County Kerry is getting its own official customised Monopoly board game after beating five other counties across Ireland to land the honour.

The announcement was made on Tuesday morning at the Killarney Plaza Hotel & Spa by game makers Winning Moves, who produce the regional editions under license from Hasbro.
Kerry won a six-way race against Donegal, Tipperary, Tyrone, Wexford, and Wicklow. According to John Keen-Tomlinson of Winning Moves, the county was selected based on three specific factors: civic pride, beauty, and a sense of family values.
The new board will feature more than 30 local landmarks and organisations, replacing the traditional London streets like Mayfair and Park Lane. The multi-coloured property squares will be divided into local themes covering heritage, hospitality, castles, culture, tourism, and business.
Killarney National Park and Muckross House are already guaranteed a place on the board. Other high-profile locations currently in the running include the Ring of Kerry, Slea Head, Skellig Michael, and the Rose of Tralee festival.
The Chance and Community Chest cards are also being completely customised with Kerry themes. The game makers revealed that one card will penalise players by sending them back three spaces for driving the wrong way around Slea Head.
The official Monopoly: County Kerry Edition will go on sale in spring 2027.

Public invited to nominate local landmarks for game squares

The makers of the new County Kerry Monopoly board have officially opened a public consultation process to help choose which local landmarks feature in the game.
With more than 30 property squares up for grabs, the public is being asked to submit their suggestions for the definitive Kerry locations, businesses, and voluntary organisations to be immortalised on the board.
Suggestions are now being accepted by the developers via email. The public nomination window opened on Tuesday, and will remain open until 11:59pm on June 30.
The game makers are looking for ideas to fill specific categories across the board, from historic castles and cultural sites to local businesses, sports clubs, and hospitality venues. Members of the public can send their nominations directly to kerry@winningmoves.co.uk for consideration.

The creation of a dedicated Kerry Monopoly board has been welcomed as a significant global marketing opportunity for the region’s tourism sector.
Pat O’Leary, Chairman of the Kerry Tourism Industry Federation highlighted the international promotional value the game brings to the county.
“Kerry receiving its very own Monopoly game is a reflection of the high profile of our long-standing welcome to visitors over many generations,” Mr O’Leary said. “Our globally recognised region includes the Skellig Islands, Slea Head, the Ring of Kerry, the Lakes of Killarney, Ladies View and stunning towns and villages such as Kenmare, Dingle, Listowel, Annascaul and Killarney.”
Local tourism leaders are particularly focused on ensuring Killarney’s premier attractions are well represented alongside the wider county landmarks. Monopoly is currently played by more than one billion people in 114 countries worldwide, providing the county with a unique platform to showcase its heritage to a global audience.
Mr O’Leary encouraged local residents, businesses, and communities across the county to actively participate in the nomination process to ensure their areas are represented on the final board layout. For further inspiration on local landmarks, he directed the public to visit the discoverkerry.com website.

A Killarney community has been left reeling following a devastating accidental fire that occurred during a neighbourhood gathering over the weekend.

Kristina Zajec and her five-year-old son, Tom, are currently fighting for their lives in a Dublin hospital after a fire pit incident escalated rapidly, leaving them both in induced comas with severe, life-changing burn injuries.

The incident occurred on Saturday night at approximately 10:30pm in the Loreto area of Killarney.

Residents from the estate had gathered for a barbecue to bid farewell to a local family who were returning to Poland.

Kristina and her young son, who are of Croatian descent but have been living locally for several years, were attending the gathering as guests when the tragedy occurred.

According to eyewitness accounts, an accelerant was placed onto an open fire pit during the evening.

The substance ignited within seconds, causing a sudden flash of flame to travel back along the stream of fuel directly into the bottle.

In a moment of panic, the individual holding the bottle dropped or threw it, causing the burning fuel to scatter across the yard where onlookers were standing.

Emergency services were alerted immediately, with three ambulances from Tralee, a fire brigade unit, and two Garda cars dispatched to the scene.

In the immediate aftermath of the flash, the mother and son were brought inside the house and placed in cold bathwater to soothe their injuries while awaiting the arrival of medical personnel, who reached the estate in less than twenty minutes.

Six people were initially taken by road ambulance to University Hospital Kerry in Tralee for treatment.

Once medical teams assessed the extent of the injuries, it was determined that Kristina and Tom had suffered severe, critical burns.

Due to the severity of their condition, both were subsequently transferred by air ambulance to a specialist intensive care and burns unit in Dublin, where they remain in a serious condition.

The tragedy has deeply affected the local neighbourhood, particularly given the stressful circumstances already facing many residents in the area, some of whom are currently navigating long-term rental property exits.

The weekend barbecue had been organised as a supportive send-off for neighbours before the accident occurred.

In response to the tragedy, an immediate fundraising campaign has been launched to assist the family with the mounting emotional and financial burdens they now face.
A GoFundMe page established on Monday has already seen an overwhelming response from the public, raising over €22,000 within its first few days.

Organisers of the fund say that the family faces a long, painful, and critical road to recovery that will require long-term specialised burn treatments and significant medical expenses.

Tom is a pupil at the nearby Scoil Bhríde Loreto National School, where his classmates and teachers have been deeply upset by the news.

To school is organising a dedicated non-uniform day to generate further funds for the family’s medical and recovery costs.