The new sports complex at Derreen is on track to open in time for the 2026/2027 basketball season, which traditionally begins in early October.

Members of St Paul’s Basketball Club visited the site last Saturday to view the ongoing progress and get an inside glimpse of what the finished facility will look like.

The project is driven by the Kerry Stars Special Olympics Club, St Paul’s Basketball Club and Killarney Judo Club.

The new complex is being built adjacent to the Killarney Celtic grounds and Killarney Legion GAA Club and will create a central sports hub in town.

Cllr Niall ‘Botty O’Callaghan, a member of the St Paul’s club and a long-time supporter of the project, told the Killarney Advertiser:

“The building is really coming to fruition for the whole community. The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media have been outstanding in helping us with us with the paperwork and a big thanks goes to Minister Patrick O’Donovan. We are working really hard to have the hall up and running before next season. I can’t wait for St Paul’s, the Judo Club and the Kerry Stars to get up and running in our new hall.”

The development represents a major addition to the sporting infrastructure in the area, providing a permanent home for several local clubs that have previously relied on various school halls and external venues.

Once completed, the hall will serve as a high-spec hub for basketball, judo, and Special Olympics activities

It was a mystery that had the whole town in a chokehold. Mr Fassbender was nowhere to be seen, it had everyone scratching their heads and asking, where did he go? While other news outlets were reporting that Michael Fassbender was on the missing list in Killarney this week, the Killarney Advertiser team decided to track him down on Tuesday morning. It didn’t take long as we found him well before lunchtime, breaking the news on our Facebook page. He was sitting outside of the cinema, sure where else would he be?