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By Sean Moriarty

Killarney radio star Sean Hurley has been honoured at the annual Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) radio awards one month after his passing.

Mr Hurley was ‘Radio Kerry’s man in Killarney’ and worked for the station since it opened in July 1990.

He presented Radio Kerry’s ‘Kerrywide’, a collection of stories, songs, music and poems, from all parts of the county, every Sunday night.

The Tralee native but Killarney resident walked everywhere in town and was a regular sight on the streets.

He was never off duty; his recording equipment was always in hand, and supplied breaking news to the county broadcaster as he had a canny knack of being in the right place at the right time.

He died suddenly on September 8 the day after he got word from Radio Kerry that he had been shortlisted for an award in the 'Specialist Speech Programme' category for his work on a documentary about Kerry and Cork people who had direct family connections to 'The Titanic'.

That programme won bronze at last Friday’s awards and it is shared between Sean and his long-time producer and researcher Eileen Moynihan.

Radio Kerry’s manager Fiona Stack said it was a fitting way to remember the popular broadcaster.

“He was such an ambassador for Radio Kerry, but first and foremost he was a gentleman,” she told the Killarney Advertiser. “It gives us great consolation that he knew he was nominated before he passed away. These are not easy awards to win, he was up against RTE and BBC, and a nomination was a victory in itself.”