News
Schools compete for pitch and putt title
By Michelle Crean
A pitch and putt competition which began in St Oliver's National School 14 years ago is now gaining momentum with other local schools taking part.
The Lissivigeen team who were the overall winners.
Liam Quirke won Best Overall.
Cora O'Sullivan won the Best Girl Overall.
Padraig Quill First Fifth Class.
Winner Liam Quirke pictured with the Brendan Walshe Shield.
The Lissivigeen team who were the overall winners.
Liam Quirke won Best Overall.
Cora O'Sullivan won the Best Girl Overall.
Padraig Quill First Fifth Class.
Winner Liam Quirke pictured with the Brendan Walshe Shield.
Back in 2007, St Oliver’s pupil Leon Hennessy asked if the school could start a pitch and putt competition.
After much perseverance from Leon, teacher Noel O'Sullivan asked his colleague Tommy Galvin, who they dubbed as their ‘Minister of Sports’, and it was organised for June 2008.
As part of the competition the winner would receive the Brendan Walshe Shield in honour of the former principal of St Oliver’s.
"Over the years we have had various pupils win the shield who have gone on to excel in pitch and putt and golf, including John Kerrisk, Ewan MacIndoe, Stephen and Conor McCarthy, and Brian McCarthy who won it in Fourth Class and Sixth Class, denied a trio of victories by the lockdown in 2020, when he was in Fifth Class," Noel told the Killarney Advertiser.
"Tommy Galvin retired last year but we had a regular chat about opening up the competition to other schools. So this year I decided to make this idea happen and though the idea was thrown out there late enough in May, Lissivigeen, the Monastery and the Gaelscoil were in a position to enter a team in June.
"We had a very high standard of pitch and putt, and the winning score came from a birdie on the last, care of the overall individual winner, Dara Wickham of Lissivigeen NS. That birdie handed Lissivigeen the overall victory."
It was decided to name the shield for this new inter schools' competition the ‘Tommy Galvin Shield’ as it would be a fitting recognition of Tommy’s work promoting pitch and putt, and golf in the primary schools in Killarney.
"Tommy was surprised and delighted with the news which we sprung on him at the prize giving. He encouraged the boys and girls present to give pitch and putt, and golf a go, and to try new sports over the summer."
Tommy is captain of the Killarney Golf Club and supports an excellent youth set up in the club, he added.
"The Killarney Golf Club also has seen a huge growth in girls playing and we were delighted to have three girls compete in the pitch and putt competition. Cora O’Sullivan won the Best Girl prize which makes me a very proud father!
"Hopefully next year the Tommy Galvin Shield will feature more schools and that this is the beginning of a hotly contested competition over the coming years!"
He thanked Deerpark Pitch and Putt Club for their sponsorship.
News
New bio-energy therapy clinic open on Beech Road
Have you ever wondered what happens when you deal with an emotionally charged situation or experience high levels of stress daily? Your mind sends alarm signals to your body which […]
Have you ever wondered what happens when you deal with an emotionally charged situation or experience high levels of stress daily?
Your mind sends alarm signals to your body which must adapt to this emergency mode.
Muscles tense up, heart beats faster, vessels get compressed, blood pressure rises, body retains water etc. Most of us subject our bodies to this emergency mode without being aware of it.
Irina Sharapova MH has just opened a new Herbal Medicine and Bio-Energy Therapy clinic at Horan’s Health Store on Beech Road by appointment each Friday.
Both Herbal Medicine and Bio-Energy Therapy, support the body’s natural ability to heal.
During a herbal consultation the therapist suggests necessary corrections to the client’s diet and lifestyle aiming at reducing the elements that contribute to inflammation, stiffness and pain, and increasing the elements that aid healing.
Then they prepare herbal remedies specific to the client. Client’s medications are also examined to ensure that there are no conflicts with the herbal treatment.
Herbs support healing by relaxing the body and improving sleep; they are used to treat various ailments from digestive and reproductive issues to insomnia and migraines.
