By Sean MoriartyA committee is to be established to find a way to honour the McShain family and their incalculable contribution to Killarney.

John McShain was a millionaire Irish American construction magnate. Among his achievements were the construction of the Pentagon and the completion of the White House in Washington DC.In the late 1950s McShain joined a consortium that had purchased the 25,000 acre estate of the Earls of Kenmare.His partners sold their shares to him in 1959, at which time he took over lands that included Killarney House, the ruins of Ross Castle, Glena Mountain, and two of the famous lakes including Loch Leane.In 1973 he signed over most of his properties to the Irish State – what is now Killarney National Park.When John died in 1989 and his wife Mary in 1999, they handed the remainder of their property, Killarney House, over to the State and that period building has become a tourist attraction in its own right.Next year will mark the 35th and 25th anniversaries of their respective deaths and the Council wants to mark the occasion with a permanent remembrance to the McShains.Cllr Marie Moloney raised the issue at this week’s Killarney Municipal District meeting.“I am asking Killarney Municipal District to set up a committee of Executive, Elected Members and a number of interested members of the public to determine the most fitting and appropriate way to honour the late great John McShain for what he has done for Killarney,” she said.