News
Christmas miracle as kind stranger comes to stranded women’s aid
By Sean Moriarty
When a relatively straightforward rail journey from Galway to Killarney turned to a nightmare, three strangers experienced a Christmas miracle and got home in time for the holidays.
Cara Ní Chofaigh, a NUI Galway student and an employee of a Galway-based citizens support agency, urgently needed to get home to Kells this week as she is back working over the weekend.
She left Céannt Station Galway on Tuesday, and expected to arrive in Killarney at 10.15pm later that evening where her mother was waiting to bring her on the final leg of her journey.
She made it to Colbert Limerick Station a little later than planned due to signalling issues.
That meant she missed her connecting train to Limerick Junction and onward connection to Killarney via Mallow.
At this point Irish Rail staff advised her not to travel to Limerick Junction as she would have been stranded there.
Two more young women, strangers to Cara, found themselves in the same predicament on a lonely platform in Limerick.
Cara admitted that she knew one of the women to see but did not know her personally, and that the third woman was a Limerick-based tourist on the way to Killarney to visit friends.
Irish Rail staff were trying desperately to find solutions, the three women were offered a bus to Tralee and an onward connection to Killarney by taxi but that would mean they would not arrive at their final destination until well after 1am.
“A man called Tony stepped up and said he would drive us to Killarney, it was all very surreal,” Cara told the Killarney Advertiser.
“He went out of his way. He was supposed to collect his son from the cinema at 11.30pm but, instead he was driving us to Killarney, it was just amazing.”
The three women eventually arrived in Killarney at 11pm, 45 minutes later than planned. In an ironic twist, they met their Mallow train in Farranfore after that was also delayed due to the same signalling issues.
“All in all we were about 15 minutes late,” added Cara. “I was able to tell my mother the whole story on the drive down to Kells, she was laughing and kept saying ‘only something like this could happen to you’.”
Cara is only home for Christmas for a few days. She is due back in Galway tomorrow (Friday) as she is scheduled to work for the citizens support agency over the weekend.
“At one point I really thought I would not get home for Christmas,” she said. “It is a lot easier to get connections back to Galway late at night and I was considering going back up.”
Instead, thanks to the Irish Rail employee, she was able to spend Wednesday and Thursday with family in South Kerry.
News
Sunflower day fundraiser for Killarney on Friday
Killarney Branch, Kerry Hospice Foundation are hoping the sun will shine for their Sunflower Day fundraiser which takes place on Friday, June 10. There will be collections at various locations […]
Killarney Branch, Kerry Hospice Foundation are hoping the sun will shine for their Sunflower Day fundraiser which takes place on Friday, June 10.
There will be collections at various locations in and around town as well as Foley’s Spar Shop, Fossa and Hegarty’s Spar Shop, Muckross.
“This is our first Sunflower Day collection since 2019. It is one of our main annual fundraising events and is always well supported by the local community” says Cathal Walshe, PRO., Killarney Hospice Branch.
The services provided by Kerry Hospice Foundation for people with life limiting illnesses at it’s 15 bed inpatient unit and “Suaimhneas” Day Care Centre at University Hospital Kerry have been well documented in recent years. Also highlighted is the fact that it costs in the region of €10,000 weekly to provide these services.
Kerry Hospice Foundation has plans for further expansion of its services into the future. An outreach clinic has already been set up at Killarney Community Hospital where patients can meet with a Palliative Care Specialist. This service along with the existing services would not be possible were it not for the generous support Kerry Hospice gets from the people of Kerry.
People can find out more about the work of Kerry Hospice Foundation at www.kerryhospice.com, on Facebook or on Twitter @kerryhospice.
News
Ted Healy Properties wins DNG Small Branch of the Year
A Killarney estate agents has received a national award at the DNG National Conference and Awards, which took place at The Curragh Racecourse last week. Killarney estate agent DNG Ted […]
A Killarney estate agents has received a national award at the DNG National Conference and Awards, which took place at The Curragh Racecourse last week.
Killarney estate agent DNG Ted Healy Properties was named the ‘Small Branch of the year’ at the awards sponsored by the Irish Examiner.
The Conference and Awards ceremony was attended by more than 150 delegates from offices across Ireland where a range of topics from Ireland’s property market outlook to DNG’s recent partner affiliation with Hampton International and the role of DNG in the residential and commercial sectors, were discussed.
Delegates were entertained by guest speaker Ireland Rugby legend and La Rochelle coach Ronan O’Gara.
The judging panel of industry experts, included Peter Dargan of Irish Times, Adrian Bushnell of Pan Research, Ross Killeen of Media Pro and Keith Lowe, CEO of DNG.
The panel praised DNG Ted Healy for the high standard of service to customers and the team’s use of Social Media to enhance their business.
A native of Killarney, Ted Healy officially opened his estate agency practice in March 2006 and has gone from strength to strength ever since providing a highly professional and competent residential and commercial estate agency service to the people of Killarney and its surrounds.
“We are so grateful to be recognised as the DNG Small Branch of the year. The whole team at DNG Ted Healy has strived towards excellent for the last 12 months, and this only motivates us to continue exceeding expectations and delivering excellence to our clients,” said Ted Healy.
The awards celebrate the hard work carried out across the DNG Network and recognise the successes of individuals within the organisation, rewarding the high standards of service, business acumen and professionalism that are demonstrated in each DNG branch.
Sunflower day fundraiser for Killarney on Friday
Killarney Branch, Kerry Hospice Foundation are hoping the sun will shine for their Sunflower Day fundraiser which takes place on...
Ted Healy Properties wins DNG Small Branch of the Year
A Killarney estate agents has received a national award at the DNG National Conference and Awards, which took place at...
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