News
Emphasis on rehab at Kerry Physiotherapy
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Ideally located in the heart of Killarney town, Kerry Physiotherapy provides a wealth of expertise and the very best treatments to help you get back to your best as quickly as possible. Whether you’re dealing with a sports injury or nagging back pain, a hip replacement or post-natal issues, the team at Kerry Physiotherapy are on hand to point you in the right direction. The emphasis is on rehab and helping clients to help themselves, says chartered physiotherapist Ruth Allen.
“It’s not just about coming in and getting a loosening out,” she explains. “Yes, we’ll assess you and we’ll do some manual therapy but I’m not going to do that for the next six months. What we want to do is identify problems and then address them, and the best way of addressing weaknesses is by strengthening. We’ll give you exercises to do, be it stretching or yoga, and try to get you into the gym.
“We work closely with personal trainers. Myself and Bobby from Peak Performance do a movement therapy clinic once a month where we deal with some sort of problem, such as back pain, hamstring problems and shoulder pain. I talk about what we do from a physio’s perspective and then we bring you through to the gym where you get supervised strength and conditioning tips.”
Ruth and her team, which also includes chartered physiotherapist Kieran O’Shea, athletic therapist Cillian Fitzgerald and women’s pelvic health specialist Fiona Healy O’Connor, are all about encouraging you to maintain your active lifestyle.
“I’d be very slow to tell someone that they couldn’t play a football match, unless they really couldn’t,” Ruth says. “If you pull your hamstring, for example, you can’t run, so you can’t do it. But we definitely try to facilitate patients as much as possible to partake in their activity. I guess the fact that we’ve got such experience in sport as well, that obviously helps.”
Ruth is currently in her third year working with the Kerry juniors having previously been part of the Kerry senior set-up for two years, as well as the U-21 set-up for three years. She has also done physio for a host of GAA clubs around the county including Spa, Dr Crokes, Glenflesk, Kilcummin and Dromid, while Kieran O’Shea has also worked with the Kerry minors for a couple of years.
Kerry Physiotherapy is the only clinic in Kerry that offers shockwave therapy, which is a novel form of treating tendons and heel spurs. “It’s really, really effective with heel spurs and plantar faciitis. It tries to stimulate the tendon to push through the processes of healing and inflammation,” Ruth explains.
The modern facility, which is located above Sewell’s Pharmacy on New Street, has separate treatment rooms allowing multiple patients to be treated at once. Office Manager Gemma Eames is on hand to make sure the whole operation runs as smoothly as possible and there is always someone on hand to take calls at reception.
For more information or to book an appointment, visit kerryphysiotherapy.ie, call 064-6670960 or email info@kerryphysiotherapy.ie.
Members of the extended O’Connor family, neighbours, and friends gathered at the ancestral homestead of Fr Sean O’Connor O.S.A. at Doonasleen, Knocknagree, to celebrate his 100th birthday. Fr Sean travelled from the Augustinian Community at Abbeyside, Dungarvan, County Waterford, where he currently lives, to mark the milestone at his childhood home.
Fr Sean was born on 9 June 1926 alongside his twin sister, Peg. He grew up on a farm with his parents and six siblings, all of whom are now deceased. He was baptised in Kiskeam but his family regularly travelled to Sunday Mass in Knocknagree.
He attended the old two-story school in Knocknagree, where he was taught by Miss Dennehy, an educator he later honoured in a poem titled “My first Teacher”. He recalls encountering the blind fiddler Tom Billy Murphy on his school journeys, which helped foster a lifelong love of music inherited from his mother, Maggie Jones, who played the concertina.
Known as Jackie during his youth, he took the name John O’Connor when he moved to New Ross for his secondary education with the Augustinian Order in 1939. He made his simple profession on 24 September 1946 and was ordained a priest in Rome on 13 July 1952.
Shortly after his ordination, Fr Sean’s health failed when he contracted tuberculosis. He spent two years at St Mary’s Hospital in Phoenix Park, Dublin, which included nine months of complete bed rest and two chest operations. The surgeries resulted in the loss of seven ribs and the permanent collapse of most of his right lung. Due to his health, his lifelong ambition to join the foreign missions could not be realised.
Following his recovery, Fr Sean served in various religious appointments across Ireland and England, including Callan, Fethard, Dungarvan, Carlisle, Drogheda, Galway, and Ballyhaunis, before returning to Abbeyside. At his 98th birthday celebration in 2024, it was noted that he was the oldest serving Roman Catholic priest in Ireland and the UK.
For his centenary celebration, Fr Sean wore his priestly vestments to celebrate Holy Mass at an altar prepared in the sitting room at Doonasleen. A framed apostolic blessing from Pope Leo XIV, a fellow Augustinian priest, was displayed on a nearby table.
Due to poor weather and the large crowd, the gathering moved to the new Knocknagree Community Centre for a reception. A special photograph was taken on the day featuring Fr Sean alongside his six surviving first cousins.
As a dedicated Gaelic football follower, Fr Sean was presented with a custom Knocknagree GAA jersey featuring the number 100. He later wore the jersey at the local football grounds for photographs, on a day when Knocknagree secured a league win against Kilnamartyra.
The day concluded with a visit from the Bishop of Kerry, Ray Browne, who travelled to the ancestral home to congratulate Fr Sean. Fr Sean noted that it was a historic occasion, marking the first time a bishop had ever visited the townlands of Doon or Tureen.
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