News
Nathan’s Walk continues to challenge the stigma
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This weekend, Darkness Into Light fundraising events will take place across the globe in aid of the suicide and self-harm crisis centre, Pieta House. Here in Killarney, the annual walk is held in memory of the late Nathan O’Carroll who took his own life in 2007. He was just 14 years of age.
Nathan’s family, led by parents Denis and Marie, have run the event since its inception in 2011 and it has become one of the most successful fundraisers of its kind in the country. It’s great to see so many people coming together to show their support for the O’Carrolls, while also providing much-needed funds for a worthy charity in the process.
Perhaps the greatest achievement of the Darkness Into Light campaign has been the manner in which it has challenged the stigma attached to suicide and mental health. In the past, these issues were brushed under the carpet but people like Denis and Marie, who speak so openly and so candidly about their first-hand experience with suicide, have unquestionably shifted the dial in a major way. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that as a nation we’re completely comfortable with the topic, but things have certainly come a long way even in the past decade or so.
Unfortunately, many of us here in Killarney have been touched by suicide. Personally, I lost one of my best friends to suicide back in 2009. We’ve all suffered bereavements and every death is tragic in its own way, but there’s something especially difficult about a suicide. It’s so unexpected and so confusing. It really knocks you off your feet.
My main thought after it happened was that I wished I could have spoken to him about whatever was going on before it was too late.
I definitely found it hard to cope and the next few months were extremely tough. I really struggled with it, to be honest, and I eventually decided to get some counselling. It wasn’t an easy step to take but addressing the issue head-on and just talking made the world of difference.
At the time, I probably felt as though what I was going through was never going to end but looking back now I realise that it was just one minor chapter in a much bigger story. That’s why Darkness Into Light is so important. Firstly, it funds Pieta House, a charity that has provided assistance to over 30,000 people when they needed it most. Secondly, it has helped to force the subject of mental health out of the shadows and into the light.
When things are out in the open like they are now, and mental health issues become more widely accepted as simply an illness like any other, people are more likely to speak up about their problems. And that can only be a good thing.
Darkness Into Light takes place tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 4.15am, starting from the Killarney Racecourse. You can register at the Racecourse from 5pm-8pm today or online at dil.pieta.ie
News
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 […]

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.”
News
Ballymac charity vintage run on October 1
The Ballymac Vintage Club is hosting a classic car, tractor and Honda 50 run on October 1. The run will leave from and return to the Halfway Bar, Ballymac. Registration […]

The Ballymac Vintage Club is hosting a classic car, tractor and Honda 50 run on October 1.
The run will leave from and return to the Halfway Bar, Ballymac.
Registration begins at 9:30am and sets off at 11am.
“There will be two separate routes with one for tractors and the other for cars and motorbikes. Proceeds on the day are in aid of Castleisland Day Care Centre and we’ll have plenty of spot prizes to giveaway too in the morning,” said the club’s PRO Kieran Glover.
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