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Cooper’s All-Ireland winning boots raise €11,000 for charity

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Injuries: Colm Cooper, Michael Geaney and Johnny Buckley will miss Sunday’s showdown. PICTURE: BRENDAN MORAN/SPORTSFILE

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By Sean Moriarty

A pair of football boots worn by local legend ColmGooch’ Cooper in an All-Ireland football final raised €11,000 in an online charity auction for a very ill young boy.

Baby Dan Donoher from County Laois, was only eight-months-old when he was diagnosed with a rare genetic neuromuscular disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy. A ground-breaking treatment is available in the USA but costs $2.1 million for a once-off infusion.

Dan's parents Niall and Aisling Donoher, who are both former inter-county footballers with Laois, set up the ‘Do it for Dan’ GoFundMe campaign and called on other national GAA stars to support the campaign.

Locally both Gooch and Kieran Donaghy supported the cause with the former Dr Crokes star offering the boots he wore during the 2006 All-Ireland final victory over Mayo for auction.

A mystery bidder in New York gave €11,000 for the boots and a signed Donaghy jersey.

"Delighted to say the items have been purchased for," Cooper tweeted. "The boots are off to New York. Also want to a say a huge thank you to some bidders who donated privately. Amazing generosity.”

Dan’s journey continues and you can still donate by going to GoFundMe: Do It For Dan.

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Diabetes expert Dr Omer Taha to address local health meeting

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Consultant Endocrinologist Dr Omer Taha from the Bon Secours Hospital, Tralee, will be the guest speaker at the upcoming HeartBeat meeting on June 30.

The meeting will commence at 8pm in the Parish Centre on Park Road.

Dr Taha will speak about Diabetes Mellitus Type 1 and Type 2, detailing all diabetes-related complications.

The talk will be followed by a question and answer session, alongside tea, coffee, and biscuits. Special informational booklets from Diabetes Ireland, focused on living well with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, will also be available on the night.

All are welcome to attend.


The announcement follows last month’s meeting, which focused on the Kerry Stroke Support Group. Guest speaker Stephanie Stretton delivered a talk on stroke aftercare, recovery, and the health and wellbeing needs of survivors.


A key piece of advice highlighted was that anyone suffering a stroke while away from home in the countryside should call 112, as emergency services can track the phone location immediately to save valuable time.


The Kerry Stroke Support Group continues to hold its monthly meetings on the last Thursday of each month at the Baile Mhuire Day Centre in Tralee.


Meanwhile, HeartBeat recently received a generous financial boost. Paul Sherry, Manager of the Killarney Outlet Centre, successfully applied to the Pavers Annual Charities Funding Event on behalf of the group. As a result, Pavers London has donated £1,000 sterling, equivalent to over €1,200.

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National award for Liam O’Connor’s family band

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Killarney accordionist Liam O’Connor and his family band have won the Family Band of the Year award at the 2026 Irish Entertainment Awards.


The star-studded ceremony took place on June 18 at the Great Northern Hotel in Bundoran, County Donegal.


The annual event brings together musicians, performers, and personalities to recognise outstanding achievements across the Irish entertainment industry.


O’Connor said he was delighted and honoured to receive the accolade. During the event, the local musician shared the stage with a line-up of performers including singer Simon Casey and actor Patrick Bergin.

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