Connect with us

News

Wildfires set rhododendron control back by 40 years

Published

on

0226518_DSC4481.jpg

By Sean Moriarty

Last year’s wildfires in Killarney National Park have set back rhododendron control by 40 years.

Killarney Mountain Meitheal is preparing to tackle the regrowth of rhododendron in the National Park following last April’s devastating wild fires.

Over 300 hectares of natural habitat were damaged and the burnt scrubland is an ideal breeding ground for the highly evasive plant.

Meitheal volunteers will work to halt the re-growth in areas like Dinis Island, Old Weir Bridge and surrounding woodland. They hope to get crews in there by late April or early May to manage and eradicate the emerging regrowth in these areas.

As well as being highly invasive, rhododendron ponticum is also fire resistant as the roots of the plant remain intact after a fire and will quickly reproduce.

“Areas around Dinis Island and Old Weir Bridge were clear of rhododendron since the 1980s,” former Park Ranger and Meitheal volunteer, Peter O’Toole, told the Killarney Advertiser. “Fire creates the perfect environment for aggressive rhododendron re-growth."

Killarney Mountain Meitheal meet every Tuesday and Sunday morning to tackle various issues in the National Park. They work in close cooperation with Killarney National Park management and are supported by the Trustees of Muckross House.

Advertisement

News

How will our Kerry TDs vote tomorrow?

Published

on

By

Tomorrow, Sinn Féin will be tabling a motion of no confidence against the Government after the protests that took place nationwide during the week.

Earlier today we asked our readers how would they vote in a no confidence motion against the Government?

Most of our readers said they would vote no confidence, while some said, yes they do have confidence in the Government.

One reader said: “Vote confidence. The only proper leadership over the last few days came from government. Courage came when needed despite how unpopular it looked in the moment. By contrast, opposition politicians wanted the country to burn to suit themselves”.

Another reader stated: “No confidence. Shambolic and heavy handed handling of protests this past week”.

However, some people didn’t have any confidence in either side with a reader saying: “No confidence in the no confidence! Different wings of the same bird! We need a complete overhaul of the political system”.

We asked the question to our 5 Kerry TDs before lunch-time today, asking them what their vote will be tomorrow.

We received one reply from Sinn Féin’s Kerry TD Pa Daly.

He will be voting no confidence in the Government tomorrow along with his party.

Other media outlets are reporting that Independent TD Danny Healy-Rae is undecided at the moment.

Continue Reading

News

Town centre-based software firm marks two years in business

Published

on

By

A Killarney-based software company is celebrating two years in business since expanding into the European market.

QT9 Software Ltd, which is located on Bohereencaol was established in 2024 as part of the company’s move to better serve customers across Europe.

The business is part of a US-based company founded 20 years ago in Chicago by Brant Engelhart.

Its Irish office is headed by Killarney resident Angela O’Sullivan, who serves as Operations Director.

QT9 Software currently employs four full-time staff members in Killarney and plans to increase that number by an additional two this year.

The company provides quality management software to businesses worldwide, with the Irish office helping to support European customers within their own time zones.

As part of its continued European expansion, the software company also opened a new data center in Amsterdam in 2025 to meet data storage and compliance requirements.

QT9 Software works with businesses that must meet quality standards such as ISO 9001 and ISO 13485, as well as industry-specific regulations across sectors, such as automotive, aerospace, food and life sciences.

Speaking about the milestone, Angela O’Sullivan said: “We’re very proud to have grown QT9 Software here in Killarney over the past two years. It has been a really positive journey so far, and we’re looking forward to continuing to build our team and support more customers across Europe.”

The company is also currently recruiting for an IT Systems Administrator, with details available in the appointments section on page 46.

Attachments

Continue Reading

Last News

Sport