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Emotional farewell as Mrs Murphy retires

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GIFT: Ursula Coffey (Principal) presenting Breda Courtney Murphy with a special gift on behalf of staff and pupils from Holy Cross Mercy School on Friday, where Breda retired after almost 40 years service. Photo: Sally MacMonagle.

 

By Michelle Crean

 

For almost 50 years, Breda Courtney Murphy has had a very special relationship with Holy Cross Mercy School - so it was an emotional farewell last Friday when she finally said goodbye.

There were tears and also cheers as staff and pupils celebrated her school life as she prepares to take a different direction with her career.

The creater of the successful ‘Mrs Murphy’s Copies’ was overwhelmed with the send off and said it's a day that she'll never forget.

"I chose to retire. I'm changing direction and going publishing full-time and will focus on different projects as well," Breda told the Killarney Advertiser.

Breda started her teaching career with Holy Cross when she was aged 20. However, her relationship with the school goes further back as she attended the primary school for eight years before spending a year at St Theresa's, which was part of the Mercy, before it amalgamated with St Brigid's - a relationship totalling 49 years.

[caption id="attachment_34167" align="alignleft" width="375"] RETIREMENT: Breda Courtney Murphy retired from the Holy Cross Mercy School in Killarney last week after almost 40 years service. She is photographed here with her Senior Infants class and her grandnieces Grace Finnegan, Kayla and Rhianna Wright and Lily O'Donoghue. Photo: Sally MacMonagle.[/caption]

During her last day at work Breda was joined by her husband Con, her mother Bridie and four grandnieces who attend the school.

Breda said it was emotional as staff had put together a photo slideshow to her favourite song 'High Hopes' by Kodaline. She made a speech thanking everyone which was live streamed into the classrooms due to social distancing. School Principal Ursula Coffey also offered up some kind words.

"It was very heartwarming. The effort the staff put in was second to none and that will always be with me. The hardest part was saying goodbye to the children."

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Five local postmen retire with 185 years service

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Five local postmen retire with 185 years service

RETIREMENT NIGHT: Pictured at the retirement party held at Killarney Racecourse on Saturday, October 3, celebrating a combined 185 years of service with An Post, are Connie Brady, James Foley, Terry Potts, Pat Cronin, and D.J. Cahill.


Five well-known local postmen celebrated their retirement at a special function held at Killarney Racecourse on Saturday night, October 3.


The event brought together current and former An Post colleagues to mark the combined total of 185 years of service delivered across Killarney and surrounding areas.
Delivery Services Manager Terry Potts retired after 43 years with An Post. He began his career in Dublin, where he worked for 10 years, before moving to Killarney in 1993 for a further 33 years.
Pat Cronin completed an impressive 51 years of service between Killarney and Farranfore, spending 44 of those years delivering post on the Farranfore route.
James Foley served 35 years with An Post, delivering on routes across Killorglin throughout his entire career.
D.J. Cahill marked 32 years of service based out of Killarney post office, delivering mail across Killarney town, Killorglin, Kilcummin, and Headford.
Connie Brady retired following 24 years with the postal service, spending 17 years in Killarney town before completing his service in Killorglin.
The celebration offered local postal staff an opportunity to gather and catch up ahead of the busy Christmas rush.

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New Streetscapes murals launched at College Square

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A colourful collaboration between the Kerry Local Creative Youth Partnership (LCYP) and the Architecture Kerry Festival at Kerry County Council launched yesterday evening at College Square.

Titled Streetscapes, the open-air public art installation officially opened at 5pm on Thursday, accompanied by a performance from the Killarney Youth Drumming Band THUMP! under the guidance of Urs Wenk from Drum Dance Ireland.


The public art project features a series of wall murals depicting Killarney through the eyes of local children, exploring freedom, play, and potential future evolutions of the townscape.

The artworks reimagine Killarney’s iconic landmarks and streets, blending youthful imagination and curiosity.


Supported under the Creative Ireland Programme, the installation is mounted on the gable wall of Reen’s Life Pharmacy in College Square, where it will remain on public display until March 2027.


Speaking at the launch, Daniel O’Shea, Youth Development Officer at Kerry ETB, stated: “Streetscapes is a wonderful celebration of how children see things. Their creativity brings new perspectives to the townscape, and we are proud to support their ideas and their art through this public artwork.”


Deirdre Enright, Co-Ordinator of the Local Creative Youth Partnership at Kerry ETB, acknowledged the community support behind the initiative: “We are very grateful to Reen’s Life Pharmacy who have shared their built space with us. Huge credit is due to the artistic team from Me+The Moon whose dedication to creativity and to children’s art shine through in this work.”


The project forms part of the annual Architecture Kerry Festival and receives funding through Creative Ireland and the Department of Education and Youth via Kerry ETB and Kerry County Council.


Victoria McCarthy, Festival Organiser and Architectural Conservation Officer at Kerry County Council, welcomed the continued inter-agency project: “It’s always a great event for Architecture Kerry and we are so pleased with this collaboration between public sector organisations. It remains a key feature of the Architecture Kerry programme.”
See next week’s Killarney Advertiser for full photographic coverage of the event.

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