News
Lucky escape for man asleep in bin

By Sean Moriarty
A man who was sleeping rough in Killarney overnight had a lucky escape after the bin he was in was tipped into a refuse truck.
During its early morning rounds a bin lorry and its crew picked up a number of large rubbish bins on Main St.
The bins were tipped in to the compactor section of the truck. By the time the crew arrived at the top of New Street a crew member spotted a person's head in the compactor section and raised the alarm.
The man who slept in the bin overnight was found in the middle of all the rubbish.
Emergency Services were called to the scene at about 8am and the man was extracted and taken to University Hospital Kerry with chest injuries.
“He was a lucky man,” the Emergency Services told the Killarney Advertiser. “The crew operator saw him in the back of the lorry and raised the alarm. He was very lucky, this was one of the older type rubbish compactors that compacts after every 10th or so bin is placed in the truck. Modern trucks compact on every tip.”
The Killarney Advertiser understands that this is the second such incident in the town in recent weeks.
Jarveys operating near the HaHa found a different man asleep in a bin in a nearby laneway in March.
Local Councillor Donal Grady says the two incidents highlight the homelessness situation in Killarney.
“We need a shelter in Killarney, it’s as simple as that,” he said. “There is one in Tralee but none in Killarney.”
News
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 […]

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.
News
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 […]

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.