News
140-year-old Killarney Arbutus writing desk to be restored

By Sean Moriarty
A 140-year-old writing slope - once owned by a local nurse who was a World War One hero - has been rediscovered and is set to be restored to its former glory.
The Killarney-made handcrafted piece of Killarney Arbutus furniture was gifted to Sr Louisa ‘Lula’ Greany from Muckross by the Herbert Family in 1879.
She was Thomas Greany's first child, the local land agent for the Herbert’s, owners of Muckross House at the time. It is believed the writing slope was a present to the family on the occasion of their first born.
Louisa trained as a nurse in Dublin and moved to London in 1914.
As a Red Cross volunteer she was stationed in both Le Touquet and Dinard in France during World War One.
After the war she worked in Alexandria (now Cairo) and Jerusalem and was made an Associate of the Royal Red Cross for exceptional services as a military nurse.
Local Killarney Arbutus Furniture expert James Flynn has been tasked with the restoration. The Ross Road man’s work recently featured on RTÉ's 'Nationwide'.
“After the ‘Nationwide’ programme a couple in Dublin contacted me. I met them at the Great Southern Hotel and agreed to restore it. I am retired now. This was made specially for Louisa, it is a very important piece,” James told the Killarney Advertiser.
“There is a lot of work in it. I need to use donor pieces to get the patterns right.”
The writing slope is about the size of a modern-day laptop. It features several compartments for storing ink, pens and letters.
Details on the slope include a hand engraving of Muckross Abbey, a shamrock carving that James has never seen on previous furniture he has restored, and pencilled handwriting of Louisa’s name.
James has already sourced period-style ink bottles in Britain and will hand carve an exact replica of the shamrock. Brass hinges will have to be specially ordered to complete the restoration.
News
Killarney twinned with Italian town
By Sean Moriarty It has taken 10 years but the Italian town of Casperia is now an official twin town with Killarney. The idea to twin the picturesque town near […]

By Sean Moriarty
It has taken 10 years but the Italian town of Casperia is now an official twin town with Killarney.
The idea to twin the picturesque town near Rome was first mooted by the old Killarney Town Council.
However, when town councils were discontinued in 2014 the task was handed over to Killarney Town Twining Association and was supported by the elected Killarney Municipal District members of Kerry County Council.
A delegation from the association and the council visited Casperia in 2019 to sign the Italian side of the twining agreement.
The pandemic further delayed the process but on Thursday last Killarney Mayor Niall Kelleher and Casperia Mayor Marco Cusso met to formally sign the charter in Killarney.
“This was honouring a commitment made by the former town council to establish a twinning under European guidelines back in 2014,” said association chairman Sean Counihan.
“Unfortunately the town councils were abolished and Killarney Town Twinning Association pursued the matter.
“We are delighted that the municipal authority saw fit to move the beautiful town of Casperia near Rome from association status to full twinning with Killarney.
“We deeply appreciate the members’ positivity in honouring the former Town Council’s decision.”
The signing between the two mayors took place over the St Patrick’s Festival weekend when Killarney Town Twining Association also welcomed groups from other towns like Pleindfeld in Germany and Concord, North Carolina, USA.
News
Music and fun at Fossa Rambling House
By Sean Moriarty The Fossa Two Mile branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann held its first Rambling House night of music and dance on Saturday night. Their return to the stage […]

By Sean Moriarty
The Fossa Two Mile branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann held its first Rambling House night of music and dance on Saturday night.
Their return to the stage was timed to coincide with the St Patrick’s weekend celebration and also marked the first big event at the Castlerosse Park Resort since it re-opened on Thursday night following its winter break.
As well as a feat of Irish music, dance and poetry, Fossa-based Ukrainians gave performances in their native language too.
“What a great night we had at our CCÉ Rambling House last Saturday night,” Chairman Tim Kissane said.
“There are so many people to thank that we apologise in advance if we miss anybody out. Firstly, to the management and staff Castlerosse Park Resort for hosting our event and the wonderful service they provided.
“To our very talented stalwart musicians Mike Jack, Noreen and Maura who entertained us all so well from start to finish.
“To all our guest performers, from The Racing Pigeons to the Biddy Group and all the singers, musicians and storytellers in between go raibh mile maith agaibh. Special mention to our Ukrainian singers who performed two songs in their native language for us on the night. Thank you to all our members and supporters and to Fear an Tí, Mick Myers agus Bean an Tí, Theresa Kissane who kept the night flowing. Our fireplace display was kindly lent to us by the Beaufort Pioneers and adorned with ‘things of old’ from Brendan O’Sullivan.”
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