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Glenflesk man whittles his way through lockdown

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By Michelle Crean

What began as a hobby using fallen and storm damaged native trees during lockdown has turned into a successful business for one Glenflesk man.

Shane Dennehy is taking ‘working to live’ to a new level as his cottage business Anú Crafts takes shape throughout months of lockdowns, reopenings and COVID-19 restrictions.

Shane is constantly inspired by the wonderful nature that surrounds him and is giving the fallen trees a new lease of life. As a young boy, he spent a lot of his time with his late dad Seán in his beloved shed, watching him cutting timber and tackling the limitless list of chores and work of a full-time farmer and father. His mother Betty, also loved working with her hands, so it wasn’t long before their children developed this passion too.

Many years later, years spent crafting purely as a hobby, the birth of Shane’s beautiful goddaughter Michaela in 2013 led him to make a custom-made personalised doll's cradle for her playroom. When this was shared on social media by his sister Myra, numerous people fell in love with the cradles and contacted him to see if he could do the same for their little ones! Before he knew it, he was inundated with requests for other bespoke crafted pieces. Following this demand, he used the precious hoard of timber slices that his late younger brother Denis cut for him many years previously, and had seasoned in his shed waiting for this day to come. Little did he know then, but Denis was producing timber for Shane’s business years before he even knew it himself. During lockdown Shane has had time to develop this hobby into a business and created, Anú Crafts Killarney so the memory of his beloved father and brother can live on through the gorgeous wooden craft creations.

INSPIRATION

"My family are certainly my inspiration in setting up Anú Crafts - my late brother Denis, who cut timber slices for me 15 years ago before I ever even thought about starting a business, my late father for passing on his huge work ethic, my sister Myra for pushing me to set up Anú Crafts and the support of my loving mother and family," Shane this week told the Killarney Advertiser. "What I love most about my work is the delight I see in people's faces when they receive their personal woodcrafts. I love taking on custom-made personal commissions where people contact me looking for something very personal and touching to them or a loved one, but not really sure what to do. But after talking it through with them, I get a feeling of the person and their story. And the delight on their faces with the end product is worth more than anything afterwards."

For a full range of products please visit www.anucrafts.ie or contact Shane directly if you wish to create something unique.

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Con O’Leary: Killarney loses a vibrant and popular personality

Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce has led the tributes to the late Con O’Leary, an extremely popular and very successful businessman in the town, who passed away in the […]

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Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce has led the tributes to the late Con O’Leary, an extremely popular and very successful businessman in the town, who passed away in the early hours of Sunday.

Con was a vibrant and popular personality in Killarney where he operated The Laurels on Main Street, a thriving bar and restaurant, which he inherited following the passing of his father, Thado.
The business organisation said from a social perspective, The Laurels became the beating heart of the town and it was a landmark at the Market Cross in the same way as Clery’s clock was in the capital city.
Chamber said Con’s passing really marks the end of an era as he was one of a golden age of inspirational local business people who developed and built Killarney, through hard work, bravery and great commercial flair, and helped create the wonderful tourist attraction and holiday destination it is today.
“Con was very proud of Killarney and he played a very active part in progressing the town at many levels.
“He was a man that was never short of great ideas and his contribution to the business life of the town and as a director of Killarney Race Company was immense,” Chamber said.
“He was ahead of his time in many respects with the introduction by what became known as “the singing lounge” many years ago and The Laurels always led by example through its successes in the annual Killarney Looking Good competition”.
The business representative organisation noted that the O’Leary family has always been very supporting of the town and Con’s daughter, Kate, was a very dynamic Chamber President and is still a very valued member of the executive.
Chamber expressed deep sympathy to Con’s wife, Anne, children Kate, Niall, Tara and Lorna, sons-in-law, grandchildren, sisters, relatives and friends as well as the dedicated staff in The Laurels, past and present, who Con always had great time for and a great rapport with.

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All Roads Lead To Kerry For National Road Safety Conference

Kerry County Council is to host a two-day road safety conference at the INEC Killarney on May 28 and 29. The ‘Safer Roads’ road safety conference is an inter-agency event […]

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Kerry County Council is to host a two-day road safety conference at the INEC Killarney on May 28 and 29.

The ‘Safer Roads’ road safety conference is an inter-agency event focused on improving road safety, reducing traffic-related incidents, and sharing knowledge and best practices for safer road use. It encompasses various strategies and efforts across multiple domains, including road design, engineering, enforcement, forensic collision investigation, technology, education, collision trends, occupational driving, cycling and scooting, e-mobility, active & sustainable travel and on-road events.

In addition to this, AI, Virtual Reality and Driver Simulation will play a significant role at the conference, in improving safety by predicting and preventing accidents, optimizing traffic, and aiding the development of autonomous vehicles.

This ‘Safer Roads’ conference is a non-public event where road safety professionals, speakers and service providers from across Ireland, other EU countries and the UK will attend, including transportation experts, government and local authority officials, roads policing and vehicle inspection agencies, road safety advocates, educators and promoters, collision responders, cycling bodies and community safety networks.

Kerry County Council’s Road Safety Officer Declan Keogh said:
“Road safety has evolved over the years to a much broader scope, in terms of e-mobility, sustainability, technology and engineering for instance. It’s not just about the road or the vehicle anymore, but also about how technology, human behaviour, enforcement, and education intersect to reduce risks and prevent collisions. The ‘Safer Roads’ conference will involve and include every branch of the road safety tree, right across the board, and in doing so, we aim to increase road safety awareness, improve road user behaviour and decrease the collisions and carnage we see on our roads every day,”

The two-day conference also provides an opportunity for exhibitors to attend, and interested state bodies, businesses and service providers are invited to exhibit at the event to showcase their products and services and engage with delegates and officials at the conference.

Further information about the conference and how to register or exhibit can be found here. https://www.kerrycoco.ie/safer-roads-road-safety-conference/

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