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Step into Spring weekend returns to Killarney National Park

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The Killarney National Park Education Centre has announced the return of the ‘Step into Spring’ – Céim Isteach san Earrach festival for 2026. Running from Friday, April 10, to Sunday, April 12, the programme features a series of free events designed to celebrate the season of growth and rejuvenation within the park grounds.

The weekend begins on Friday evening with an illustrated talk on the woodlands of Killarney National Park by Chris Barron, followed by a nocturnal nature ramble led by the education team. Saturday’s highlights include the annual Dawn Chorus guided walk and bird ringing demonstration starting at 5:45 am in Knockreer Demesne, led by Ed Carty, Dr Killian Kelly of MTU, and the SWI bird ringers.

Historical and botanical walks are also scheduled throughout the weekend. Dr Tracy Collins, OPW Archaeologist, will lead guided tours of Muckross Abbey on Saturday and Innisfallen Island on Sunday. Other expert-led sessions include a look at the spring flowers of Muckross Peninsula with Dr Therese Higgins, a tour of the Muckross Arboretum with former Park Superintendent Cormac Foley, and a talk on Ireland’s National Seed Bank by Dr Darren Reidy.

The festival concludes on Sunday with a boat trip to Innisfallen Island and a "Reading the Landscape" walk through Knockreer Demesne with Horacio Presto of the NPWS. While all events are free of charge, organizers have noted that pre-booking is essential due to limited capacity.

Step into Spring Schedule 2026

DateTimeEventFriday 10th7:30 pmWoodlands of Killarney Talk (Chris Barron)
8:45 pmNocturnal Nature Ramble (KNP Team)
Saturday 11th5:45 amDawn Chorus & Bird Ringing (Knockreer)
11:00 amHistory of Muckross Abbey (Dr Tracy Collins)
11:30 amSpring Flowers of Muckross (Dr Therese Higgins)
2:30 pmMuckross Arboretum Walk (Cormac Foley)
7:30 pmIreland’s National Seed Bank Talk (Dr Darren Reidy)
Sunday 12th10:00 amHistory of Innisfallen Talk (Dr Tracy Collins)
1:30 pmInnisfallen Boat Trip & Guided Walk
2:00 pmReading the Landscape (Horacio Presto)

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How will our Kerry TDs vote tomorrow?

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Tomorrow, Sinn Féin will be tabling a motion of no confidence against the Government after the protests that took place nationwide during the week.

Earlier today we asked our readers how would they vote in a no confidence motion against the Government?

Most of our readers said they would vote no confidence, while some said, yes they do have confidence in the Government.

One reader said: “Vote confidence. The only proper leadership over the last few days came from government. Courage came when needed despite how unpopular it looked in the moment. By contrast, opposition politicians wanted the country to burn to suit themselves”.

Another reader stated: “No confidence. Shambolic and heavy handed handling of protests this past week”.

However, some people didn’t have any confidence in either side with a reader saying: “No confidence in the no confidence! Different wings of the same bird! We need a complete overhaul of the political system”.

We asked the question to our 5 Kerry TDs before lunch-time today, asking them what their vote will be tomorrow.

We received one reply from Sinn Féin’s Kerry TD Pa Daly.

He will be voting no confidence in the Government tomorrow along with his party.

Other media outlets are reporting that Independent TD Danny Healy-Rae is undecided at the moment.

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Town centre-based software firm marks two years in business

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A Killarney-based software company is celebrating two years in business since expanding into the European market.

QT9 Software Ltd, which is located on Bohereencaol was established in 2024 as part of the company’s move to better serve customers across Europe.

The business is part of a US-based company founded 20 years ago in Chicago by Brant Engelhart.

Its Irish office is headed by Killarney resident Angela O’Sullivan, who serves as Operations Director.

QT9 Software currently employs four full-time staff members in Killarney and plans to increase that number by an additional two this year.

The company provides quality management software to businesses worldwide, with the Irish office helping to support European customers within their own time zones.

As part of its continued European expansion, the software company also opened a new data center in Amsterdam in 2025 to meet data storage and compliance requirements.

QT9 Software works with businesses that must meet quality standards such as ISO 9001 and ISO 13485, as well as industry-specific regulations across sectors, such as automotive, aerospace, food and life sciences.

Speaking about the milestone, Angela O’Sullivan said: “We’re very proud to have grown QT9 Software here in Killarney over the past two years. It has been a really positive journey so far, and we’re looking forward to continuing to build our team and support more customers across Europe.”

The company is also currently recruiting for an IT Systems Administrator, with details available in the appointments section on page 46.

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