Bio-Energy therapy is a complementary non-contact treatment that helps to release tension from the body caused by injuries, traumas or stress.
During a Bio-Energy session the therapist scans the client’s body for signals that indicate that the energy is not flowing smoothly – these are the areas that have reacted to the Client’s emotions of fear, worry, hurt, anger, sadness etc.
The therapist “clears out” these areas until the energy flow feels smooth. Bio-Energy is helpful in the treatment of physical and emotional pain and other ailments.
It is suitable for people who do not like massages and other treatments that are performed directly on the body.
Disclaimer: Alternative therapies are not substitutes for medical advice.
For further information or to schedule an appointment please contact Irina at 086 9878941 or via email at herbsandtherapy@gmail.com. Website: https://www.herbsandtherapies.ie
News
Spotted an otter lately?
Users of Killarney National Park are being asked to keep an eye out for otters – one of the country’s rarest mammals. The National Parks and Wildlife Service IS launching […]
Users of Killarney National Park are being asked to keep an eye out for otters – one of the country’s rarest mammals.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service IS launching a new National Otter Survey and has teamed up with researchers in Queen’s University Belfast and the National Biodiversity Data Centre to collect and collate otter records from right across the country.
The new survey will map otters and compare results to the last survey, carried out in 2010-11.
NPWS teams will be looking for characteristic signs of otters at over 900 sites throughout the country, including rivers, lakes and the coast.
Members of the public are asked to keep their eyes peeled for otters and to get involved in this national survey by adding their sightings to the survey results.
Otters are mostly active at night and most typically seen at dawn or dusk. They may be spotted from bridges swimming in rivers or along the rocky seashore.
Otters are brown, about 80 cm (30 inches) long and can be seen gliding along the water surface before diving to show their distinctive long pointed tail which is almost as long again as their body.
Dr Ferdia Marnell, Mammal Specialist with the NPWS, said:
“The otter is one of Ireland’s most elusive animals so getting as many people involved in the survey as possible will be important if we are to get good coverage. Otters are rarely seen, so instead, over the coming months, NPWS staff will be searching for otter tracks and signs.”
Dr Ferdia Marnell, Mammal Specialist with the NPWS, said:
“Otters have large, webbed feet and leave distinctive footprints, but these can be hard to find. Fortunately, otters mark their territory using droppings known as spraints. Otters deposit spraints conspicuously on boulders along riverbanks, logs on lake shores or the rocky high tide line. Spraints can be up to 10 cm or 3 inches long, black through to white but commonly brown, tarry to powdery in consistency and straight or curved making them tricky to identify. Luckily, they commonly contain fish bones and crayfish shells which are the otters favoured diet making them easy to tell apart from the droppings of birds and other mammals.”
The otter and its habitat are protected under the EU Habitats Directive which requires that Ireland reports on the status of the species every six years. The next report is due in 2025.
The otter suffered significant declines across much of continental Europe during the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s but remained widespread in Ireland. The most recent Irish survey (2010-2011) found signs of otter from all counties of Ireland and from sea-shore to mountain streams.
The otter hunts in water, but spends much of its time on land, and as a result is vulnerable to river corridor management such as culverting, dredging and the clearance of bankside vegetation, as well as pollution, pesticides, oil spillages, coastal developments and road traffic.
New bio-energy therapy clinic open on Beech Road
Have you ever wondered what happens when you deal with an emotionally charged situation or experience high levels of stress...
Spotted an otter lately?
Users of Killarney National Park are being asked to keep an eye out for otters – one of the country’s...
Kerry International Film Festival presents Youth Filmmakers Showcase in Killarney
Kerry International Film Festival (KIFF) will collaborate with SONAR, a Killarney-based youth film group, and ELF (Emerging Limerick Filmmakers) to...
Listry Community Counci honoured Local resident Tony Darmody with the presentation of the O’Shea Award at its recent Annual General...
Killeen House Hotel changes hands
The Killeen House Hotel, an award-winning 23-bedroom hotel in Aghadoe, Killarney, has announced its sale to Killarney businessman Patrick Eviston,...
