News
Killarney man elected President of Cycling Ireland

By Sean Moriarty
Ballydowney resident Dr Tom Daly was elected President of Cycling Ireland on Saturday.
The announcement was made at the federation’s 34th Annual General Meeting which took place at the Four Seasons Hotel and Leisure Club in Monaghan.
Daly held the position of Vice President prior to the AGM and was Secretary of Killarney Cycling Club before joining the Board of Cycling Ireland in March of 2022.
The Ballyfinane native is one of Kerry’s true sporting heroes. He played Minor football for Kerry in the 1970s, he was the first man ever to solo canoe around Ireland in the 1980s and is a former volunteer with Kerry Mountain Rescue.
Although always a cycling fan, the now 67-year-old only took up competitive cycling in his 50s and won several National Masters titles on the roads.
He also wrote ‘The Ras, Ireland’s Unique Bike Race’ the definitive history of the country’s biggest race.
Prior to his time with Killarney Cycling Club he was involved in Kanturk Cycling Club in various roles for many years. He was previously Secretary of Cycling Munster.
“We are one of the biggest and most successful sporting organisations in the country with 26,000 members. We have around 500 clubs. We excel in competition and our members are on the roads and trails all across the country. So, it’s time now we put our shoulders back, lifted our chins and walk out of here determined to be proud again. We can restore the pride that our organisation deserves,” Dr Daly said at his acceptance speech.
Challenging Journey
"It's a challenging journey for all of us. We are on one hand a big and complex voluntary organisation that needs to work for its members and also for the volunteers. We are on the other hand a fair-sized company with a turnover of around €5.2 million and a staff of around 25 - both of which we have ambitions to grow - and that aspect of the organisation needs to be run in a very professional manner. I believe we must continue that progress."
He also paid tribute to his fellow Killarney Cycling Club members who nominated him for the role.
Daly had a career in education and worked for agencies such as the National Centre for Technology in Education and the Special Education Support Service and holds post-graduate degrees from the University of Limerick and University College Cork. On retirement, he moved back to Kerry where he and his wife Ann became active members of the local cycling club.
News
New bio-energy therapy clinic open on Beech Road
Have you ever wondered what happens when you deal with an emotionally charged situation or experience high levels of stress daily? Your mind sends alarm signals to your body which […]

Have you ever wondered what happens when you deal with an emotionally charged situation or experience high levels of stress daily?
Your mind sends alarm signals to your body which must adapt to this emergency mode.
Muscles tense up, heart beats faster, vessels get compressed, blood pressure rises, body retains water etc. Most of us subject our bodies to this emergency mode without being aware of it.
Irina Sharapova MH has just opened a new Herbal Medicine and Bio-Energy Therapy clinic at Horan’s Health Store on Beech Road by appointment each Friday.
Both Herbal Medicine and Bio-Energy Therapy, support the body’s natural ability to heal.
During a herbal consultation the therapist suggests necessary corrections to the client’s diet and lifestyle aiming at reducing the elements that contribute to inflammation, stiffness and pain, and increasing the elements that aid healing.
Then they prepare herbal remedies specific to the client. Client’s medications are also examined to ensure that there are no conflicts with the herbal treatment.
Herbs support healing by relaxing the body and improving sleep; they are used to treat various ailments from digestive and reproductive issues to insomnia and migraines.
Bio-Energy therapy is a complementary non-contact treatment that helps to release tension from the body caused by injuries, traumas or stress.
During a Bio-Energy session the therapist scans the client’s body for signals that indicate that the energy is not flowing smoothly – these are the areas that have reacted to the Client’s emotions of fear, worry, hurt, anger, sadness etc.
The therapist “clears out” these areas until the energy flow feels smooth. Bio-Energy is helpful in the treatment of physical and emotional pain and other ailments.
It is suitable for people who do not like massages and other treatments that are performed directly on the body.
Disclaimer: Alternative therapies are not substitutes for medical advice.
For further information or to schedule an appointment please contact Irina at 086 9878941 or via email at herbsandtherapy@gmail.com. Website: https://www.herbsandtherapies.ie
News
Spotted an otter lately?
Users of Killarney National Park are being asked to keep an eye out for otters – one of the country’s rarest mammals. The National Parks and Wildlife Service IS launching […]
Users of Killarney National Park are being asked to keep an eye out for otters – one of the country’s rarest mammals.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service IS launching a new National Otter Survey and has teamed up with researchers in Queen’s University Belfast and the National Biodiversity Data Centre to collect and collate otter records from right across the country.
The new survey will map otters and compare results to the last survey, carried out in 2010-11.
NPWS teams will be looking for characteristic signs of otters at over 900 sites throughout the country, including rivers, lakes and the coast.
Members of the public are asked to keep their eyes peeled for otters and to get involved in this national survey by adding their sightings to the survey results.
Otters are mostly active at night and most typically seen at dawn or dusk. They may be spotted from bridges swimming in rivers or along the rocky seashore.
Otters are brown, about 80 cm (30 inches) long and can be seen gliding along the water surface before diving to show their distinctive long pointed tail which is almost as long again as their body.
Dr Ferdia Marnell, Mammal Specialist with the NPWS, said:
“The otter is one of Ireland’s most elusive animals so getting as many people involved in the survey as possible will be important if we are to get good coverage. Otters are rarely seen, so instead, over the coming months, NPWS staff will be searching for otter tracks and signs.”
Dr Ferdia Marnell, Mammal Specialist with the NPWS, said:
“Otters have large, webbed feet and leave distinctive footprints, but these can be hard to find. Fortunately, otters mark their territory using droppings known as spraints. Otters deposit spraints conspicuously on boulders along riverbanks, logs on lake shores or the rocky high tide line. Spraints can be up to 10 cm or 3 inches long, black through to white but commonly brown, tarry to powdery in consistency and straight or curved making them tricky to identify. Luckily, they commonly contain fish bones and crayfish shells which are the otters favoured diet making them easy to tell apart from the droppings of birds and other mammals.”
The otter and its habitat are protected under the EU Habitats Directive which requires that Ireland reports on the status of the species every six years. The next report is due in 2025.
The otter suffered significant declines across much of continental Europe during the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s but remained widespread in Ireland. The most recent Irish survey (2010-2011) found signs of otter from all counties of Ireland and from sea-shore to mountain streams.
The otter hunts in water, but spends much of its time on land, and as a result is vulnerable to river corridor management such as culverting, dredging and the clearance of bankside vegetation, as well as pollution, pesticides, oil spillages, coastal developments and road traffic.