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Killarney donations help buy a fire engine for Ukraine

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By Sean Moriarty

Money raised at the Gala Store in the Courtyard on Upper College St last weekend will go directly towards the purchase of a fire engine in war-torn Ukraine.

The store is managed by Iryna Rudenko, whose home city of Sumy has been devastated by the war. She organised a fundraiser for her home country last Friday.

She raised €2,100 through the sales of tea and coffee at the store but she could not decide which one of the many worthy Ukrainian fundraisers she should support.

Meanwhile, members of Kerry Fire and Rescue have started a separate fundraiser. They want to raise €50,000 to buy a fire engine and deliver it to the Ukrainian border where its most needed.

The plan was devised at Tralee Fire Station but has since grown and has now expanded to stations all over the county including Killarney Fire Station.

When Iryna heard about the firefighters’ plan she knew immediately where the money her customers had donated should go.

Sumy is about five hours drive east of Kyiv and very close to the Russian border. On Monday of this week her home town suffered a heavy attack from Russian military, 21 people died, including two children. The city in the North Eastern corner of Ukraine is now one of many that has a dedicated humanitarian corridor linked to it in an effort to get civilians to safety.

“I would like to donate the €2,100 we raised at our Coffee Morning in Gala The Courtyard, Killarney last Friday for my fellow Ukrainians," she said.

"I was overwhelmed by the support and generosity of the people of Killarney and I reassured them that all monies raised would be donated to a very good cause, and I believe this is a very worthy cause and a fantastic idea.”

Iryna remains very concerned for family members in Ukraine. Her cousin and nephew signed up for the Ukrainian army at the start of the war two weeks ago. She knew one of the people killed in Monday’s attack on her city.

“There are two children in bad condition in hospital,” she added. “My best friend lives in Belgium and she lost family too.”

Trevor Kelliher of Tralee Fire Station that he contacted Pavlo Serdiuk who is a 23-year-old Ukrainian who was living and working in Cork as an apprentice plumber. Pavlo was recently on RTÉ news as he has headed home to help defend his home country.

“Pavlo has put us in touch with the local fire service in Ukraine who will receive equipment that is both donated and bought through this fundraising. Any help will be greatly appreciated and all money raised will be directly sent in forms of fire and rescue equipment to Ukraine with an official handover.”

Funds can be donated via GoFundMe: Help Ukraine Fire And Rescue with equipment.

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How will our Kerry TDs vote tomorrow?

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Tomorrow, Sinn Féin will be tabling a motion of no confidence against the Government after the protests that took place nationwide during the week.

Earlier today we asked our readers how would they vote in a no confidence motion against the Government?

Most of our readers said they would vote no confidence, while some said, yes they do have confidence in the Government.

One reader said: “Vote confidence. The only proper leadership over the last few days came from government. Courage came when needed despite how unpopular it looked in the moment. By contrast, opposition politicians wanted the country to burn to suit themselves”.

Another reader stated: “No confidence. Shambolic and heavy handed handling of protests this past week”.

However, some people didn’t have any confidence in either side with a reader saying: “No confidence in the no confidence! Different wings of the same bird! We need a complete overhaul of the political system”.

We asked the question to our 5 Kerry TDs before lunch-time today, asking them what their vote will be tomorrow.

We received one reply from Sinn Féin’s Kerry TD Pa Daly.

He will be voting no confidence in the Government tomorrow along with his party.

Other media outlets are reporting that Independent TD Danny Healy-Rae is undecided at the moment.

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Town centre-based software firm marks two years in business

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A Killarney-based software company is celebrating two years in business since expanding into the European market.

QT9 Software Ltd, which is located on Bohereencaol was established in 2024 as part of the company’s move to better serve customers across Europe.

The business is part of a US-based company founded 20 years ago in Chicago by Brant Engelhart.

Its Irish office is headed by Killarney resident Angela O’Sullivan, who serves as Operations Director.

QT9 Software currently employs four full-time staff members in Killarney and plans to increase that number by an additional two this year.

The company provides quality management software to businesses worldwide, with the Irish office helping to support European customers within their own time zones.

As part of its continued European expansion, the software company also opened a new data center in Amsterdam in 2025 to meet data storage and compliance requirements.

QT9 Software works with businesses that must meet quality standards such as ISO 9001 and ISO 13485, as well as industry-specific regulations across sectors, such as automotive, aerospace, food and life sciences.

Speaking about the milestone, Angela O’Sullivan said: “We’re very proud to have grown QT9 Software here in Killarney over the past two years. It has been a really positive journey so far, and we’re looking forward to continuing to build our team and support more customers across Europe.”

The company is also currently recruiting for an IT Systems Administrator, with details available in the appointments section on page 46.

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