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Opinion: Killarney faces further government building dereliction

Indecisiveness by a government agency could lead to more dereliction in Killarney.

This week the Health and Safety Executive said it was to review the future of both the District Hospital and St. Columbanus Home.

The new community hospital is currently under construction on a site adjoining the by-pass on the old St Finan’s site.

It is expected to open later this year or early next year and while it is a welcome addition to the town, there should also be alarm bells going off.

Government agencies and Killarney have a very poor record when it comes to managing state-owned assets that are no longer in public use.

St Finan’s is a prime example. Vacant since 2012, nobody seems to know what should be done with the listed building and the more the never-ending debate continues the more it falls into further disrepair.

But that is not the only building in Killarney that has been allowed to depreciate over the years.

The Áras Phádraig on Lewis Road in another example.

Plans for the redevelopment of Áras Phádraig were given the go ahead by elected councillors last year.
The popular local community centre has been idle since May 2009 when the Franciscan Community attempted to transfer ownership of the facility to the town council; however this ran into trouble as the authority is not a charity.
It took until 2017 before the legal hitch could be overcome with the site now derelict and in need of considerable investment.
Five years later Killarney Municipal District approved plans to re-develop the site under Urban Regeneration and Development Fund.

To qualify for the funding, councillors were told that the inclusion of the Primary Care Unit was a redline issue as without it funding under Urban Regeneration and Development Fund the would not be forthcoming for the entire project.
That in itself raises further alarm bells. A year on nothing has been done to the Lewis Road site and we are fast approaching 15 years of idleness.
But, this week at a Cork/Kerry Community Health Forum meeting TD Danny Healy-Rae asked that when the District Hospital and St. Columbanus Home become unoccupied that, at least one of them could be turned into a primary care unit.
“I again raised a very important issue about the Minor Injuries Unit and pointed out they will have two wonderful sites available to them when Killarney closes as these are ideal locations with adequate parking for the Minor Injuries Unit and central to East Kerry, Mid Kerry and South Kerry and would also help to reduce the chaos at the A and E in University Hospital Kerry, I am glad that I received a favourable response from the HSE where they said they would give this request active consideration,” he said.

So, if Healy-Rae’s proposal gets the favourable response he has been promised what becomes of the Áras Phádraig plans.

Killarney does need a primary care unit, it does not need two. So either the Lewis Road project gets shelved to make way for the Healy-Rae proposal or the latter idea never gets off the ground.

What eveR the outcome, one this is certain, Killarney faces more state-owned dereliction and the town’s track record in suce matter is very, very poor.

AnONE know what is happening at the council-owned Pretty Polly site?

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Paralympic legend Jason Smyth visits St Brendan’s

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Paralympic legend Jason Smyth visits St Brendan’s


World renowned Paralympian and world record holder Jason Smyth paid a visit to St Brendan’s College on Wednesday afternoon as part of a high profile visit to Killarney.


The six time Paralympic gold medallist spoke to second year students from St Brendan’s College, alongside students from neighbouring schools St Brigid’s Presentation Secondary School and Killarney Community College.
The interactive talk and interview took place ahead of World Sight Day, with the legendary sprinter sharing his personal journey with Stargardt disease, a genetic eye condition that left him legally blind at eight years old.
The Derry native, who holds the world record as the fastest Paralympian on earth over 100 metres, offered inspiring insights into overcoming physical adversity and achieving success at the highest level of world sport.
The school visit formed the opening leg of his Killarney schedule before he took centre stage later on Wednesday evening at The Killarney Plaza Hotel & Spa.
Smyth headlined An Evening with Paralympian Jason Smyth, an event organised by the Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce as part of its winter schedule, sponsored by AIB.

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Deerpark Retail Park placed on market for fifteen million euro

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Deerpark Retail Park in Killarney has officially been placed on the market with a guide price in excess of 15.4 million euro, excluding VAT.

International real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield has been appointed as the sole sales agent to handle the high-profile commercial property sale on behalf of its current owner, Investcorp.

Investcorp, a global investment management firm headquartered in Bahrain, had previously acquired the prominent shopping complex.


The sale represents one of the largest commercial property offerings to launch in County Kerry this year.

Located roughly 1.3 kilometres west of Killarney town centre, the scheme enjoys strong regional connectivity and sits adjacent to independently owned operations including a Tesco Extra store, a Tesco petrol filling station, JYSK, and Aldi.


Constructed in 2006, the development extends across approximately 10,482 square metres, or 112,835 square feet.

The scheme comprises a mix of modern retail warehouse units and a complementary neighbourhood centre, offering 13 individual units in total with Part Open and Part Bulky Use planning permission.

The units range in size from 94.6 square metres up to 1,994.9 square metres. Visitors have access to approximately 248 customer parking spaces across the commercial grounds.

The park is currently 100 per cent occupied by a strong line-up of established national and international brands.

Key retail tenants include Marks & Spencer, Boots, DID Electrical, Maxi Zoo, and Mountain Warehouse.

The neighbourhood centre element accommodates service and convenience operators such as Costa Coffee, Card Factory, and Salon B.

The first-floor accommodation is fully let to Peak Performance Academy, which provides additional rental diversification.

Additionally, the scheme benefits from an agreement with Tesla to operate eight electric vehicle charging bays within the customer car park.


Commercial figures show that the property generates a total current rental income of 1,326,458 euro per annum, with a weighted average unexpired lease term of 4.45 years to break options and 6.46 years to lease expiry.

Cushman & Wakefield noted that the quoted guide price of 15.4 million euro reflects a net initial yield of 7.83 per cent, assuming standard purchaser costs of 9.96 per cent.

The selling agents highlighted that the fully occupied asset offers investors an attractive income profile alongside scope for additional income generation through parking commercialisation.

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