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“More lives will be lost” at Finnegan’s Cross

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By Sean Moriarty

Locals fear more lives will be lost unless works are urgently  done to make safety improvements to Finnegan’s Cross.in Kilcummin.

DEPUTATION: Cllr Marie Moloney brought local residents Tony Sugrue and his neighbour Tom O’Shea to a Killarney Municipal District meeting so they could air concerns about the lethal Finnegan's Cross junction.

The accident blackspot has been the scene of several serious accidents including a double fatality there in January 2020.

Elected councillors have been pushing for improvements works at the junction for years but it's been pushed back for various reasons including lack of funding, expired funding and land acquisition issues.

Frustrated by the lack of progress, Councillor Marie Moloney invited local residents to outline their concerns at Wednesday’s Killarney Municipal District Meeting.

“I could have filled the room with people spitting fire,” she said, explaining the frustration felt by people in the locality.

Retired Garda Tony Sugrue and his neighbour Tom O’Shea outlined their concerns and fears to elected councillors and members of Kerry County Council’s management executive.

Mr Sugrue, who said he was aware of two different fatal accidents in the area over the last four years, proposed that the junction coming from the Coolick side should be staggered and that the line of sight from the Lawlor’s Cross road should be extended.

During his Garda career he cited a similar issue that was prevalent in Donoughmore in County Cork and that a staggered junction eventually solved that problem.

All of the councillors gave their accounts of near misses and serious accidents in the area.

Cllr Donal Grady, who is a retired Fire Officer who worked in the Killarney district, witnessed the aftermath of several accidents there during his career.

“We are not doing enough, lives have been lost and there will be more lives lost,” he said.

Cllr Brendan Cronin said that recent road surface improvement works had actually “increased the speed of traffic" travelling towards the junction from the Lawlor’s Cross side.

“It is a very risky manoeuvre trying to cross the road there,” Cllr Cronin told the meeting, while Cllr John O’Donoghue called for a staggered junction in a similar proposition to the one made by Mr Sugrue.

Cllr Niall ‘Botty’ O’Callaghan offered to use his and his colleagues annual funding allocation to speed up works in the area.

“The locals feel nothing is being done,” Cllr Moloney added.

Killarney Municipal District Engineer, John Ahern said, in the short term, he will put "yellow bar road markings" on the approach roads but this job would require an extended spell of dry weather.

Other works in the area fell foul of very strict funding requirements. Money was allocated during previous road funding scheme allocations but the job requires land acquisition and the Council did not have the budget to both buy land and do the works under the one scheme.

He said he was very hopeful that additional funding will be made available this year under the same funding allocation. That round of funding is expected to be announced around February 15.

“It is our priority number one,” he said.

He praised locals who were engaging and receptive towards potential property acquisitions but warned that such moves take time.

Ahern was hopeful that progress would be made in the first months of this year.

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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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Philip is running over 100kms for Cancer charity

Local runner and charity fundraiser Philip Kissane is set for the biggest challenge of his career as he lines up for the Cork City Marathon on Sunday. Phillip has already […]

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Local runner and charity fundraiser Philip Kissane is set for the biggest challenge of his career as he lines up for the Cork City Marathon on Sunday.

Phillip has already completed four half marathons at various locations around Killarney – all in aid of Kerry Cancer Support Group – or the Cancer Bus as it popularly called.

This is the second time that Phillip has run four half marathon and an official race for the charity.

Back in 2021 he finished with 5km Run Killarney event but his finishing race this time around is over eight times the distance at 42kms.

“We are delighted with Philip’s continued fundraising support but also with his awareness raising for the charity,” Breda Dyland, Service Manager Kerry Cancer Support Trust.

“We are getting busier all the time and still get no statutory funding so are dependent on fundraisers like Philip’s to keep us on the road. We have just put our new wheelchair accessible bus on the Cork route so Philip’s funding will be going towards the operation of this vehicle.”

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