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Killarney below national average for vacant commercial buildings

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By Sean Moriarty

Killarney has the lowest number of unoccupied commercial buildings in the county according to the latest GeoDirectory Commercial Vacancy Rates Report.

GeoDirectory studies unused commercial premises in every major town in Ireland.

Commercial vacancy rates in Kerry are lower than the national average of 14.0% the report found, but there was an increase by 0.9 percentage points to the end of 2022.

Of the towns in Kerry surveyed, Listowel had the highest commercial rate at 21.4%, while Killarney had the lowest rate at 12.5%.

The lowest commercial vacancy rates were recorded in Meath (10.2%), Wexford (10.4%) and Kerry (12.2%).

At 19.6%, Sligo recorded the highest commercial vacancy rate, followed by Galway (17.6%) and Donegal (17.5%).

“The rate of commercial vacancies is the highest level recorded by GeoDirectory since the Commercial Vacancy Rates Report began in 2013, continuing the trend of increasing rates in recent years.

“It is likely that this will continue in the short to medium term, as working-from-home becomes more formalised, combined with the growth of online retail and services, resulting in businesses requiring less physical space than previously,” Dara Keogh, Chief Executive of GeoDirectory, said.

The accommodation and food services sector had a decrease of 106 units in the last year to an overall total of 22,500 units. The five counties with the highest concentration of accommodation and food services units were Kerry (24.8%), Clare (20.9%), Donegal (19.1%), Leitrim (18.9%), and Galway (17.8%).

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Diabetes expert Dr Omer Taha to address local health meeting

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Consultant Endocrinologist Dr Omer Taha from the Bon Secours Hospital, Tralee, will be the guest speaker at the upcoming HeartBeat meeting on June 30.

The meeting will commence at 8pm in the Parish Centre on Park Road.

Dr Taha will speak about Diabetes Mellitus Type 1 and Type 2, detailing all diabetes-related complications.

The talk will be followed by a question and answer session, alongside tea, coffee, and biscuits. Special informational booklets from Diabetes Ireland, focused on living well with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, will also be available on the night.

All are welcome to attend.


The announcement follows last month’s meeting, which focused on the Kerry Stroke Support Group. Guest speaker Stephanie Stretton delivered a talk on stroke aftercare, recovery, and the health and wellbeing needs of survivors.


A key piece of advice highlighted was that anyone suffering a stroke while away from home in the countryside should call 112, as emergency services can track the phone location immediately to save valuable time.


The Kerry Stroke Support Group continues to hold its monthly meetings on the last Thursday of each month at the Baile Mhuire Day Centre in Tralee.


Meanwhile, HeartBeat recently received a generous financial boost. Paul Sherry, Manager of the Killarney Outlet Centre, successfully applied to the Pavers Annual Charities Funding Event on behalf of the group. As a result, Pavers London has donated £1,000 sterling, equivalent to over €1,200.

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National award for Liam O’Connor’s family band

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Killarney accordionist Liam O’Connor and his family band have won the Family Band of the Year award at the 2026 Irish Entertainment Awards.


The star-studded ceremony took place on June 18 at the Great Northern Hotel in Bundoran, County Donegal.


The annual event brings together musicians, performers, and personalities to recognise outstanding achievements across the Irish entertainment industry.


O’Connor said he was delighted and honoured to receive the accolade. During the event, the local musician shared the stage with a line-up of performers including singer Simon Casey and actor Patrick Bergin.

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