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Book to remember Johnny ‘The Rock’ O’Brien

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By Sean Moriarty

A Glenflesk man who died in tragic circumstances at Christmas is to be forever remembered in a book.

The Glenflesk community woke to the worst possible news on St Stephen’s Day when they learned that Johnny 'The Rock' O'Brien, had died in a house fire.A passing motorist alerted emergency services after seeing the fire in the early hours of December 26.A popular local figure, ‘The Rock’ was a farmer who lived his entire life at the roadside farmhouse near Glenflesk.He was well-known to passing motorists, a friendly honk of a car’s horn was always met by an equally happy salute from the bachelor farmer.His love of his animals made national headlines a few years ago as he saved them from flooding after a severe storm.A central part of the local community, ‘The Rock' was supposed to climb The Paps with a group of locals on the Monday morning of his death to raise funds for two charities.Now a friend and neighbour wants to remember him and she is looking for old photos and anecdotes to compile into a book.“The idea is to gather stories and anecdotes from as wide a group of Johnny's friends and neighbours as possible and combine them with as many photos as possible.“[Photographer] Valerie O'Sullivan is completely behind this project and has promised to help with photos of Johnny,” said his neighbour and friend Lucy Chisholm Greenfield in a social media post.“The plan is to self-publish a little book to keep Johnny's memory alive. I will absorb the costs and the price will be set low to encourage everyone who knew him to buy a copy.“All money from the sale of books will go to the two charities that Johnny was intending to raise money for by walking to the summit of one of The Paps with Sam McGuire on St Stephen's Day. The walk went ahead in the snow but without Johnny and with heavy hearts.”The two charities that the book will support are the Kerry Cancer Support Group and The Brian Lawlor Trust.

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Chamber pays tribute to late Dick Henggeler

Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce has expressed condolences following the death of Dick Henggeler, the well-known owner of The Rose Hotel in Tralee. Mr Henggeler passed away peacefully at […]

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Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce has expressed condolences following the death of Dick Henggeler, the well-known owner of The Rose Hotel in Tralee.

Mr Henggeler passed away peacefully at his home in Baltimore, USA surrounded by his Aghadoe-born wife Eibhlin (née Moriarty), their son Franz, and other family members.
Dick and Eibhlin purchased The Rose Hotel in 2015 in tribute to their late daughter Dorothy, who represented Washington DC in the 2011 Rose of Tralee Festival.
The Chamber said Mr Henggeler would be remembered for his warmth, good nature and positive approach, as well as for being a forward-thinking and knowledgeable businessman.
“He knew how to run a good hotel and that was and still is very obvious at The Rose Hotel, which is a great success story,” the Chamber said.
It added that continuity of ownership will remain in place, with Eibhlin, Franz, daughter-in-law Amber, and grandchildren Conrad and Rowan continuing to honour Dick’s legacy and vision for the hotel.
“Dick took enormous personal pride in Tralee and all of Kerry and he was always available to generously support any community initiative or endeavour undertaken in Killarney,” the Chamber said.
“He will be greatly missed by all that knew him but he leaves a wonderful legacy.”

He will repose at O’Shea’s Funeral Home, Killarney, on Friday (October 17), from 4:00pm to 6:00pm. The funeral will arrive at St Mary’s Cathedral on Saturday morning at 10:00am for Requiem Mass at 10:30am, with burial afterwards in Aghadoe Cemetery. The Requiem Mass will be live streamed at https://www.churchservices.tv/killarneycathedral.

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Beaufort Film Night returns with French drama-comedy

Beaufort Film Night will return on Friday (October 17) at Cullina National School, with a screening of the French drama-comedy The Marching Band. The film tells the story of Thibaut, […]

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Beaufort Film Night will return on Friday (October 17) at Cullina National School, with a screening of the French drama-comedy The Marching Band.

The film tells the story of Thibaut, a successful conductor recently diagnosed with leukaemia. A search for a bone marrow donor reveals that he was adopted and has a brother, Jimmy, a cafeteria worker.
The two meet, discover a shared love of music, and form a strong bond through an unexpected collaboration with Jimmy’s workplace band.
The Marching Band (French title En Fanfare) will screen at 8.30pm. Admission is €7, cash only, and will cover the motion picture licence fee.
The film has a 12A rating and is in French with English subtitles.
Beaufort Film Night is a non-profit community group that screens cultural English and international films that usually do not receive general release in Kerry.
The event is supported by Kerry County Council Arts Office and Access Cinema. Cullina National School is providing the venue.
Further details are available on Beaufort Film Night’s Facebook page @BeaufortFilmNight.

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