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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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World Rally Champion Phil Mills’ Killarney visit

Former World co-driving champion Phil Mills will be one of the guests of honour at a special Killarney and District Motor Club event next month. The club is celebrating Prodrive’s […]

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Former World co-driving champion Phil Mills will be one of the guests of honour at a special Killarney and District Motor Club event next month.

The club is celebrating Prodrive’s association with the Rally of the Lakes on October 14.

The legendary British motorsport preparation firm was responsible for building some of the most iconic associated with the local rally.

The celebration, which will raise funds for the Jack and Jill Foundation, will be hosted by the voice of Irish motorsport Alan ‘Plum’ Tyndall.

Welshman Mills, who won the 2003 World Rally Championship, alongside Petter Solberg has confirmed his attendance at the Killarney Racecourse-based event.

He is just one of many superstars attending the showcase.
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“Accompanying the stars will be a collection of iconic Prodrive machinery, ranging from the BMW E30 M3, all the way through to the Subaru Group A and World Rally Cars the 1990s and early 2000s,” said Killarney and District Motor Club vice chairman and organiser Mike Shea.

“All proceeds of this event will go directly to the Jack & Jill foundation helping provide support and special care to children across the country and is a once in a lifetime event.”

This event is in association with: Lyons of Limerick; C.Wharton Tool Hire Ltd; BG Motors Ltd; Castleisland Tyre Centre; Aherns Motor Group; Reen’s Rathmore Peugeot; KC Print and Moriarty’s Central Car Sales

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National Park Autumn talks series 2023

The National Parks and Wildlife Service will run a series of talks on Thursday nights in October and November. Beginning on October 5 until November 16 the six-meeting programme will […]

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The National Parks and Wildlife Service will run a series of talks on Thursday nights in October and November.

Beginning on October 5 until November 16 the six-meeting programme will cover everything for the nature within the national park to the history of Killarney and its surrounding areas.

The opening lecture, by the NPWS’s Eamon Meskell will tell the story of the White-Tailed eagle in Killarney.

The following week, local historian, Owen O’Shea will deliver a speech on the Civil War in Kerry.

The final October talk is scheduled for October and its topic is the fungi growing in the park.

The lectures resume in November, on November 2, John Breen will talk about the various ant species in the park, the following week will feature a talk on the McShain family’s contribution to the town.

The final meeting, on November 16 covers the Blasket Islands, past present and future.

All events take place at Killarney House at 8pm – free admission but limited seating.

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