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Local organisation to mark its 50th year

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50 YEARS: Marie Linehan, Chief Executive, Kerry Parents and Friends Association and service user Denise Rideout are preparing to celebrate the organisation’s 50th anniversary this year.

By Sean Moriarty

Kerry Parents and Friends Association will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year with a range of events across the county including at its Killarney headquarters.

Kerry Parents and Friends Association (KPFA) was established in 1973 as a support to families of people with an intellectual disability. The Association, which has a service in The Old Monastery, Port Road, provides community based day, residential and support services for more than 250 adults countywide.

The 50th anniversary celebration will start with an event in Tralee tomorrow (Saturday) when KPFA officially opens its new service in Godfrey Place at 2pm.
The main celebration will take place on June 24 at its Port Road premises.
This event is open to families of people the association has helped over the years, supporters, current and former staff members and anyone who wants to celebrate one of most significant charities in the county.

“It will be a fun day for everyone, with food and drink stalls, cakes and crafts, and many more,” said Marie Linehan, Chief Executive, Kerry Parents and Friends Association.

“It is our way of saying thanks to the community for 50 years of support. We hope everyone will have a wonderful day.”

As well as celebrating its Jubilee, the June 24 event will also mark the official opening of a new sensory garden in its Port Road facility.

 

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Fassbender ready for second Le Mans appearance

Local Hollywood A-lister Michael Fassbender is in the final preparation stages for his second appearance at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. The iconic endurance race is celebrating its […]

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Local Hollywood A-lister Michael Fassbender is in the final preparation stages for his second appearance at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The iconic endurance race is celebrating its 100th edition next weekend.

The Fossa star has already arrived in the famous French twon where he is involved in a week-long series of engagements including drivers’ parades, autograph sessions and more serious appointments like car safety checks, practice and qualifying.

Like last year, when he finished 16th in the LMGTE Am class, Fassbender has been entered in to the event by the German Proton Competition team with Estonian Martin Rump and the Austrian Richard Lietz.

Fassbender dreams of following the trajectory of fellow Hollywood actors Patrick Dempsey who was second in LMGTE Am class in 2016 and Paul Newman who finished second overall in 1979.

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Ireland’s oldest citizen has Killarney connections

Ireland’s oldest woman met with President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin this week. Máirín Hughes, who turned 109 on May 22 has strong Killarney connections. The previous record […]

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Ireland’s oldest woman met with President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin this week.

Máirín Hughes, who turned 109 on May 22 has strong Killarney connections.

The previous record was held by 107-year-old Nancy Stewart who died on September 10 2021.

Although born in Belfast, Máirín went to school in the Mercy Convent. Her father was a customs and excise officer and the family moved around a lot eventually coming to Killarney after spells in County Down and Dublin.

Her mother came from the Rathmore area and her father was from Newmarket in County Cork.

She attended the Mercy Convent and has, in previous interviews, recalled growing up on the shores of Lough Lein.

“Neighbours who had three children were given the job of taking me to school,” she said. “They were annoyed because the children were going to school for two or three years but I was put in to the same class as them – my mother had taught me.”

In 2021 she featured in the book ‘Independence Memories: A People’s Portrait of the Early Days of the Irish Nation’, sharing stories of being kept in school in Killarney during an attack on the RIC barracks down the road.

In 1924 she started a degree in science and a diploma in education at University College Cork, before working in the pathology lab in University College Cork’s Department of Medicine for 16 years.

last year she recalled her story on the podcast: ‘Living History – Irish Life and Lore’.

During the broadcast she talked about her parents’ membership of the Gaelic League in 1910; the Spanish Flu in Ireland in 1918; The Black and Tans in Killarney in 1921; the early days of the new Free State; Eucharistic Congress in Dublin in 1932, visiting the Basket Islands in 1929; and working in the UCC medical laboratory from 1932 until 1948.

This week President Michael D. Higgins hosted an afternoon tea event to celebrate the important role that a variety of people have and can play in different communities and Máirín was among the guests of honour.

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