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Dance championships worth €12 million to local economy

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By Michelle Crean

The arrival of over 1,400 dancers and their supporters, who are competing in the World Irish Dance Championships over the next six days, is set to bring as much as €12 million to the local economy - a huge economic boost for the town.

Competitors have travelled from America, Scotland, England, Europe and all over Ireland to take part in the An Chomhdháil World Irish Dance Championships which kick off in Killarney today.

They will compete for a world title in the championships at The Gleneagle and INEC Arena which runs until Saturday.

Over 19 competitions take place over the six-day championships and winners are announced every day after each competition.

The competitions are held in the INEC auditorium and The Gleneagle Ballroom. The age profile of the competitors is nine to over 21-years-old.

The competitors will be accompanied by an entourage of organisers, teachers, adjudicators, musicians, families, friends, supporters and spectators.

This is Killarney’s sixth occasion to host the An Chomhdháil World Irish Dance Championships.

The economic benefits of these championships will be felt right across Killarney’s hotels, B&Bs, restaurants, shops and many other businesses. Studies carried out between 2016 and 2019 calculated the championships were worth €12 million to the local economy.

An Chomhdháil, the organisation who run the World Irish Dance Championships, have an extensive branch network worldwide and is one of the most progressive Irish dance organisations, being the first to bring in the no make-up rule for girls up to and including under 12 years of age in 2007. Both male and female world champions will be crowned across a range of age categories from under 10 through to adult.

“We are honoured to welcome the 2022 An Chomhdháil World Irish Dance Championships,” Patrick O’Donoghue, CEO of The Gleneagle Group, said. “We wish all the competitors the very best of luck and we hope everyone enjoys their stay in Killarney.”

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How will our Kerry TDs vote tomorrow?

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Tomorrow, Sinn Féin will be tabling a motion of no confidence against the Government after the protests that took place nationwide during the week.

Earlier today we asked our readers how would they vote in a no confidence motion against the Government?

Most of our readers said they would vote no confidence, while some said, yes they do have confidence in the Government.

One reader said: “Vote confidence. The only proper leadership over the last few days came from government. Courage came when needed despite how unpopular it looked in the moment. By contrast, opposition politicians wanted the country to burn to suit themselves”.

Another reader stated: “No confidence. Shambolic and heavy handed handling of protests this past week”.

However, some people didn’t have any confidence in either side with a reader saying: “No confidence in the no confidence! Different wings of the same bird! We need a complete overhaul of the political system”.

We asked the question to our 5 Kerry TDs before lunch-time today, asking them what their vote will be tomorrow.

We received one reply from Sinn Féin’s Kerry TD Pa Daly.

He will be voting no confidence in the Government tomorrow along with his party.

Other media outlets are reporting that Independent TD Danny Healy-Rae is undecided at the moment.

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Town centre-based software firm marks two years in business

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A Killarney-based software company is celebrating two years in business since expanding into the European market.

QT9 Software Ltd, which is located on Bohereencaol was established in 2024 as part of the company’s move to better serve customers across Europe.

The business is part of a US-based company founded 20 years ago in Chicago by Brant Engelhart.

Its Irish office is headed by Killarney resident Angela O’Sullivan, who serves as Operations Director.

QT9 Software currently employs four full-time staff members in Killarney and plans to increase that number by an additional two this year.

The company provides quality management software to businesses worldwide, with the Irish office helping to support European customers within their own time zones.

As part of its continued European expansion, the software company also opened a new data center in Amsterdam in 2025 to meet data storage and compliance requirements.

QT9 Software works with businesses that must meet quality standards such as ISO 9001 and ISO 13485, as well as industry-specific regulations across sectors, such as automotive, aerospace, food and life sciences.

Speaking about the milestone, Angela O’Sullivan said: “We’re very proud to have grown QT9 Software here in Killarney over the past two years. It has been a really positive journey so far, and we’re looking forward to continuing to build our team and support more customers across Europe.”

The company is also currently recruiting for an IT Systems Administrator, with details available in the appointments section on page 46.

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