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“Defeat in Super 8s opener would be an absolute disaster”

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On paper there shouldn’t be a whole pile of pressure on Kerry ahead of their first ever Super 8 game against Galway on Sunday. With two teams advancing from the group of four, the prospect of Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s side crashing out at what is effectively the quarter final stage seems even more unlikely than usual. But looking at the wider picture (and Kerry’s second fixture in particular), this weekend’s clash against the Connacht champions takes on huge significance.

If they were to lose this weekend, next week’s match against Monaghan in Clones would start to look a lot more intimidating than it already does. In normal circumstances you’d expect Kerry to handle Monaghan but I wouldn’t fancy heading up to St Tiernach’s Park for a must-win championship game. The atmosphere above there would be electric, especially if the home fans knew that victory would eliminate the Kingdom.

Monaghan are best placed of all the qualifiers to upset the apple cart and make it to an All-Ireland semi-final. They couldn’t have handpicked their Super 8 fixtures better themselves. Firstly, they avoided Dublin. Secondly, they got their toughest game (Kerry) at home. And thirdly, they sidestepped a trip to the fabled Newbridge and instead got Galway away.

The fixture gods are really smiling on Monaghan this year; they played three qualifier games to make it this far and every one of them was against Division 4 opposition.

Defeat for Kerry on Sunday definitely isn’t out of the question. Galway are no slouches. Forwards Shane Walsh and Ian Burke have impressed so far and the face-off between star man Damien Comer and Kerry’s Peter Crowley will be an interesting one. I would say that 3/1 is a long enough price for Galway considering the calibre of players they have. I thought Kerry have looked excellent at times this year but, realistically, the Munster Championship was a walk in the park.

Having said that, they still racked up 3-50 in two games and I think this Kerry team already have too much about them for everyone else in the country bar Dublin.

World Cup clash

Kerry v Galway is without question the tie of the round, which makes it all the more unbelievable that the GAA scheduled it for the exact same time as the World Cup final. I know I addressed this last week but it really does beggar belief. Could both Sunday games not have started earlier? Or could Dublin v Donegal have been a standalone on the Sunday? That game is on at 7pm on the Saturday, meaning Donegal fans have to hit the road at around half eight at night. Making fixtures is a thankless task but there’s no way in hell the GAA made these decisions with supporters in mind.

I saw during the week that the Galway County Board wrote to FIFA requesting that they push back the kick-off time of the World Cup final so it wouldn’t clash with the Kerry game. FIFA would be missing out on viewers, they said. I know it’s top, top banter and it must have taken them ages to write (typos and all) but the real joke here is on genuine Irish sports fans who are interested in both football and soccer.

I naturally want to see the World Cup final (especially considering who’s playing), and I would almost consider boycotting the Kerry game just to spite the GAA in this instance, but I’m up in Dublin anyway and I actually want to see the lads play. For many of us in Croke Park on Sunday, it will be our first time missing a World Cup final. It’s a shame because this fixture clash was completely avoidable.

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Paralympic legend Jason Smyth visits St Brendan’s

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Paralympic legend Jason Smyth visits St Brendan’s


World renowned Paralympian and world record holder Jason Smyth paid a visit to St Brendan’s College on Wednesday afternoon as part of a high profile visit to Killarney.


The six time Paralympic gold medallist spoke to second year students from St Brendan’s College, alongside students from neighbouring schools St Brigid’s Presentation Secondary School and Killarney Community College.
The interactive talk and interview took place ahead of World Sight Day, with the legendary sprinter sharing his personal journey with Stargardt disease, a genetic eye condition that left him legally blind at eight years old.
The Derry native, who holds the world record as the fastest Paralympian on earth over 100 metres, offered inspiring insights into overcoming physical adversity and achieving success at the highest level of world sport.
The school visit formed the opening leg of his Killarney schedule before he took centre stage later on Wednesday evening at The Killarney Plaza Hotel & Spa.
Smyth headlined An Evening with Paralympian Jason Smyth, an event organised by the Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce as part of its winter schedule, sponsored by AIB.

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Deerpark Retail Park placed on market for fifteen million euro

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Deerpark Retail Park in Killarney has officially been placed on the market with a guide price in excess of 15.4 million euro, excluding VAT.

International real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield has been appointed as the sole sales agent to handle the high-profile commercial property sale on behalf of its current owner, Investcorp.

Investcorp, a global investment management firm headquartered in Bahrain, had previously acquired the prominent shopping complex.


The sale represents one of the largest commercial property offerings to launch in County Kerry this year.

Located roughly 1.3 kilometres west of Killarney town centre, the scheme enjoys strong regional connectivity and sits adjacent to independently owned operations including a Tesco Extra store, a Tesco petrol filling station, JYSK, and Aldi.


Constructed in 2006, the development extends across approximately 10,482 square metres, or 112,835 square feet.

The scheme comprises a mix of modern retail warehouse units and a complementary neighbourhood centre, offering 13 individual units in total with Part Open and Part Bulky Use planning permission.

The units range in size from 94.6 square metres up to 1,994.9 square metres. Visitors have access to approximately 248 customer parking spaces across the commercial grounds.

The park is currently 100 per cent occupied by a strong line-up of established national and international brands.

Key retail tenants include Marks & Spencer, Boots, DID Electrical, Maxi Zoo, and Mountain Warehouse.

The neighbourhood centre element accommodates service and convenience operators such as Costa Coffee, Card Factory, and Salon B.

The first-floor accommodation is fully let to Peak Performance Academy, which provides additional rental diversification.

Additionally, the scheme benefits from an agreement with Tesla to operate eight electric vehicle charging bays within the customer car park.


Commercial figures show that the property generates a total current rental income of 1,326,458 euro per annum, with a weighted average unexpired lease term of 4.45 years to break options and 6.46 years to lease expiry.

Cushman & Wakefield noted that the quoted guide price of 15.4 million euro reflects a net initial yield of 7.83 per cent, assuming standard purchaser costs of 9.96 per cent.

The selling agents highlighted that the fully occupied asset offers investors an attractive income profile alongside scope for additional income generation through parking commercialisation.

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