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Sam goes on tour to Fossa brother’s home place

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By Michelle Crean

There was fierce excitement and celebrations in Fossa at the weekend as the Sam McGuire finally made its way to the Clifford brother's home place.

Conor O'Mahoney, Jack Hallissey and Fionn Doyle, pictured with the Sam Maguire cup which the Clifford brothers took home to the Outback, Golden Nugget, Fossa on Friday night. Photo: Marie Carroll-O'Sullivan

Anna and Pat Coffey, welcome Sam Maguire home to the Outback, Golden Nugget Bar & Restaurant, Fossa. Photo: Marie Carroll-O'Sullivan

Paudie Clifford, together with Liam and Betty Walsh, pictured at the Outback, Golden Nugget Bar & Restaurant to welcome Sam Maguire home on Friday evening. Photo: Marie Carroll-O'Sullivan

Delighted to have Sam Maguire home in Fossa at the Outback, Golden Nugget Bar & Restaurant from l-r were: Caoimhe, Cillian and Aoife Giles. Photo: Marie Carroll-O'Sullivan

Taking Sam Maguire to the Outback at the Golden Nugget in Fossa from l-r were: David Clifford, Padraig O'Donoghue, Mossie Prendiville, Paudie Clifford and Padraig Devane. Photo: Marie Carroll-O'Sullivan

Michael Murphy (centre) pictured with Kerry footballers, Paudie and David Clifford at the Outback, Golden Nugget Bar & Restaurant on Friday evening with Sam Maguire. Photo: Marie Carroll-O'Sullivan

Home to Fossa GAA, The Golden Nugget Bar & Restaurant welcomed Sam Maguire on Friday night. Front row l-r were: Ethan Kennedy, Ciara Griffin and Susan O'Keeffe. Back row l-r were: Caroline and Mark Hallissey (owners), Sophie Dennehy, Emer Furlong, Nathan Counihan, Grainne Clifford and Con O'Sullivan. Photo: Marie Carroll-O'Sullivan

Welcoming Sam Maguire home to The Golden Nugget Bar & Restaurant on Friday evening clockwise from l-r were: Padraig Devane, Kevin McCarthy, Francis Moran, Bryan Myers, Lee Lenihan, Ryan Sheehan and Alan Buckley. Photo: Marie Carroll-O'Sullivan

Old school to Two Mile National School attended by the Clifford brothers, school friends welcome home Sam Maguire to the Outback at The Golden Nugget Bar & Restaurant, Fossa on Friday evening. Clockwise from left: Kevin Myers, Mick O'Connell, Padraig Devane, Eoin O'Connell, Paudie Clifford, Shane Kelly, David Clifford, Taghg Kelly, Colin Myers and Kenneth Clifford. Photo: Marie Carroll-O'Sullivan

SAM: The children and staff at Two Mile School were delighted to welcome past pupils Paudie and David Clifford and the Sam McGuire.

Senior Kerry footballers Paudie and David Clifford were elated to get the long awaited cup back on home soil first on Friday to Two Mile National School where they themselves attended as children.

Then it was off to the Outback at the Golden Nugget Bar & Restaurant later that evening where the atmosphere was electric as locals posed for photos with the brothers and Sam.

"Since the final whistle blew on July 24, staff and pupils wondered when they might see Paudie and David Clifford walk through the doors of Two Mile CNS with Sam – and it was certainly worth the wait," Stephanie O'Carroll, Class Teacher at Two Mile CNS, said.

"2014 was the last time Sam Maguire was in Kerry and at that time half of the pupils weren’t yet in school while the other half hadn’t even been born! On Friday they gathered in the hall a cacophony of colour, and the roar when the lads walked in with Sam. We’re hoping this homecoming will hold such a place for our pupils in their schooldays memories."

The goalpost where the brothers once practiced their frees and 45s at break-times still stand in the yard, she added.

"It was wonderful to welcome parents and members of the community to the school to share in the children’s excitement," Stephanie said.

"There were flags, headbands and Kerry jerseys of nearly every iteration. We had a fantastic morning, unperturbed by the showers of rain, as all classes waited patiently for their chance to have their photo taken with Sam. The children chatted eagerly to Paudie and David, about football in Two Mile, looking for tips and the ‘inside track’, no doubt hoping to follow in their footsteps."

