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Six rescued from snowy Carrantouhil trek

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By Sean Moriarty

Six adventurers who wanted to reach Carrantouhil's snowy summit spent hours stranded yesterday (Wednesday) after making a navigational error.

26 volunteer members of Kerry Mountain Rescue Team were called out at 4.15pm to come to their aid and finished at approximately 1.30am. It was their first major callout of the year.

The climbers - made up of two separate groups - ascended the popular mountain after a Met Éireann Yellow weather alert was issued warning of the presence of heavy snow on the MacGillycuddy's Reeks.

The first two-person group made it to the top and on their way down met the second group of four.

All six decided to descend together, via the south-west face of the Bone on Maolán Buí, an area to the east of the Zig Zags - a well-travelled descent route - when they made a navigational error and attempted to go down an unrecognised route.

The six became cragfast 150m from the gully and raised the alarm around 4.15pm.

“Conditions on the hill were very poor, rendering any approach to the casualties from the bottom of the gully dangerous. The team instead climbed up to a point near the top of the Bone above the gully, where a belay system was set up,” Colm Burke from the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team said.

A number of team members abseiled 200m from the belay point down to the casualties and secured them to haul lines that were used to bring them all safely to the top of the ridge. Once at the top, the casualties were short-roped down off the Bone to awaiting Landrovers in the Hags Glen.

“Apart from being very cold and fatigued, thankfully none of the casualties were injured and the rescue successfully concluded at approximately 1.30am.”

The team confirmed the six hillwalkers were well equipped and wore the correct clothing for a winter summit attempt of Ireland's highest mountain.

Two experienced hill runners dressed in shorts and t-shirts with head torches passed the rescue operation on their way to the top and later made it down safely.

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Contactless payments launched on Local Link services

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Passengers using TFI Local Link Kerry services in Killarney and across the county can now pay for their journeys using contactless card payments.

The National Transport Authority (NTA) confirmed the rollout this week, allowing commuters to simply tap their debit card, credit card, or mobile devices, such as Apple Pay and Google Pa, when boarding.

The move is designed to offer more convenience for those using high-frequency rural and regional routes.

In Killarney, the new payment option will be available on the TFI Anseo town services, which have seen a significant increase in passenger numbers since their introduction.

The contactless system is currently available for single journey fares, while those using daily or weekly passes can continue to use the Leap website or the TFI Leap Top Up App.
Alan O’Connell, General Manager of TFI Local Link Kerry, welcomed the modernisation of the fleet.

“The introduction of contactless payments is another welcome step forward for public transport in Kerry,” he said. “It complements other major projects in the county, including the expansion of TFI Local Link services and the delivery of TFI Anseo in Killarney, which is proving to be another great initiative.”

While the new technology offers a modern alternative, traditional payment methods are not being phased out. Cash payments, TFI Leap cards, and Free Travel Cards all remains fully valid across the network.

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How will our Kerry TDs vote tomorrow?

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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.

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