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Brilliant Santa to play the classics

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Tomorrow, Monday, April 16 at 8pm, Santa Ignace will be playing the greatest classics of all time – Beethoven Moonlight Sonata, Liszt Mephisto Waltz, Rachmaninov Sonata No 2 and Chopin ballade No 4 – at the Brehon Hotel in Killarney.

Santa, who is currently a Piano Lecturer at the Cork School of Music, was nominated by her professor Jan Čap and honoured to start a 10-month Female Conducting Programme at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, which is specifically designed to promote female conductors in Ireland. The course is led by world-renowned conductors such as Alice Farnham (Welsh National Youth Opera), David Brophy (RTÉ Concert Orchestra) and Bobby Houlihan. The course will conclude with participants conducting Beethoven Symphony No 1 and Warlock Capriol Suite on June 27.

Santa recently also applied for an external Conducting Masterclass in St Petersburg, Russia with world renowned conductor Maestro Korchmar (conducting method of Ilya Musin). She was very pleased to be accepted as an active participant, which gave her an opportunity to conduct symphony orchestra at the concert for the first time. On April 1, she was conducting Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No 2 and Mozart Symphony No 40 at the Assembly Hall in St Petersburg.

Another opportunity to conduct symphony orchestra for Santa will present itself to Santa at the International Berlin Masterclasses where she will be conducting selected pieces by Mendelsohn.

Santa is also excited to be involved in the forthcoming Edinburgh Fringe Festival as a solo recitalist performing pieces by Chopin, Beethoven, Godowsky, Listz and Rachmaninov. And this coming summer, she will be recording her first CD which will include Passacaglia by Godowsky, Sonata No 2 by Rachmaninov and Four Ballades by Chopin.

Tickets for her Brehon show are available at the door before the concert and funds raised will go towards the fees for the upcoming conducting masterclasses.

 

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Céilí Mór will send ‘em home sweatin’

It will be a case of all around the house but mind the dresser at a traditional Céilí Mór which will be one of the real entertainment highlights of this […]

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It will be a case of all around the house but mind the dresser at a traditional Céilí Mór which will be one of the real entertainment highlights of this year’s St Patrick’s Festival in Killarney.

It will take place on the eve of the big feast day in the Killarney Great Southern and there will be a wonderful party atmosphere guaranteed on the night.
Providing the tunes will be the very highly regarded Uí Bhriaín Céilí Band and they promise to send everybody home sweating after what will be a memorable night for locals and visitors.
The March 16 céilí will commence at 9.00pm and continue right through until midnight and the admission for a wonderful night of pure Irish trad is just €10.00.
Bookings can be made on the festival website or patrons can pay at the door on the night.

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St Brendan’s student Aodhagan O’Sullivan crowned CPR champion

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Aodhagan O’Sullivan, a student at St Brendan’s College, Killarney, has been named the 2026 School CPR Challenge Champion.

The prestigious award was presented on Thursday, 26 February, during a large-scale event at the Gleneagle Hotel, where approximately 300 students from post-primary schools across the county gathered to compete for the title of “who can compress the best.”


Now in its fourth year, the event is organised by the Killarney Cardiac Response Unit (KCRU) Community First Responders.

The KCRU is a volunteer-led group that provides vital emergency response services to Killarney, Beaufort, Killorglin, Firies, Rathmore, and Kenmare.

The challenge focused on “Quality CPR” (QCPR), combining a high-stakes competition with practical life-saving training and the chance for students to engage directly with local emergency and community services.


The competition utilised advanced QCPR technology to measure the depth and rate of compressions, ensuring that students aren’t just learning the motions, but are performing life-saving techniques to a clinical standard.

Beyond the competitive element, the day served as an educational hub, highlighting the “chain of survival” and the importance of immediate bystander intervention in the event of a cardiac arrest.


The 2026 challenge was made possible through the support of the Vodafone Foundation, The Gleneagle Hotel, and First Aid Systems Ltd, alongside a variety of local sponsors. Organisers praised the enthusiasm of the 300 participants, noting that such events are essential for building a “heart-safe” community and equipping the next generation with the skills to save a life.

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