Investigation probing early morning car fire

An investigation is under way following an early morning blaze that destroyed an electric vehicle in Killarney over the weekend.

Emergency services were alerted when a Volkswagen ID Buzz caught fire in the Hillview area of Woodlawn during the early hours of Sunday morning.

Crews from the Killarney Fire and Rescue Service were dispatched to the scene after receiving the emergency call at approximately 4am.

Local eyewitnesses reporting to the Killarney Advertiser described hearing a series of small explosions sounding like gunfire, with large plumes of smoke and flames visible from across the town.

No injuries have been reported, and emergency services have launched an inquiry to determine the cause of the fire.

Local effort brings historic manuscript back to Ireland

A dedicated effort led by three Killarney figures were responsible for securing the return of the Annals of Inisfallen to Irish soil, bringing the 1,000-year-old medieval manuscript to University College Cork for public display.

The campaign began in March 2023 when Killarney Chamber of Commerce and Tourism member Finbarr Kennelly and local history enthusiast James Knoblauch initiated contact with Oxford University, where the priceless artefact has been housed for the past 250 years.
Working alongside Martin Kaufmann at Oxford University , discussions quickly gathered momentum.
Due to the extreme rarity and value of the manuscript, finding a secure venue capable of hosting such an artefact became paramount. University College Cork was identified as the ideal location, leading to a formal loan agreement supported by prominent local businessman and Fexco founder Brian McCarthy, alongside UCC’s Professor Pádraig Ó Macháin and John Fitzgerald.
The manuscript is now on public display in the Glucksman building on the UCC campus until 1 November, marking its first return to Ireland since a brief exhibition in Killarney in 1983.
Meanwhile, Leas-Chathaoirleach of the Killarney Municipal District, Councillor Brendan Cronin, and Kerry County Council Director of Services James Nolan attended the official opening of the exhibition at UCC.
The manuscript, which spans 57 vellum calfskin leaves written in a blend of Irish and Latin, records early Irish history from pre-Christian times through to the medieval era. Featuring over 2,500 entries compiled between AD 433 and AD 1450, it provides a year-by-year chronicle of political events, ecclesiastical history, Viking raids on Skellig Michael, the arrival of Ireland’s first Jewish travellers, and extreme weather phenomena.
Brought to West Munster in the 12th century, the volume was preserved and expanded at the monastery on Inisfallen Island on Lough Leane, where the ruins of the abbey still stand. Contributions from a succession of 30 scribes between the late 11th and 14th centuries make it a unique contemporary record of the period, with further entries added up to the 15th century.
“It was a tremendous honour to represent Killarney Municipal District and Kerry County Council at this historic exhibition,” Cllr Cronin stated. “I would encourage anyone who can do so to visit the exhibition at UCC, which is a wonderful celebration of this hugely significant manuscript with such important connections to Killarney.”
The exhibition remains open to the public at University College Cork until 1 November.