News
Gleneagle turns Inside Out to facilitate outdoor gigs
The Gleneagle INEC Arena has this evening (Friday) announced a series of live outdoor gigs scheduled to take place throughout August and tickets are on sale now.
Artists lined up for the aptly titled 'Inside Out' gigs include the up-and-coming Lyra, Saint Sister, Jyellowl and Kerry Rising, featuring Cathal Flaherty, Seamus Harty, Lorraine Nash and Colin Andrew, each playing under the Future Sounds billing. Ham Sandwich, Aslan, Ryan Sheridan, The Blizzards, The High Kings, Damian Dempsey and Paddy Casey all make a welcome return to the Killarney venue under the Signature Acts billing. While country music stalwarts Derek Ryan, Mike Denver, Johnny Brady and Chantalle Padden, Cliona Hagan and Take It To The Limit round out the line-up of gigs which kick off on Sunday, August 1.
The concerts will take place on a specially constructed outdoor stage located on grounds adjacent to the Gleneagle INEC Arena. In line with Government guidelines, 200 tickets will be available per gig sold in pods of six.
The series of gigs is being funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Live Performance Support Scheme (LPSS).
SAFE RETURN
“We’ve had to really think outside the box in order to make a safe return to live music performance and help get our colleagues in the live entertainment sector back to work," Mark Egan, Director of Gleneagle INEC Arena, said.
"These gigs would not be financially viable under normal circumstances, but thanks to the LPSS scheme we now have 20 live acts lined up to play to intimate audiences of just 200 people per gig.”
The Live Performance Support Scheme was introduced to assist commercial venues, producers and promoters plan live performances across the country over the summer months, with a total of 237 organisations benefiting from the scheme.
The main objective of this scheme is to provide significant employment and well-being opportunities across the live entertainment sector as well as supporting the generation of high-quality artistic output for the general public.
GUIDELINES
The 'Inside Out' gigs are subject to Government guidelines, which currently allow for 200 hundred people to attend outdoor events. Tickets will be sold in pods of six and are non-transferable. Each pod will be allocated a specific arrival time and a pre-allocated, socially distanced table. Face masks are required when arriving at and vacating the venue. Gates will open at 7pm to allow for staggered arrival times and the concert will begin at 8.15pm. Each pod must arrive together at their allocated time. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.
In order to facilitate contract tracing contact details for all attendees will be collected and all attendees will be required to have their smartphone switched on and the HSE COVID App installed. Customers are asked not to attend the concert if they have any symptoms of COVID-19. In this scenario, tickets will be fully refundable.
DATES
Sunday, August 1 Ham Sandwich Signature Show
Monday, August 2 Lyra Future Sounds
Thursday, August 5 Saint Sister Future Sounds
Friday, August 6 Derek Ryan Gleneagle Country
Saturday, August 7 Derek Ryan Gleneagle Country
Wednesday, August 11 Mike Denver Gleneagle Country
Thursday, August 12 Aslan Signature Show
Friday, August 13 Ryan Sheridan Signature Show
Tuesday, August 17 Johnny Brady & Chantalle Padden Gleneagle Country
Wednesday, August 18 Cliona Hagan Gleneagle Country
Thursday, August 19 Take it to the Limit Gleneagle Country
Friday, August 20 Jyellowl Future Sounds
Saturday, August 21 The High Kings Signature Show
Sunday, August 22 The High Kings Signature Show
Wednesday, August 25 Kerry Rising Future Sounds
Thursday, August 26 Damian Dempsey Signature Show
Friday, August 27 The Blizzards Signature Show
Saturday, August 28 Paddy Casey Signature Show
Funding sought for Glebe Craft Quarter
Plans to redevelop Killarney’s town centre laneways remain on hold as local authority officials seek capital funding to progress the scheme.
At Wednesday’s meeting of the Killarney Municipal District, Councillor Niall Kelleher raised the future of the urban regeneration project, asking the council: “That Kerry County Council provide a detailed update on the proposed development of the Glebe Craft Quarter in Killarney, including the Glebe, Bohereencael, Milk Market Lane and Old Market Lane areas, outlining the work completed to date, estimated project cost, funding secured or being sought and the anticipated timeframe for implementation.”
In a written reply, Kerry County Council revealed that no dedicated capital has yet been assigned to deliver this phase of the public realm plan.
An official response stated: “At present, there is no identified funding stream for this phase of the proposed public realm works. The project will be considered as part of future funding applications, and Kerry County Council will continue to explore all available funding opportunities to support its delivery.”
Call for urgent child protection funding at Killarney conference
Frontline child protection and welfare services are facing an unprecedented crisis due to a surge in cases and limited resources, key speakers warned at a national conference in Killarney on Wednesday.
The final event of National End Child Poverty Week took place at the KCYS Youth Centre in Killarney, bringing together child welfare experts, legal professionals, and social workers to examine child protection, welfare, and alternative care.
Addressing delegates ahead of Budget 2027, Tanya Ward, Chief Executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, warned against proposed spending cuts across government departments that deliver core family supports.
“For politicians to speak about their prioritisation of the protection and safety of children in recent weeks, while at the same time committing to levying the Departments that deliver those protection, welfare and family support services is just not right,” Tanya Ward said. “The levies, which are intended to shoulder an ‘overspend’ by the department of education through cuts across other departments, could not come at a worse time. They essentially ask critical services to children to pare back, to do more with less – at a time when these services are completely stretched thin trying to meet the demand for support.”
Figures released at the conference revealed that referrals to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, have doubled over the past decade. The agency received a record 106,444 referrals in 2025. That upward trend has continued into 2026, with 28,800 referrals logged in the first three months of the year—an 11 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2025.
“Tusla and its support services are the last safety net for vulnerable children and families,” Tanya Ward added. “We need to be seeing significant increased investment to ensure we have a child protection system that is fit for purpose and can meet the needs of the children behind these figures who are facing battles such as neglect, emotional, physical or sexual abuse, trauma and deprivation.”
Chaired by Julie Ahern, Director of Legal, Policy and Services at the Children’s Rights Alliance, the conference featured keynote contributions from Kate Duggan, Chief Executive Officer of Tusla, and Dr Aisling Parkes, Special Rapporteur on Child Protection and Senior Lecturer in Law at UCC.
Additional speakers included Denise Kirwan, Partner at Comyn Kelleher Tobin Solicitors; social worker Thomas O’Driscoll; Seamus Whitty, CEO of KCYS; and Sinéad Roe, Intensive Family Support Co-ordinator at KCYS.
The Children’s Rights Alliance is calling on the Government to deliver a dedicated “Children’s Budget” for 2027. Key demands include increasing Tusla’s overall funding to expand social work staff across 30 new network areas, funding the rollout of the forthcoming National Policy Framework on Alternative Care, and increasing the proportion of Tusla’s budget directed to early intervention and community family support by three percentage points annually over five years.
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