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A ball hasn’t been kicked but eyes already on Dublin

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Kerry play their first championship match of the 2018 campaign today but, for supporters at least, all eyes are already on Dublin. Mapping out your team’s route to the final is always good craic, especially this year with the new Super 8 format, and it all looks so straightforward for Kerry on paper.

Beat Clare. Beat Cork in the Munster Final. Beat the Connacht champions (probably Galway) in the first game of the group phase. Beat the other two teams. Beat the second place team from the other group in the semis. And then, another crack at the Dubs. Easy.

Assuming Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s new-look team do run the gauntlet, what are their chances of stopping the Dubs’ quest for four-in-a-row? If you just look at the forwards he has at his disposal, you’d have to say Kerry have a shot.

James O’Donoghue, Paul Geaney, David Clifford, Seán O’Shea, Micheál Burns, Daithí Casey, Kevin McCarthy, Kieran Donaghy, Darran O’Sullivan, Donnchadh Walsh, Stephen O’Brien, Barry John Keane… When you think about it, all of them would start for the vast majority of the 33 teams in this year’s championship but six of them won’t start for Kerry. And those are just the first 12 who come to mind. There are others.

There are rumours that Fitzmaurice could opt for a full forward line of Geaney, O’Donoghue and Clifford. Good luck to any full back line tasked with keeping that trio quiet for 70 minutes.

There are some question marks over Kerry’s inexperienced defenders, especially considering how devastating Dublin are in attack, but by the time September comes around they will hopefully have six championship games under their belts. As good as Dublin are, they might not look quite as daunting to the new players by then.

But first things first. Clare today in Killarney. The Banner have only defeated Kerry in the championship once in the last 68 years (1992). They’re a lot better at the moment than that statistic might suggest but Kerry’s first step in the 2018 championship should be fairly straightforward.

Prediction: Kerry by nine.

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Eight month wait for a driving test in Killarney

A Killarney councillor is calling for action in an effort to reduce the driving test wait list in Killarney The current wait list for a test in Killarney sits at […]

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A Killarney councillor is calling for action in an effort to reduce the driving test wait list in Killarney

The current wait list for a test in Killarney sits at eight months.

Cllr John O’Donoghue raised the issue at Monday’s full meeting of Kerry County Council.

He proposed that driving instructors should be employed to carry out the final test to reduce the current backlog.

At Monday’s meeting he asked that hat Kerry County Council would write to the Minister for Transport to ask him to consider giving driving instructors temporary powers to issue a temporary Driving Licence/Certificate of Competence to those on the waiting list for tests.

“The wait is currently far too long and the system is in danger of becoming completely overwhelmed,” he said.

“The huge waiting list for young drivers is well documented at this stage. In a case I am familiar with, a young person passed their theory test in January 2022 and he immediately applied for his mandatory 12 driving lessons. When these were completed, he applied for his driving test on the 2nd of December 2022. Some weeks ago, he still had not received an application to apply for his driving test. This wait is placing him and his family under considerable extra cost and stress which is completely unacceptable.”

In the course of his research into the matter Cllr O’Donoghue discovered that the next available date for a driving test in Killarney is May 25, 2024, while Tralee is June 3 2024.

“Bear in mind, these are only the dates on which you receive an invitation to book your test, the test itself will then be an estimated three to five weeks later.

“This is an appalling situation and one which needs to be rectified as a matter of urgency. I am proposing that driving instructors, which presumably are fully trained up on the rules of the road, be granted temporary powers to be allowed to issue temporary driving licences to young people. When the waiting list time has been reduced, I would still propose that these people sit the test as usual, but the current pressure needs to be alleviated as soon as possible. There is precedent as I believe that in the 1970s, a cohort in this country were issued driving licences without having sat a test as the wait time for the test was too long.”

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Ballymac charity vintage run on October 1

The Ballymac Vintage Club is hosting a classic car, tractor and Honda 50 run on October 1. The run will leave from and return to the Halfway Bar, Ballymac. Registration […]

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The Ballymac Vintage Club is hosting a classic car, tractor and Honda 50 run on October 1.

The run will leave from and return to the Halfway Bar, Ballymac.

Registration begins at 9:30am and sets off at 11am.

“There will be two separate routes with one for tractors and the other for cars and motorbikes. Proceeds on the day are in aid of Castleisland Day Care Centre and we’ll have plenty of spot prizes to giveaway too in the morning,” said the club’s PRO Kieran Glover.

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