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End of an era as Grady calls time on political career

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By Sean Moriarty

Long-serving Killarney councillor Donal Grady will call time on his political career in the summer.

He made his announcement to step down at Monday’s full meeting of Kerry County Council.

Mr Grady was first elected to Killarney Town Council in 1999. He followed in the footsteps of his father John who was first elected in 1967. His brother Sean was the second member of the family to get elected. Both brothers served together for some time but with the abolition of Town Councils in June 2014 the family decided that Donal would go alone and that Sean would retire.

He subsequently won that seat and the following 2019 local election ensured there has been at least one member of the family elected in the county since 1967.

Donal said he has had many highlights in his 24 years in politics from securing houses for those in need of a roof over their head to more simple but equally important projects.

“I would love to see the skatepark finished before I go,” he told the Killarney Advertiser.

Grady pushed for this project from day one. Construction has been slightly delayed to the recent spell of rainy weather but it remains on target for a summer opening.

Donal’s son Martin, a key figure in his backroom team in recent years will be co-opted onto Kerry County Council at either the June or July full meeting of Kerry County Council.

POLITICAL CAREER

Grady was born in Killarney and spent his childhood between Killarney and Kilcummin. He was schooled at both the Monastery in Killarney and Clashnagrane National School, Kilcummin before attending the now-defunct Technical College on New Street.

After college, he spent a few years working with Liebherr before switching to Killarney Urban District Council. That led to a job with Kerry Fire Service and he was eventually promoted to Station Officer in Killarney until his retirement in 2005.

“The fire service was my great love and although the work was hard and often heart-breaking, I found it very rewarding. I am very proud of the fact that my family are still involved in the fire service today,” he said previously.

His first foray into politics came in 1999, he retained his seat in 2004 and topped the poll in 2009.

“I followed in the footsteps of my late father John and my brother Sean; politics has always been in my blood,” he said.

He served one term as Mayor of Killarney between 2010 and 2011.

Donal has served on many projects in the Killarney region including the Killarney Looking Good Committee, the Killarney Drugs Liaison Committee and the Killarney Twinning Group.

“I have always been completely independent of the party political system and, as such, have always been free to express ideas and support or oppose proposals based solely on my own conscience and my own opinions,” he said.

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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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