive.

The HSE is to offer the property for sale on the private market – this was confirmed to the Killarney Advertiser last month.

Kerry County Council is in the process of buying 5.5 acres of the extended site which is part of the HSE land portfolio (and prior to the construction of the bypass part of the St Finian’s complex) but it is not part of the now separate St Finian’s site south of the By-pass.

The dynamics changed last week when Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien announced the “Housing for All” national homebuilding strategy.

One of the key recommendations of the plans is the release of state owned land for residential construction.

At Wednesday’s Killarney Municipal meeting, Cllr Niall Kelleher asked: “if there discussions with the Land Development Agency regarding acquiring land in Killarney?”

A council official replied: “All options regarding the availability and potential purchase of lands for Housing purposes in Killarney continue to be considered and pursued,”

Mr Kelleher told the meeting that this response was not good enough. Earlier he had said that Killarney is facing a housing problem and that there are ten people for every available rental property in the town.

The majority of the elected councillors agreed that the building needs to be acquired for homebuilding purposes and other uses. They called for the old hospital to be refurbished into apartments and in line with the new national plan.

Only Donal Grady opposed the move citing its former use as a mental hospital as a reason it should not be used for housing.

“A lot of bad things happened up there,” he said.

However all agreed that the building should not be allowed fall into disrepair like other buildings including the Aras Padraig and the Pretty Polly factory.

Advertisement

News

Beaufort Film Night returns with screening of Cinema Paradiso

Published

on

By

Beaufort Film Night will return on Friday, June 12, with a screening of the Italian classic Cinema Paradiso at Kilgobnet National School.

Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, the film follows Salvatore, a successful film director who returns home to Sicily for the funeral of his childhood friend and mentor, Alfredo, the local cinema projectionist.

The movie won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, five BAFTA Awards, and the Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival. It features a soundtrack by composer Ennio Morricone.

The screening will begin at 8:30pm at Kilgobnet National School (Eircode V93 DW26). Admission is €8, with cash-only entry as there are no card payment facilities. Proceeds will cover the motion picture licence fee. The film is rated PG and will screen in Italian with English subtitles.

Beaufort Film Night is a non-profit community organisation run by local film enthusiasts. The group aims to screen cultural English and international language films that do not typically receive a general release in Kerry.

The initiative is supported by the Kerry County Council Arts Office and works in conjunction with Access Cinema.

Organisers extended their thanks to Kilgobnet National School for providing the venue. More details can be found on the Beaufort Film Night Facebook page.

Attachments

Continue Reading

News

Wallace Arnold coach drivers return to Killarney

Published

on

Wallace Arnold coach drivers return to Killarney


A group of 26 former coach drivers, wives, and friends from the Wallace Arnold tour company returned to Killarney over a recent weekend.


The group travelled from Holyhead to Dublin in a restored Wallace Arnold coach, staying at the Killarney Towers Hotel for three nights.
During the visit, the group drove the vintage coach to local landmarks, including Kate Kearney’s Cottage and Muckross House, before returning to town ahead of the Kerry versus Donegal match. The itinerary also included a trip around the Ring of Kerry.
The trip allowed the former drivers to reconnect and reminisce about their years touring Ireland. Organiser Bob Adams said that the vintage coach drew attention from local residents along the route.
The group noted the absence of several former colleagues who could not travel due to health reasons, including veteran driver Hilton Caldwell who is well known in Killarney.

Continue Reading

Last News

Sport