By Sean Moriarty

There was great excitement this week for pupils and staff who welcomed the addition of a brand new Ford Transit minibus.

On Wednesday St Francis Special School took delivery of the new minibus, one of two that will be owned and operated by the school.There'll be even more trips out now for the pupils as the minibus will offer the school the freedom to organise their own days out rather than relying on the support of others who loaned the school buses as and when they were available.A second bus is expected to be delivered in the coming weeks and their purchases were made possible thanks to money donated by participants in the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle.“The generosity of the people of Kerry knows no bounds and that’s coming from a Cork man,” Principal Liam Twomey told the Killarney Advertiser. “We are delighted with our new bus – it is a culmination of many years of fundraising by a lot of people.”Liam is retiring from the Beaufort school at the end of the month. He has thanked the people of Kerry for their generosity after three of his projects were realised; the bus, the construction of a new bike shed and the purchase of specially adapted bicycles suitable for the children attending the school was completed earlier this year.By the end of next week, a new playground will be officially opened to complete his three personal ambitions.Mr Twomey said the new buses will allow the school to broaden the educational needs of the school’s pupils.“We can now plan and organise our own day-trips without waiting for the availability of other buses,” he added.“A day on the beach, in the National Park or just the supermarket is all part of the overall educational package for the pupils. Our own buses means our own freedom.”