Pavel Vošalík, the Ambassador of Czechia to Ireland, visited Killarney recently to meet with Mayor Martin Grady and local officials.

The visit is part of the 2026 EU Presidency County Pairings initiative. For the duration of Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union, which begins in July, every Irish county has been “twinned” with an EU member state. Kerry has been officially paired with Czechia to strengthen cultural and business links between the two regions.

During the meeting at Killarney Town Hall, the Ambassador discussed future community connections and expressed a particular interest in the legacy of Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty. Ambassador Vošalík also met with the Bishop of Kerry, Ray Browne, as part of his trip to the county.

Under the twinning programme, Ambassador Vošalík and the Irish Ambassador to Czechia, Alan Gibbons, will return to Kerry later this year for a series of public events at schools, libraries, and local clubs.

While he was a notable absence from the recent Rally of the Lakes, local driver Colin O’Donoghue is set to make up for lost time by contesting two of the biggest Ford Escort Mk2 events of the summer.

His campaign begins this weekend at the Seven Oaks Hotel Carlow Stages Rally, the third round of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship.

The rally hosts the long-running Ford Escort Mk2 Challenge, where O’Donoghue is the only Kerry driver in the field.

This is his first outing since he won the modified section of the Killarney Historic Rally last November.

He will be up against several top Escort drivers, including the current champion Mk2 Challenge, Frank Kelly.

The event serves as a warm-up for O’Donoghue’s planned trip to Belgium later this year. He will compete in the Escort Rally Special in Chimay in September, an event he won in 2021.

Other local competitors are also heading to Carlow. Killarney co-driver Ger Conway is back with Welsh driver Meirion Evans in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.

The pair last competed together when they finished second overall at both the Donegal International and the Rally of the Lakes last year.

In the modified classes, several Killarney and District Motor Club navigators are on the entry list.

John McCarthy from Currow is pairing up with Meath’s Peter Wilson in a Ford Escort at car 48.

At car 78, Sean Nolan joins Tipperary’s Jason O’Brien for the first time. Niall Myers also travels to Carlow following a successful weekend at the Manx National last weekend, where he took a class podium alongside Gary Healy in a Honda Civic.