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Celtic Steps spark a show of solidarity for Ukraine

World champion Irish musicians and dancers put on quite a show at the weekend with a spectacular line-up of high energy jigs and reels for the people of Ukraine.

SHOWTIME: Enjoying the Celtic Steps The Show on Friday night were: David Rea (Celtic Steps The Show) Jennifer Rea Natalya Krasnenkova George Saary Sean Murphy (Celtic Steps The Show) Aine O’Donoghue (Director of Killarney Racecourse) and Gerard Coughlan (Chairman of Killarney Racecourse). Photos: Dylan Clifford

SHOWTIME: Enjoying the Celtic Steps The Show on Friday night were: David Rea (Celtic Steps The Show) Jennifer Rea Natalya Krasnenkova George Saary Sean Murphy (Celtic Steps The Show) Aine O’Donoghue (Director of Killarney Racecourse) and Gerard Coughlan (Chairman of Killarney Racecourse). Photos: Dylan Clifford
On Friday, Celtic Steps The Show welcomed over one hundred Ukrainian guests to their Irish music and dance show at Killarney Racecourse where they were introduced to the magic of Irish music and culture.
“For many months, we’ve all watched what’s been unfolding in the Ukraine with great sadness," Sean Murphy, co-producer of Celtic Steps, said.
"A couple of weeks ago, I met a Ukrainian woman and her child at the Innisfallen Hotel and it felt like the right time to extend the hand of hospitality. I invited them and the wider group to the show in the hope that the music might help raise their spirits.”
The Ukrainian group were collected from their place of residency at the Innisfallen Hotel courtesy of Flynn Coaches and transported to the racecourse, where they were welcomed by a sea of blue and yellow balloons at the entrance to the theatre. The highlight of the night was the performance of the Ukrainian National Anthem by the Celtic Steps musicians, who had taken the time earlier in the day to learn the piece.
“Celtic Steps The Show, thank you so much for the Ukrainian Anthem, we appreciate it a lot, we were in tears, Slava Ukraine!” Natalya Krasnenkova remarked.
David Rea, co-producer and narrator of the show, said on the night that they "are privileged to have some guests here tonight, who through no fault of their own ended up coming to Ireland".
"We are delighted to have you and we hope you have a nice time in Kerry for as long as you are here…this is a small tribute to you.”
George Saary who works at the Innisfallen Hotel in Killarney and who helped coordinate the event added “On behalf of the Ukrainian people, we want to thank you for your great welcome. Some of the group said they barely slept after experiencing the energy and excitement of the show and they all appreciated the love and care that was shown to them on the night.”
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Fossa School says ‘bonjour’ to French classes

Fossa National School is giving its pupils a headstart in learning a new language.
The school signed up to Language Sampler scheme as part of the ‘Say Yes to Languages’ initiative in primary schools organised by Post Primary languages Ireland in 2021. This is the school’s third year running the module.
Hélène Olivier-Courtney, the school’s French teacher and director of French For All Killarney School of French, covers ten schools in Kerry over the three terms.
The success of the initiative relies on an all-school approach and the active involvement of class teachers and management.
“The whole staff in Fossa certainly helped make this new journey a special and enjoyable experience for the children as we learnt French through art, songs, games and food tasting! This year, we also organised a catwalk on our last day. Our sixth-class students will have such a head start before secondary school and most importantly will have develop curiosity interest and love for the language,” said Hélène.
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Opinion: Silent majority needs to stand up and call out far-right hate

By Chris Davies
Last Friday’s Dublin Riots should not have come as a surprise to anyone. It has been bubbling under the surface of Irish society for a good number of years now. The actions of a small minority last week was a culmination of years of racism, hatred and misinformation shared online by far-right groups.
Late on Friday night a disturbing WhatsApp voice note was doing the rounds on social media where a far-right actor could clearly be heard encouraging violence on the streets of Dublin.
“’Seven o’clock, be in town. Everyone bally up, tool up…Any foreigner, just kill them”
Watching the Riots unfold on social media brought me back to when I was working in Dublin a number of years back. My morning commute from Skerries to the city centre involved a dart to Connolly Station followed by a short trip on the Luas to the Jervis. Every week, without fail, I would witness at least one racial slur or attack on someone who didn’t fit the narrow minded view of what an Irish person should look, dress or talk like. I don’t know if it is the eerie silence of public transport that seems to amplify the situation, but that’s where I found it to be most common. The abuse was usually perpetrated by a group of youths or someone who was clearly under the influence of drink or drugs. The victims were always of colour, often dressed smartly enough to presume they were on their way, or coming from work. A far cry from the perpetrators who you could tell were roaming aimlessly around the city looking for trouble.
While shameful to admit, I would often look on and watch the abuse unfold, only to spend the rest of my work day thinking about the poor person who was told to “F*&K off back to your own country”. I would sit at my desk questioning why I didn’t step in and say something. There were one or two occasions where I did step in and call it out, but not nearly often enough.
This disgusting behaviour is much more visible in our cities. Since moving back to Killarney I wouldn’t witness as much direct abuse on the streets but working with the Killarney Advertiser I would be tuned in to local news and some of the comments I read on our social platforms are far worse than anything I witnessed during my time in Dublin.
There is a significant group of people in Ireland that I would call the ‘silent majority’. We are not as outspoken on issues we care about. We tend to observe and consume the news quietly, and only speak of our support or disgust on certain issues in close circles, too afraid we might offend someone. The problem with this is that we are leaving these far-right groups unchallenged, to become louder, more aggressive and more hostile as seen last week.
The past week Sinn Fein and the Social Democrats have been busy in the media expressing no confidence in Justice Minister Helen McEntee and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris but I would suggest that there is a large percentage of the Irish population that bears some of the responsibility. We witness racism in our communities and online every day and we need to start speaking up and calling it out.
On the issue of immigration in Killarney, there is no doubt resources are being stretched and our tourism industry is suffering as a result of an influx of immigration. Locals have also raised concerns in relation to the placement of so many male international protection applicants in one setting and we only have to look back on the incident in Hotel Killarney last year where a number of men were involved in a harrowing stabbing incident to see how that played out.
However, being concerned around immigration is not the same as anti-immigration. It is important to raise these issues with local representatives and Kerry TD’s but also to separate ourselves from far-right groups who are only interested in encouraging violence.
The anarchy we witnessed last week should never be the answer and research shows it is completely unnecessary. Harvard University have looked at hundreds of protests over the last century, and found that non-violent campaigns are twice as likely to achieve their goals as violent campaigns and that it only takes around 3.5% of the population actively participating in the protests to ensure serious political change.
Let’s continue to protest peacefully for issues we believe in, but stand up and speak out against people and movements in our community that incite hate and violence.