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Castlemaine Fair in memory of John O’Donoghue

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The Castlemaine Fair Day was such a success last year that the Castlemaine Events Committee has decided to make it an annual event.

Set for this Sunday (October 16), the fair will remember local man John O’Donoghue and raise funds for the Kerry Hospice and Palliative Care Unit at University Hospital Kerry.

John O’Donoghue died in January 2020 after a battle with cancer. He was well known in the area and had a lifetime love of attending fairs and being an integral part of the farming community.

John, who resided in the heart of Castlemaine Village was born on January 21, 1965 which ironically happened to coincide with a staging of the old Castlemaine Fair Day.

The Castlemaine Events Committee felt it appropriate to remember John by bringing back the old fair day in his honour.

“The fair day was an annual event in Castlemaine, but it died out in the 1990s. This event is very important as it keeps my father’s memory alive as we approach his third anniversary in January 2023,” said his daughter Cathy.

“John was known by many, particularly for his work ethic, humour, and honesty. When people mention any dealings they had with him, it is always with a smile on their face, and they will all tell you that it was always a good deal they had with him," she said.

The custom of attending the fairs was passed onto John from his father Denis.

The fair will get underway at 10am in Griffin’s car park. Last year the event raised €40,000 and the committee hope to exceed that with an animal auction on the day.

“Almost everyone has been affected by cancer in some way or another and are familiar with the Kerry Hospice in UHK. The care and support provided from the palliative care team was so amazing that it feels very right to give something back and I hope that we can raise as much money as possible on the day for such a wonderful service here in the heart of Kerry,” added Cathy.

“The support from the farming and local community is truly heart-warming and the community spirit is magnificent.”

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Developing St Finan’s “cost prohibitive” – Council

Converting the idle St Finan’s hospital into social housing is cost-prohibitive according to Kerry County council officials. The historic building has been lying idle since it closed in September 2012. […]

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Converting the idle St Finan’s hospital into social housing is cost-prohibitive according to Kerry County council officials.

The historic building has been lying idle since it closed in September 2012.

The hospital and adjoining lands are up for sale by the Health Service Executive (HSE) since then.

So far no realistic offer has been made on the site despite suggestions that it could be used for social housing, a catering college and a hotel.

Each year the building, which was built in the 1850s, falls into further disrepair.

There were fresh calls again this week as local councillors called for some sort of action to redevelop the site that is fast becoming an eyesore.

At last Friday’s Killarney Municipal District meeting councillors called for action at the site .

Mayor Brendan Cronin wants the building’s protected status to be removed or at least reduced to speed up potential development work which ties in with Cllr Marie Moloney’s idea that the old hospital could be converted into apartments or flats.

Cllr John O’Donoghue wants the HSE to find a way to hand over the property to Kerry County Council either by way of reduced payment or an intra-government agency ownership change.

A Kerry County Council official told the meeting that any works to potentially convert the old hospital into social housing “would be cost prohibitive.”

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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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