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120th anniversary of Ballyfinnane Hillclimb to be celebrated with motorsport festival

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Kerry Motor Club has announced details of the running of a Hillclimb on Sunday, July 16 in the Ballyfinnane area outside Tralee which will mark a very special occasion in the county.

Charles Rolls racing in Ireland in 1903. Photo: Royal Irish Automobile Club archive

The club will mark the 120th anniversary of first motorsport event in Kerry

On July 15, 1903 the very first closed-road motorsport event in the county took place on the hillside in Ballyfinnane, 120 years ago this summer.

That event was won by Charles Rolls, who later went on to become to founder of the Rolls Royce Motor Company

To celebrate the historic occasion, Kerry Motor Club will run a Hillclimb in the same location, 120 years to the weekend that Charles Rolls took home the Kerry Cup from Ballyfinnane.

Hillclimb racing is one of the oldest forms of motorsport disciplines in the country. While similar to rally stages, a Hillclimb course is relatively short, usually between 1 and 1.5km in length with multiple quick runs over the same course across a day.

While there will be some regular faces in rally cars on the day, single seater cars (in a similar style to a Formula One car) are normally the fastest over the quick course and some of single seater formula races are expected at the event.

The hillclimb will be run under Motorsport Ireland regulations and safety visits to the course are now at an advanced stage.

The first planning meeting took place on Monday last, May 8 in the Shanty Bar, Ballyfinnane with some 50 motorsport enthusiasts getting to work on what will be a historic occasion in the county.

Events will get underway on the afternoon July 15 with car safety inspection, drivers meetings and drivers parades.

Sean Moriarty, Clerk of the Course said: “The event, which will be run by Kerry Motor Club in association with the Ballyfinnane Community Association, is at an advanced stage of planning with a fantastic first official meeting in the Shanty Bar on Monday night. We are very much looking forward to bringing the sport of Hillclimb Racing back to Kerry and to celebrate this important milestone in Kerry motorsport history.”

Mr Moriarty thanked Kerry County Council officials who are currently process the road closure requests.

More details will be announced in due course including a classic car show and a a host of family entertainment.

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Fassbender ready for second Le Mans appearance

Local Hollywood A-lister Michael Fassbender is in the final preparation stages for his second appearance at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. The iconic endurance race is celebrating its […]

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Local Hollywood A-lister Michael Fassbender is in the final preparation stages for his second appearance at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The iconic endurance race is celebrating its 100th edition next weekend.

The Fossa star has already arrived in the famous French twon where he is involved in a week-long series of engagements including drivers’ parades, autograph sessions and more serious appointments like car safety checks, practice and qualifying.

Like last year, when he finished 16th in the LMGTE Am class, Fassbender has been entered in to the event by the German Proton Competition team with Estonian Martin Rump and the Austrian Richard Lietz.

Fassbender dreams of following the trajectory of fellow Hollywood actors Patrick Dempsey who was second in LMGTE Am class in 2016 and Paul Newman who finished second overall in 1979.

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Ireland’s oldest citizen has Killarney connections

Ireland’s oldest woman met with President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin this week. Máirín Hughes, who turned 109 on May 22 has strong Killarney connections. The previous record […]

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Ireland’s oldest woman met with President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin this week.

Máirín Hughes, who turned 109 on May 22 has strong Killarney connections.

The previous record was held by 107-year-old Nancy Stewart who died on September 10 2021.

Although born in Belfast, Máirín went to school in the Mercy Convent. Her father was a customs and excise officer and the family moved around a lot eventually coming to Killarney after spells in County Down and Dublin.

Her mother came from the Rathmore area and her father was from Newmarket in County Cork.

She attended the Mercy Convent and has, in previous interviews, recalled growing up on the shores of Lough Lein.

“Neighbours who had three children were given the job of taking me to school,” she said. “They were annoyed because the children were going to school for two or three years but I was put in to the same class as them – my mother had taught me.”

In 2021 she featured in the book ‘Independence Memories: A People’s Portrait of the Early Days of the Irish Nation’, sharing stories of being kept in school in Killarney during an attack on the RIC barracks down the road.

In 1924 she started a degree in science and a diploma in education at University College Cork, before working in the pathology lab in University College Cork’s Department of Medicine for 16 years.

last year she recalled her story on the podcast: ‘Living History – Irish Life and Lore’.

During the broadcast she talked about her parents’ membership of the Gaelic League in 1910; the Spanish Flu in Ireland in 1918; The Black and Tans in Killarney in 1921; the early days of the new Free State; Eucharistic Congress in Dublin in 1932, visiting the Basket Islands in 1929; and working in the UCC medical laboratory from 1932 until 1948.

This week President Michael D. Higgins hosted an afternoon tea event to celebrate the important role that a variety of people have and can play in different communities and Máirín was among the guests of honour.

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