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Healy-Rae shop to remain closed indefinitely

By Michelle Crean

It took nine fire extinguishers to battle a blaze at Michael Healy-Rae’s Kilgarvan shop on Monday morning – but the damage was so severe that the shop will remain closed indefinitely.

At around 9am on Monday morning Michael was alerted to a fire in the shop when his wife Eileen called to his adjoining office.

However, the intense fire, which was caused by an electrical fault, was hard to get under control with Michael brought to University Hospital Kerry as a precaution due to the inhalation of fumes.

“The shop is unfortunately still closed, Kilgarvan Post Office is also closed,” Michael told the Killarney Advertiser.

“It’s a huge loss to the community and I want to apologise to my loyal customers – it’s the first time it’s closed in 30 years. It’s very upsetting for our customers, staff and suppliers at this critical time of year. The whole thing is a mess. We’re working very hard pulling out all the stops to get it back up and running. I’m grateful to the emergency services including Kenmare Fire Service, and everyone for their support, especially Juliette and my wife Eileen, everyone who has helped us. We will battle on and we will be back.”

This week he missed attendance at the Dáil and is recovering at home.

“I didn’t go to the Dáil this week. I took in a lot of fumes and to be honest I’m still a bit sick with it.”