News
Olympians “row-in” as goodwill ambassadors mental health fest

Killorglin's two Olympians have rowed-in with their support for the 2021 Kerry Mental Health & Well-being Fest by coming on board as ambassadors for the event.
Taking place from tomorrow (Saturday) to next Saturday (October 16), Monika Dukarska and Aileen Crowley, who recently competed for Ireland in the rowing at the Tokyo Games, are asking people of all ages to get involved in the festival for the good of their mental health.
The Kerry Mental Health and Well-being Fest aims to create awareness of, and schedule events that empower people to engage with, the Five Ways to Wellbeing – Connect | Give | Take Notice | Keep Learning | Be Active.
Monika Dukarska said one of the Five Ways to Well-being was of particular benefit to her during her Olympic preparations.
"When things were getting tough with selection or training sessions, I was journaling and writing down things that went well rather than putting pressure on myself constantly to perform. I was picking very small targets or things that I enjoyed about my day to detach from the pressure of performing all the time. That worked for me superbly. It gave me things to enjoy that I wouldn’t necessarily have taken notice of before.”
The Olympic Rowers, as women in sport, are delighted to see that many of the events during the Kerry Mental Health and Well-being Fest will be geared towards women and girls.
"I can only see a workplace environment from a sporting perspective and I’m definitely aware that it is different for women, from what I’ve noticed in sport," Aileen Crowley, from Killorglin Rowing Club and Rowing Ireland, said.
"So, to see female-specific events is fantastic because there is a difference, unfortunately, in most workplaces between men and women, and for kids from an early age up to adulthood, but that is starting to balance out.”
WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY
Organised by an interagency steering group, the Kerry Mental Health and Well-being Fest is held annually to highlight World Mental Health Day October 10.
The organising committee is a collaboration between Connecting for Life Kerry, Healthy Kerry, Kerry County Council, the HSE, NEWKD, SKDP, Kerry Mental Health Association, Jigsaw Kerry, Munster Technological University/Kerry, and Kerry Volunteer Centre.
The Chair of the Steering Committee and Resource Officer for Suicide Prevention in Kerry, Donagh Hennebry, added that "wellbeing is when you’re feeling good and functioning well".
"Our event ambassadors know that it’s not just about being in good physical condition, but it crucially includes the state of your mental health. We are grateful to Monika Dukarska and Aileen Crowley for sharing their knowledge and experience with everyone involved in the 2021 Kerry Mental Health and Well-being Fest.”
Visit HealthyKerry.ie to see the full event schedule.
All events are free, registration is required for some activities and can be done by contacting the organiser directly or use the registration links provided in the brochure.
News
Jessie Buckley to perform live on RTE this Friday 22nd September

This Culture Night, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh will present an hour-long live music and arts programme from Dún Lúiche in the heart of the Donegal Gaeltacht at 7pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
Actress and singer Jessie Buckley has been added to the list of stellar musicians who will perform with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra on the night. Jessie will perform a special rendition of a Sinéad O’Connor song in tribute to the late artist.
Jessie commented: “I am very honoured to return to Culture Night 2023 to remember Sinéad O Connor with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Sinéad was such a huge influence on so many women in Ireland and across the world, her courage, her mind, her politics and her intense beauty and soul. She was a warrior to humanity. I remember hearing her for the first time and feeling her uncompromising need to connect and affect. Recognising what couldn’t be said and speaking it out loud. I am so grateful for all her fire and all her love. It is such a privilege to return to Ireland for RTÉ Culture Night in Donegal to sing a song of gratitude for Sinéad and her family and friends.”
Other artists performing with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra include The Murder Capital, R&B singer and 2FM Rising star Aby Coulibaly and Irish-based Ukrainian musician Olesya Zdorovetska.
Friday 22nd September, 7pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
News
N22 Killarney to Faranfore road further delayed
The revealing of the preferred route corridor for the construction of the new Killarney to Farranfore road has been delayed – again. Four potential routes for the N22 Farranfore-Killarney project […]

The revealing of the preferred route corridor for the construction of the new Killarney to Farranfore road has been delayed – again.
Four potential routes for the N22 Farranfore-Killarney project were identified and were put out to public consultation in May 2021. These have now been whittled down to just one.
It was previously promised that the preferred route would be published late last year.
This dragged on in to the Spring and there is still no sigh of the preferred route being revealed.
A recent Kerry County Council meeting a council official explained that there are further funding requirements to allow the council complete various reports and investigations required before the road can move to its next phase.
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