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Santa’s high-performance sleigh

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By Sean Moriarty

Motorists in the market for a new car in January might want to pay attention to the performance levels of Santa’s sleigh.

The big man in red has just 36 hours to play with, beginning in New Zealand late on Christmas Eve, Irish time

By the time he has visited Killarney a few hours later he will have just over half his journey completed. His work won’t be done until the early hours of St Stephen’s Day, his last port of call is Alaska, which is very near his North Pole base.

In total, Santa needs to travel 10 million kilometres in that 36 hour time frame. That means he will travel the world at a speed of 77 kilometres per second! This proves why he cannot be seen, as 77 kilometres per second is, after-all, 3,000 times the speed of sound.

But if Santa can’t be seen, it is possible, just about, to hear him because the speed he is travelling at means he, the sleigh and team of reindeer are giving off a sonic boom every couple of micro-seconds…listen very closely and it may be just possible to hear the boom.

Apart from the performance of the sleigh, Santa is a very busy man during the early hours of Christmas morning and his own level of fitness could make him a serious contender for a place on the Kerry team.

There are close to seven billion homes in the world, that gives him 130 microseconds to park the sleigh on the roof, climb down a chimney, place the presents under the tree and eat the treat left out for him. Phew! How does he do that without getting very tired?

That is easy to explain. Santa is known for his generosity. And you know what they say about generous people – they have very big hearts! Santa’s heart is a lot more powerful than any normal human being and that is one of his secrets.

That said, it is understandable why Santa needs an extra-long rest and is rarely seen anywhere in the world between Christmas Day and the following December when he starts to make his naughty or nice list again.

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Céilí Mór will send ‘em home sweatin’

It will be a case of all around the house but mind the dresser at a traditional Céilí Mór which will be one of the real entertainment highlights of this […]

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It will be a case of all around the house but mind the dresser at a traditional Céilí Mór which will be one of the real entertainment highlights of this year’s St Patrick’s Festival in Killarney.

It will take place on the eve of the big feast day in the Killarney Great Southern and there will be a wonderful party atmosphere guaranteed on the night.
Providing the tunes will be the very highly regarded Uí Bhriaín Céilí Band and they promise to send everybody home sweating after what will be a memorable night for locals and visitors.
The March 16 céilí will commence at 9.00pm and continue right through until midnight and the admission for a wonderful night of pure Irish trad is just €10.00.
Bookings can be made on the festival website or patrons can pay at the door on the night.

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St Brendan’s student Aodhagan O’Sullivan crowned CPR champion

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Aodhagan O’Sullivan, a student at St Brendan’s College, Killarney, has been named the 2026 School CPR Challenge Champion.

The prestigious award was presented on Thursday, 26 February, during a large-scale event at the Gleneagle Hotel, where approximately 300 students from post-primary schools across the county gathered to compete for the title of “who can compress the best.”


Now in its fourth year, the event is organised by the Killarney Cardiac Response Unit (KCRU) Community First Responders.

The KCRU is a volunteer-led group that provides vital emergency response services to Killarney, Beaufort, Killorglin, Firies, Rathmore, and Kenmare.

The challenge focused on “Quality CPR” (QCPR), combining a high-stakes competition with practical life-saving training and the chance for students to engage directly with local emergency and community services.


The competition utilised advanced QCPR technology to measure the depth and rate of compressions, ensuring that students aren’t just learning the motions, but are performing life-saving techniques to a clinical standard.

Beyond the competitive element, the day served as an educational hub, highlighting the “chain of survival” and the importance of immediate bystander intervention in the event of a cardiac arrest.


The 2026 challenge was made possible through the support of the Vodafone Foundation, The Gleneagle Hotel, and First Aid Systems Ltd, alongside a variety of local sponsors. Organisers praised the enthusiasm of the 300 participants, noting that such events are essential for building a “heart-safe” community and equipping the next generation with the skills to save a life.

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