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Local man’s sports business wins UCC’s competition

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DKANE 23/04/2021 REPRO FREE Ignite Graduate Patrick O’Regan from Reachthetop a platform to streamline the NCAA recruitment process. They are part of the most recent group of graduates from the IGNITE programme which just held its Awards and Showcase for Spring 2021. IGNITE is an international award-winning start-up incubation programme at University College Cork, supporting recent graduate entrepreneurs to turn good ideas into great businesses. Pic Darragh Kane

SUCCESS: Patrick O'Regan has won a prestigious University College Cork entrepreneur competition.

By Sean Moriarty
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Better known for his roles as the secretary of Spa GAA Club or as a player for St Paul’s Basketball Club, Killarney man Patrick O’Regan has been declared the winner of the IGNITE business start-up-competition organised by University College Cork.

The Coolcorcoran man’s business start-up project, entitled 'Reach The Top' will help ease the difficult process faced by National Collegiate Athletic Association in America that wish to recruit potential international basketball stars.

While his online and cloud project is suitable for all sports and includes a secondary element where clubs can use software to analyse matches and player performances to get it off the ground, he will concentrate on US basketball.

“We are going to tog off here in Ireland and play ball in America,” he told the Killarney Advertiser.
Collegiate basketball is big business in America with many colleges having multi-million dollar budgets.
Currently, US-based scouts would fly around the world looking for new talent. Aside from the expense of all of this there is an incredible amount of paperwork and administration involved. All of this is time consuming and expensive.

Mr O’Regan’s platform aims to streamline this process and make the application easier for both the player and the university.

He also hopes to put more potential players in front of colleges, which will reduce the current expense and allow colleges to vet more potential athletes.

“We are doing all the pre-screening work for the colleges and on behalf of the athlete,” he added. “It will reduce the admin time significantly and reduce the costs for colleges who fly around the world looking for potential players. It will also help players from disadvantaged backgrounds get further up the ranks.”
IGNITE nurtures start-ups from an idea to commercial reality and this is the 13th group of graduates to complete the programme. Seven entrepreneurs including Patrick have become the first founders to complete the IGNITE programme entirely online this year.

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Contactless payments launched on Local Link services

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Passengers using TFI Local Link Kerry services in Killarney and across the county can now pay for their journeys using contactless card payments.

The National Transport Authority (NTA) confirmed the rollout this week, allowing commuters to simply tap their debit card, credit card, or mobile devices, such as Apple Pay and Google Pa, when boarding.

The move is designed to offer more convenience for those using high-frequency rural and regional routes.

In Killarney, the new payment option will be available on the TFI Anseo town services, which have seen a significant increase in passenger numbers since their introduction.

The contactless system is currently available for single journey fares, while those using daily or weekly passes can continue to use the Leap website or the TFI Leap Top Up App.
Alan O’Connell, General Manager of TFI Local Link Kerry, welcomed the modernisation of the fleet.

“The introduction of contactless payments is another welcome step forward for public transport in Kerry,” he said. “It complements other major projects in the county, including the expansion of TFI Local Link services and the delivery of TFI Anseo in Killarney, which is proving to be another great initiative.”

While the new technology offers a modern alternative, traditional payment methods are not being phased out. Cash payments, TFI Leap cards, and Free Travel Cards all remains fully valid across the network.

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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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