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Modern day musical to spark conversation on topical issues

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By Michelle Crean

Teens are hoping to spark conversation by focusing on daunting during their musical performance on the INEC stage next month.

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'Prom Queen: The Jukebox Musical’ was written, created and stars 15-year-old Sinéad Greene, who is a Third Year student at Killarney Community College.

Her school friend Rachel Griffin (17) is co-director, executive producer and also a lead actor.

The cast and crew include many local students and also students from outside Killarney such as Rathmore, Tralee and even as far as Cork and Limerick.

This youth project aims to raise awareness around the importance of mental health and the girls advise that viewer discretion is advised as it's rated 12+ due to explicit language, and focusing on themes such as bullying, domestic abuse, references to suicide and LGBTQ+ representation.

"The show hopes to shine a light on these topics and spark conversations about the many different stories portrayed in the plot of this production," Sinéad told the Killarney Advertiser.

"There is a witty approach to the daunting questions of the modern day, with a catchy soundtrack which has many great, recognisable hits!"

Sinead started writing Prom Queen when she was 11-years-old.

"It has been a huge part of my life since then."

LAUNCH

'Prom Queen' was officially launched on social media on June 15, 2021. Its official premiere took place in the form of a virtual concert on August 27, the same year.

"We gathered a group of 12 girls attending Killarney Community College, St. Brigid’s Secondary School and Intermediate School Killorglin."

Next stop is the INEC - something she only dreamed of when she first put pen to paper.

"Now we're here, a year after the official launch, and we're planning a fully staged production on the INEC stage in Killarney on November 21 and a show for schools on November 22."

Just two weeks ago, the cast had the amazing opportunity to perform at the Stories of Change Festival held in conjunction with Iveragh Learning Landscapes in Waterville.

"We are working in conjunction with MACademy, a local theatre organisation that provide the pupils with masterclasses and guidance."

“We performed a selection of songs from the show, which was thoroughly enjoyed by the audience. It was amazing to see the cast in costume and see everything coming together and we are now more excited than ever for November 21,” Rachel said.

They have also set up a GoFundMe page to help raise funds to cover the costs of venue hire, lighting, props, costumes, sound and stage design amongst many other things.

However, they are still urgently looking for local businesses to donate to their raffle.

"Any prizes, big or small, would be greatly appreciated!"

Tickets for the show are now available on eventbrite. For further information please visit promqueenthemusical.wordpress.com.

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Developing St Finan’s “cost prohibitive” – Council

Converting the idle St Finan’s hospital into social housing is cost-prohibitive according to Kerry County council officials. The historic building has been lying idle since it closed in September 2012. […]

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Converting the idle St Finan’s hospital into social housing is cost-prohibitive according to Kerry County council officials.

The historic building has been lying idle since it closed in September 2012.

The hospital and adjoining lands are up for sale by the Health Service Executive (HSE) since then.

So far no realistic offer has been made on the site despite suggestions that it could be used for social housing, a catering college and a hotel.

Each year the building, which was built in the 1850s, falls into further disrepair.

There were fresh calls again this week as local councillors called for some sort of action to redevelop the site that is fast becoming an eyesore.

At last Friday’s Killarney Municipal District meeting councillors called for action at the site .

Mayor Brendan Cronin wants the building’s protected status to be removed or at least reduced to speed up potential development work which ties in with Cllr Marie Moloney’s idea that the old hospital could be converted into apartments or flats.

Cllr John O’Donoghue wants the HSE to find a way to hand over the property to Kerry County Council either by way of reduced payment or an intra-government agency ownership change.

A Kerry County Council official told the meeting that any works to potentially convert the old hospital into social housing “would be cost prohibitive.”

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Eight month wait for a driving test in Killarney

A Killarney councillor is calling for action in an effort to reduce the driving test wait list in Killarney The current wait list for a test in Killarney sits at […]

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A Killarney councillor is calling for action in an effort to reduce the driving test wait list in Killarney

The current wait list for a test in Killarney sits at eight months.

Cllr John O’Donoghue raised the issue at Monday’s full meeting of Kerry County Council.

He proposed that driving instructors should be employed to carry out the final test to reduce the current backlog.

At Monday’s meeting he asked that hat Kerry County Council would write to the Minister for Transport to ask him to consider giving driving instructors temporary powers to issue a temporary Driving Licence/Certificate of Competence to those on the waiting list for tests.

“The wait is currently far too long and the system is in danger of becoming completely overwhelmed,” he said.

“The huge waiting list for young drivers is well documented at this stage. In a case I am familiar with, a young person passed their theory test in January 2022 and he immediately applied for his mandatory 12 driving lessons. When these were completed, he applied for his driving test on the 2nd of December 2022. Some weeks ago, he still had not received an application to apply for his driving test. This wait is placing him and his family under considerable extra cost and stress which is completely unacceptable.”

In the course of his research into the matter Cllr O’Donoghue discovered that the next available date for a driving test in Killarney is May 25, 2024, while Tralee is June 3 2024.

“Bear in mind, these are only the dates on which you receive an invitation to book your test, the test itself will then be an estimated three to five weeks later.

“This is an appalling situation and one which needs to be rectified as a matter of urgency. I am proposing that driving instructors, which presumably are fully trained up on the rules of the road, be granted temporary powers to be allowed to issue temporary driving licences to young people. When the waiting list time has been reduced, I would still propose that these people sit the test as usual, but the current pressure needs to be alleviated as soon as possible. There is precedent as I believe that in the 1970s, a cohort in this country were issued driving licences without having sat a test as the wait time for the test was too long.”

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