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Over 30,000 acorns gathered in Killarney National Park

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Over 30,000 acorns were gathered by National Park and Wildlife Service outdoor staff from the ancient Derrycunnihy native oak woodlands and Muckross Gardens, Killarney National Park.

POTTING: James Doherty with his team painstakingly potted or sewed 31375 acorns to be exact mainly Sessile Oak which are native to Ireland. The mammoth task will ensure that our native woodlands will continue for generations and centuries to come. Photo: Valerie O'Sullivan

FROM TINY ACORNS: Over 30000 acorns were gathered by National Park and Wildlife Service Outdoor Staff from the ancient Derrycunnihy native Oak woodlands and Muckross Gardens Killarney National Park. The work carried out was supervised by Horticulturalist Gerry Murphy (right) and gardener Stephen Moore (1st left). Also pictured were: James Doherty (2nd left) David Fitzgerald Sjoerd Van Wierst Cathal Sexton Brendan Lynch and Luke O'Sullivan. Photo: Valerie O'Sullivan

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HELPING: Sjoerd Van Wierst Brendan Lynch and Luke O'Sullivan helping to pot the acorns Photo: Valerie O'Sullivan

PAINSTAKING WORK: The NPWS outdoor staff in this photo include: James Doherty (left) David Fitzgerald and Sjoerd Van Wierst painstakingly potting some of the 31375 acorns. Photo: Valerie O'Sullivan

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The oak woodlands form the most extensive and oldest areas of native woodlands in Ireland and Northern Europe. It has the largest yew woodland, which occurs along the Muckross Peninsula.

The work carried out was supervised by horticulturalist Gerry Murphy and gardener Stephen Moore.

The outdoor staff painstakingly potted, or sewed, 31,375 acorns to be exact, mainly Sessile Oak, which is native to Ireland. The mammoth task will ensure that our native woodlands will continue for generations and centuries to come.

“What we have here is the forest of the future, germination will take place in early spring, and come summer time, the pots will be on benches outdoors for at least two more seasons before being planted out,” Stephen Moore, head gardener, said.

The precious acorns were all collected from registered collection areas of local provenance within Killarney National Park. Other plant species for future gathering will include, Yew, Birch, Holly and Alder.

The outdoor staff working in the National Park on site polytunnel included James Doherty, David Fitzgerald, Sjoerd van Wierst, Luke O’Sullivan, Brendan Lynch and Cathal Sexton. They also seeded English Oak, and Arbutus trees on Muckross Peninsula, one of the few places it grows in Europe. Horticulturist Gerry Murphy explained that they’re encouraging the planting of more native trees in Killarney National Park.

"Going back to the original owners of Muckross Estate, the Herberts of Muckross, they had their own extensive nursery for planting native trees," he said.

"Today the 300-year-old champion oak tree in the landscaped garden is still growing strong. Sometimes nature needs our help from time to time.”

Killarney National Park has over 610 hectares of the most important ancient native oak woodland in Ireland. Oak can live for over 500 years and one of the biggest oaks in Killarney National Park is the Royal Oak on the shores of Lough Leane. The yew woodland on the Muckross Peninsula is one of the three largest natural yew woods in Europe. The centrepiece iconic yew in Muckross Abbey is believed to be over 550-years-old.

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Paralympic legend Jason Smyth visits St Brendan’s

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Paralympic legend Jason Smyth visits St Brendan’s


World renowned Paralympian and world record holder Jason Smyth paid a visit to St Brendan’s College on Wednesday afternoon as part of a high profile visit to Killarney.


The six time Paralympic gold medallist spoke to second year students from St Brendan’s College, alongside students from neighbouring schools St Brigid’s Presentation Secondary School and Killarney Community College.
The interactive talk and interview took place ahead of World Sight Day, with the legendary sprinter sharing his personal journey with Stargardt disease, a genetic eye condition that left him legally blind at eight years old.
The Derry native, who holds the world record as the fastest Paralympian on earth over 100 metres, offered inspiring insights into overcoming physical adversity and achieving success at the highest level of world sport.
The school visit formed the opening leg of his Killarney schedule before he took centre stage later on Wednesday evening at The Killarney Plaza Hotel & Spa.
Smyth headlined An Evening with Paralympian Jason Smyth, an event organised by the Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce as part of its winter schedule, sponsored by AIB.

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Deerpark Retail Park placed on market for fifteen million euro

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Deerpark Retail Park in Killarney has officially been placed on the market with a guide price in excess of 15.4 million euro, excluding VAT.

International real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield has been appointed as the sole sales agent to handle the high-profile commercial property sale on behalf of its current owner, Investcorp.

Investcorp, a global investment management firm headquartered in Bahrain, had previously acquired the prominent shopping complex.


The sale represents one of the largest commercial property offerings to launch in County Kerry this year.

Located roughly 1.3 kilometres west of Killarney town centre, the scheme enjoys strong regional connectivity and sits adjacent to independently owned operations including a Tesco Extra store, a Tesco petrol filling station, JYSK, and Aldi.


Constructed in 2006, the development extends across approximately 10,482 square metres, or 112,835 square feet.

The scheme comprises a mix of modern retail warehouse units and a complementary neighbourhood centre, offering 13 individual units in total with Part Open and Part Bulky Use planning permission.

The units range in size from 94.6 square metres up to 1,994.9 square metres. Visitors have access to approximately 248 customer parking spaces across the commercial grounds.

The park is currently 100 per cent occupied by a strong line-up of established national and international brands.

Key retail tenants include Marks & Spencer, Boots, DID Electrical, Maxi Zoo, and Mountain Warehouse.

The neighbourhood centre element accommodates service and convenience operators such as Costa Coffee, Card Factory, and Salon B.

The first-floor accommodation is fully let to Peak Performance Academy, which provides additional rental diversification.

Additionally, the scheme benefits from an agreement with Tesla to operate eight electric vehicle charging bays within the customer car park.


Commercial figures show that the property generates a total current rental income of 1,326,458 euro per annum, with a weighted average unexpired lease term of 4.45 years to break options and 6.46 years to lease expiry.

Cushman & Wakefield noted that the quoted guide price of 15.4 million euro reflects a net initial yield of 7.83 per cent, assuming standard purchaser costs of 9.96 per cent.

The selling agents highlighted that the fully occupied asset offers investors an attractive income profile alongside scope for additional income generation through parking commercialisation.

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