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Celtic players enjoy trip of a lifetime

A total of 42 young Killarney Celtic players enjoyed the experience of a lifetime during a trip to Italy last week.
They participated in a friendship tournament in Verrés, a beautiful Aosta Valley village, located to the north-west of Turin in Italy and also enjoyed the culture and friendship.
Flying from Dublin to Milan Malpensa before completing the journey to Verrés by bus, they were accompanied by 21 adult club members and coaches with two Celtic teams competing – with successful outcomes – against the locals in Under 13 and Under 14 blitz-style tournaments.
As well as daily training sessions, they also had an exciting coaching clinic and a questions and answers session with legendary Italian soccer star Moreno Torricelli, who won three Italian titles, the UEFA Cup and the Champions League with Juventus and was man-of-the-match in the 1996 Champions League final. He also played for Fiorentina and was part of the Italy squad for Euro '96 and the 1998 World Cup.
The Killarney contingent also took in a Serie A clash between José Mourinho’s AS Roma and Torino in the Olimpico di Torino which the visitors won 1-0.
As the Alpine province of Verrés is very close to the Italy-France border, and many of the travelling party are studying French in secondary school in Killarney, a full hour of French lessons was organised on each of the five days.
One of the most entertaining events of the visit was a seven-a-side clash between the visiting Killarney Celtic coaches and parents and a local team, starring the Mayor of Verrés, and despite romping into a 3-0 lead, the Celtic representatives were eventually hauled back and the game ended 3-3.
GREAT EXPERIENCE
The visiting party from Killarney also enjoyed sightseeing tours to ski resorts and cable car rides in the Alps and, to mark their visit, they were afforded the full VIP treatment when the town square was closed off and a street party and open air disco were held in their honour with souvenir medals presented to the Celtic players by the mayor.
The travelling party was accommodated, free of charge, in campus-style chalets and the visit was supported by a generous €700 donation to Celtic by Kerry County Council under the Community Support Fund.
The club also organised a number of fundraising initiatives – including a quiz night, a cake sale, collecting acorns in the National Park and stewarding for an adventure race – to help offset some of the flight costs and expenses.
The main organiser of the trip was Killarney architect Davide Mosca who is a native of Verrés, and he was joined by Celtic vice chairman Paul Sherry and long-time club official Mikey Lyne in an advance party which travelled out to ensure everything was ready for the Celtic visitors when they arrived.
“It was a very positive experience and all the Celtic party enjoyed themselves thoroughly. We were treated like royalty,” Paul Sherry explained.
“We hope to arrange an Erasmus-style educational exchange between the two locations and it certainly helped to create great new friendships and bonds for the kids which will stand to them going forward,” he said.
Celtic officials intend to reciprocate the visit by hosting children from Verrés in Killarney next year and, hopefully, start an annual trip experience for different age groups for boys and girls in the coming years.
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Fassbender ready for second Le Mans appearance
Local Hollywood A-lister Michael Fassbender is in the final preparation stages for his second appearance at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. The iconic endurance race is celebrating its […]

Local Hollywood A-lister Michael Fassbender is in the final preparation stages for his second appearance at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The iconic endurance race is celebrating its 100th edition next weekend.
The Fossa star has already arrived in the famous French twon where he is involved in a week-long series of engagements including drivers’ parades, autograph sessions and more serious appointments like car safety checks, practice and qualifying.
Like last year, when he finished 16th in the LMGTE Am class, Fassbender has been entered in to the event by the German Proton Competition team with Estonian Martin Rump and the Austrian Richard Lietz.
Fassbender dreams of following the trajectory of fellow Hollywood actors Patrick Dempsey who was second in LMGTE Am class in 2016 and Paul Newman who finished second overall in 1979.
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Ireland’s oldest citizen has Killarney connections
Ireland’s oldest woman met with President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin this week. Máirín Hughes, who turned 109 on May 22 has strong Killarney connections. The previous record […]

Ireland’s oldest woman met with President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin this week.
Máirín Hughes, who turned 109 on May 22 has strong Killarney connections.
The previous record was held by 107-year-old Nancy Stewart who died on September 10 2021.
Although born in Belfast, Máirín went to school in the Mercy Convent. Her father was a customs and excise officer and the family moved around a lot eventually coming to Killarney after spells in County Down and Dublin.
Her mother came from the Rathmore area and her father was from Newmarket in County Cork.
She attended the Mercy Convent and has, in previous interviews, recalled growing up on the shores of Lough Lein.
“Neighbours who had three children were given the job of taking me to school,” she said. “They were annoyed because the children were going to school for two or three years but I was put in to the same class as them – my mother had taught me.”
In 2021 she featured in the book ‘Independence Memories: A People’s Portrait of the Early Days of the Irish Nation’, sharing stories of being kept in school in Killarney during an attack on the RIC barracks down the road.
In 1924 she started a degree in science and a diploma in education at University College Cork, before working in the pathology lab in University College Cork’s Department of Medicine for 16 years.
last year she recalled her story on the podcast: ‘Living History – Irish Life and Lore’.
During the broadcast she talked about her parents’ membership of the Gaelic League in 1910; the Spanish Flu in Ireland in 1918; The Black and Tans in Killarney in 1921; the early days of the new Free State; Eucharistic Congress in Dublin in 1932, visiting the Basket Islands in 1929; and working in the UCC medical laboratory from 1932 until 1948.
This week President Michael D. Higgins hosted an afternoon tea event to celebrate the important role that a variety of people have and can play in different communities and Máirín was among the guests of honour.