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Fossa School says ‘bonjour’ to French classes

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Fossa National School is giving its pupils a headstart in learning a new language.

The school signed up to Language Sampler scheme as part of the ‘Say Yes to Languages’ initiative in primary schools organised by Post Primary languages Ireland in 2021. This is the school’s third year running the module.

Hélène Olivier-Courtney, the school’s French teacher and director of French For All Killarney School of French, covers ten schools in Kerry over the three terms.

The success of the initiative relies on an all-school approach and the active involvement of class teachers and management.

“The whole staff in Fossa certainly helped make this new journey a special and enjoyable experience for the children as we learnt French through art, songs, games and food tasting! This year, we also organised a catwalk on our last day. Our sixth-class students will have such a head start before secondary school and most importantly will have develop curiosity interest and love for the language,” said Hélène.

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Opinion: Silent majority needs to stand up and call out far-right hate

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By Chris Davies

Last Friday’s Dublin Riots should not have come as a surprise to anyone. It has been bubbling under the surface of Irish society for a good number of years now. The actions of a small minority last week was a culmination of years of racism, hatred and misinformation shared online by far-right groups.

Late on Friday night a disturbing WhatsApp voice note was doing the rounds on social media where a far-right actor could clearly be heard encouraging violence on the streets of Dublin. 

“’Seven o’clock, be in town. Everyone bally up, tool up…Any foreigner, just kill them”

Watching the Riots unfold on social media brought me back to when I was working in Dublin a number of years back. My morning commute from Skerries to the city centre involved a dart to Connolly Station followed by a short trip on the Luas to the Jervis. Every week, without fail, I would witness at least one racial slur or attack on someone who didn’t fit the narrow minded view of what an Irish person should look, dress or talk like. I don’t know if it is the eerie silence of public transport that seems to amplify the situation, but that’s where I found it to be most common. The abuse was usually perpetrated by a group of youths or someone who was clearly under the influence of drink or drugs. The victims were always of colour, often dressed smartly enough to presume they were on their way, or coming from work. A far cry from the perpetrators who you could tell were roaming aimlessly around the city looking for trouble.

While shameful to admit, I would often look on and watch the abuse unfold, only to spend the rest of my work day thinking about the poor person who was told to “F*&K off back to your own country”. I would sit at my desk questioning why I didn’t step in and say something. There were one or two occasions where I did step in and call it out, but not nearly often enough.  

This disgusting behaviour is much more visible in our cities. Since moving back to Killarney I wouldn’t witness as much direct abuse on the streets but working with the Killarney Advertiser I would be tuned in to local news and some of the comments I read on our social platforms are far worse than anything I witnessed during my time in Dublin.  

There is a significant group of people in Ireland that I would call the ‘silent majority’. We are not as outspoken on issues we care about. We tend to observe and consume the news quietly, and only speak of our support or disgust on certain issues in close circles, too afraid we might offend someone. The problem with this is that we are leaving these far-right groups unchallenged, to become louder, more aggressive and more hostile as seen last week. 

The past week Sinn Fein and the Social Democrats have been busy in the media expressing no confidence in Justice Minister Helen McEntee and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris but I would suggest that there is a large percentage of the Irish population that bears some of the responsibility. We witness racism in our communities and online every day and we need to start speaking up and calling it out. 

On the issue of immigration in Killarney, there is no doubt resources are being stretched and our tourism industry is suffering as a result of an influx of immigration. Locals have also raised concerns in relation to the placement of so many male international protection applicants in one setting and we only have to look back on the incident in Hotel Killarney last year where a number of men were involved in a harrowing stabbing incident to see how that played out.  

However, being concerned around immigration is not the same as anti-immigration. It is important to raise these issues with local representatives and Kerry TD’s but also to separate ourselves from far-right groups who are only interested in encouraging violence.  

The anarchy we witnessed last week should never be the answer and research shows it is completely unnecessary. Harvard University have looked at hundreds of protests over the last century, and found that non-violent campaigns are twice as likely to achieve their goals as violent campaigns and that it only takes around 3.5% of the population actively participating in the protests to ensure serious political change.

Let’s continue to protest peacefully for issues we believe in, but stand up and speak out against people and movements in our community that incite hate and violence. 

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