News
Great quack promised in Currow this Sunday
By Con Dennehy
There will be "great quack" in Currow this weekend when the East Kerry village hosts a Vintage Show and Duck Race promoted by the Currow Rural Development Association.
Taking place at Dicksgrove Creamery on the banks of the Brown Flesk River on Sunday at 12.30pm, the event doubles up as a Community Fun Day and a fundraiser for the Development Association to continue their ongoing work to enhance the amenities in the community and the restoration of the local lake.
This is the third Community Fun Day hosted by the Development Association following on from the phenomenal success of Christmas in Currow and the Easter Egg Hunt which attracted people from all over Kerry.
“We will have more than 60 vintage tractors taking part in the fun day in addition to a steam engine and a working thresher," Damien Boyle, chairman of the Currow Rural Development Association, said.
"The day is all about participation and we will have lots of kid’s activities including face painting, a balloon artist, mini tractor races which are expected to be "wheely" great, a food truck and lots more attractions including Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse all the way from Disneyland in Paris.”
The highlight of the day will be a Duck Race on the Brown Flesk where 150 life sized plastic ducks will be released and they will race over a 300-metre course.
“This is the first time since the 1980s that a Duck Race has taken place in Currow. Back then local community activists Nora Doyle and Gerard O’Sullivan along with a team of eight volunteers hosted a number of Duck Races to fund the St Patrick's Day Parades and the restoration of the Old Killeentierna Graveyard. So this year we are using the original ducks. It’s a fundraiser to assist with the €5,000 development of the lake and people can sponsor a duck for just €5 and be in with a chance of winning some great prizes,” added Mr Boyle.
Work on cleaning and development of Currow Lake is due to commence later this year and will be a focal point in the community when work is completed and will complement the recently developed Community Garden in the village.
Parking for Sunday’s event will be in the centre of Currow village with the creamery located just 150 metres away.
News
Ireland’s oldest citizen has Killarney connections
Ireland’s oldest woman met with President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin this week. Máirín Hughes, who turned 109 on May 22 has strong Killarney connections. The previous record […]

Ireland’s oldest woman met with President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin this week.
Máirín Hughes, who turned 109 on May 22 has strong Killarney connections.
The previous record was held by 107-year-old Nancy Stewart who died on September 10 2021.
Although born in Belfast, Máirín went to school in the Mercy Convent. Her father was a customs and excise officer and the family moved around a lot eventually coming to Killarney after spells in County Down and Dublin.
Her mother came from the Rathmore area and her father was from Newmarket in County Cork.
She attended the Mercy Convent and has, in previous interviews, recalled growing up on the shores of Lough Lein.
“Neighbours who had three children were given the job of taking me to school,” she said. “They were annoyed because the children were going to school for two or three years but I was put in to the same class as them – my mother had taught me.”
In 2021 she featured in the book ‘Independence Memories: A People’s Portrait of the Early Days of the Irish Nation’, sharing stories of being kept in school in Killarney during an attack on the RIC barracks down the road.
In 1924 she started a degree in science and a diploma in education at University College Cork, before working in the pathology lab in University College Cork’s Department of Medicine for 16 years.
last year she recalled her story on the podcast: ‘Living History – Irish Life and Lore’.
During the broadcast she talked about her parents’ membership of the Gaelic League in 1910; the Spanish Flu in Ireland in 1918; The Black and Tans in Killarney in 1921; the early days of the new Free State; Eucharistic Congress in Dublin in 1932, visiting the Basket Islands in 1929; and working in the UCC medical laboratory from 1932 until 1948.
This week President Michael D. Higgins hosted an afternoon tea event to celebrate the important role that a variety of people have and can play in different communities and Máirín was among the guests of honour.
News
Philip is running over 100kms for Cancer charity
Local runner and charity fundraiser Philip Kissane is set for the biggest challenge of his career as he lines up for the Cork City Marathon on Sunday. Phillip has already […]

Local runner and charity fundraiser Philip Kissane is set for the biggest challenge of his career as he lines up for the Cork City Marathon on Sunday.
Phillip has already completed four half marathons at various locations around Killarney – all in aid of Kerry Cancer Support Group – or the Cancer Bus as it popularly called.
This is the second time that Phillip has run four half marathon and an official race for the charity.
Back in 2021 he finished with 5km Run Killarney event but his finishing race this time around is over eight times the distance at 42kms.
“We are delighted with Philip’s continued fundraising support but also with his awareness raising for the charity,” Breda Dyland, Service Manager Kerry Cancer Support Trust.
“We are getting busier all the time and still get no statutory funding so are dependent on fundraisers like Philip’s to keep us on the road. We have just put our new wheelchair accessible bus on the Cork route so Philip’s funding will be going towards the operation of this vehicle.”