News
Lowry gunning for glory at revitalised Irish open
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Former winner Shane Lowry will be hoping for good luck at Donegal’s Ballyliffin Golf Club for this weekend’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation, the fourth Rolex Series event of the 2018 Race to Dubai.
For the first time in his career, Lowry has been based in the Unites States of America this year and the 31-year-old has enjoyed consistent form without yet threatening to add to his trophy cabinet.
He notched up a top 15 finish in his opening Rolex Series appearance of the campaign at the BMW PGA Championship but, as a links expert who has already won on home soil, he will no doubt be chomping at the bit to take on the stunning Glashedy Course at Ballyliffin. Playing conditions on the northwest coast of Ireland will be very fast with all this fine weather.
The vociferous home crowds will be cheering the popular Offaly player all the way. Lowry provided one of the most memorable moments in the 91-year history of the event in 2009 with a dramatic victory as an amateur.
“I think Ballyliffin will be a brilliant venue for the Irish Open,” said the three-time European Tour winner. “I have a lot of fond memories of playing Interprovincial Championships there so it will be great to go back. It’s one of those weeks on tour that you have to adapt to. For most of the Irish lads, you need to treat it like a massive event because you have so much on, so you actually need to prepare differently to most other weeks.
“Stuff like doing a lot more media, seeing a lot more friends and family, trying to give as much time to the fans are fantastic problems to have, but you to need to remember to get ready for the tournament! But I don’t think any of us would have it any other way – it’s one of the special weeks on tour for everyone associated with Irish golf.
“The tournament itself is massive now that it’s on the Rolex Series and it has such a committed sponsor like Dubai Duty Free. They have, along with Rory obviously, taken it to a new level over the past few years and it’s brilliant to see the tournament getting back to the way it was with huge crowds, great fields and big prize money.
“It will always have a special place in my heart for obvious reasons. It launched my career when I won it as an amateur and I would love nothing more than to win it again as a pro.”
Lowry, along with his fellow home heroes McIlroy, Darren Clarke, Paul Dunne, Pádraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and Paul McGinley, will be joined at Ballyliffin Golf Club by an impressive line-up of international players.
Leading those will be the defending champion and world number five Jon Rahm, who will be chasing a third Rolex Series title in the space of 10 months, while his Spanish compatriot Rafa Cabrera Bello will be hoping to add a second ahead of his Scottish Open title defence a week later.
News
Kerry’s youth celebrated at the Lee Strand/Kerry Garda Youth Achievement Awards
This year’s overall winner of the Lee Strand Kerry Garda Youth Achievement is Ryan Griffin from Waterville who was nominated by Mairead O’Sullivan from Killorglin Family Resource Centre. Ryan Griffin […]

This year’s overall winner of the Lee Strand Kerry Garda Youth Achievement is Ryan Griffin from Waterville who was nominated by Mairead O’Sullivan from Killorglin Family Resource Centre.
Ryan Griffin is a member of the Skellig Stars and was chosen to represent Kerry at the Special Olympics.
Ryan’s biggest hurdle is communication and he had to overcome this during his trip to Berlin for the big event.
Ryan has overcome his disabilities by focusing on all the great abilities he has. Ryan attends mainstream school in Coláiste na Sceilge where he is a very respected member of the School Community. He is a member of Kerry Stars and also Downs Syndrome Kerry.
Ryan has always had a keen interest in sport and even played with the local team in Waterville, but now Ryan thinks it’s too fast for him so he prefers to cheer them on from the side-lines.
Ryan has always been involved with the Community and they have never left him out. Ryan started out his athletics career with Skellig Stars and without them he would have gone to the Special Olympics and he has never forgotten when he came from.
Ryan and his family are very grateful to the local community in Waterville and the surrounding area for all the support they have given them over the years and especially now with the Special Olympics coming closer.
The whole community from Waterville to Mid-Kerry got behind Ryan, raising funds to help his family go to Berlin for 2 weeks. Ryan is now an inspiration to others to overcome difficulties and “go for gold”.
Ryan was the only representative from Kerry on this years Irish Special Olympics Team and in fact one of the Youngest Athletes on Team Ireland at only 16yrs of age, which was a great honour for him.
This in itself is a great achievement but it also shows his friends at Skellig Stars, Downs Syndrome Kerry and in the wider community that dreams do come true.
It took a lot of hard work and determination on Ryan’s behalf to make these dreams come true, not least the long journey he had to make from South Kerry to Dublin once a month since last January to train for the Special Olympics. He also trained weekly with the Skellig Stars.
At the 2023 Special Olympics in Berlin Ryan took part in the 100m run and the relay but his biggest achievement was winning the Silver Medal in the mini javelin. This showed others that overcoming difficulties can be possible and you can achieve your goals with hard work and determination, which Ryan has in abundance.
Local Merit Awards
Aliza Gul, Killarney
Joey McCarthy, Killarney
John O’Connor, Killarney
Nattagun Ryan, Killarney
Samuel Behal, Killarney
St Brendan’s Choir, Killarney
News
Controversial finish to Cougar’s opening match of season
Basketball Ireland is to review the result Killarney Cougars opening match of the new Basketball season. The opening game of the season was long and eventful The game was abandoned […]

Basketball Ireland is to review the result Killarney Cougars opening match of the new Basketball season.
The opening game of the season was long and eventful
The game was abandoned with 1.48 seconds remaining in the second quarter with the court unplayable due to condensation, however Portlaoise Panthers plea to change venue was allowed by the officials.
The game continued an hour later in Portlaoise College despite the Killarney protest with the long delay to proceedings and the game already abandoned in the St Mary’s venue.
Panthers held the advantage through the second quarter whan the game was abandoned following a series of bad slips and falls on the wet floor with just under two minutes remaining,
Darius Hopkins heavy slip and fall that finally saw the game stopped.
The remainder of the game in in the new venue was completed without any competitive edge.
Cougars finished with a series of injuries to Bill Wiseman, Alex Fleming and Oleh Drahanchuk with the game conditions and long delays a contributing factor but the homeside won the contest.
A final decision on the outcome of the game is expected by Basketball Ireland following a review of events.