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Students paying €3,500 despite closed universities

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By Sean Moriarty

Parents of university going children are up in arms with on-campus accommodation providers who are charging for full terms despite universities being closed. Thousands of students have not attended physical university lectures since Christmas. More have not attended colleges since last October.

Accommodation providers are still charging parents for facilities that are not being used.

The situation only applies to first year students who had to pre-pay for accommodation for the first term between September and January.

Second term rates are now payable to ensure student accommodation from now until May or June.

Parents who have already paid over €3,500 for on-campus between September and January are now expected to fork out the same amount for the rest of the school year despite students not attending the school.

Local councillor Niall ‘Botty’ O’Callaghan is one of many parents affected. He is son is a student at the University of Limerick but has not been on campus since last October.

The councillor now faces a €3,700 bill to cover the remainder of the year despite the fact the university is closed and there is no immediate evidence on when they might reopen.

“I have taken this up with the university but they say it's not their problem as they sub-contract their student letting,” he told the Killarney Advertiser. “That is not right and they know it. They need to return this money to families. I know one local man who has two sons in college – he has been caught for €3,500 twice. Every day we see Higher Education Minister Simon Harris spouting about other departments but he does not want to do anything about this and this is his department."

Cllr O’Callaghan is going to raise the issue at the next meeting of Kerry County Council in an effort to force the issue onto the national agenda.

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Joey Sheehan wins historic sixth Dr Crokes Captain’s Prize

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Accomplished golfer Joey Sheehan scooped the Dr Crokes GAA Club Golf Society Captain’s Prize for the sixth time following the outing at The Killeen Course at Killarney Golf Club on Friday.

Society Captain Niall Botty O’Callaghan and his mother Eileen O’Callaghan hosted the prizegiving function in The Failte Hotel, where Joey was presented with a painting of the fourth hole at Killeen by local artist and Dr Crokes member Paul Downey.


Joey Sheehan won his first Dr Crokes Captain’s prize back in 1997, which was the start of an historic four-in-a-row.

He collected his fifth Captain’s prize in 2006 before adding his sixth with the 2026 title last Friday.

Over the years, he has also won two Dr Crokes Presidents prizes, numerous other society outings, and the Eddie Barry Memorial Cup three times as player of the year.


The prize giving function in The Failte featured speeches from society officer Brendan Keogh, Captain Niall Botty O’Callaghan, and overall winner Joey Sheehan.

During the speeches, a number of recently deceased local people and others from recent years associated with the Dr Crokes Golf Society were remembered.

Among those fondly remembered were Brian O’Regan, John O’Mahony, Ewan MacIndoe, Gerry Collins, Paudie O’Callaghan, Malachy Walsh, and Seani McCarthy.


The Dr Crokes Captains Prize was once again sponsored by Mike Buckley of Kerry Coaches. Following overall winner Joey Sheehan, the full list of prize winners included John Lynch in second, Finian Moran in third, and Liam Hartnett in fourth. Sean Brosnan took fifth place, followed by Maurice O’Donoghue in sixth, John O’Leary in seventh, Paudie Sheahan in eighth, Colm Galvin in ninth, and Eamonn Fitzgerald in tenth.

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Discussion on Irish-American literary voices

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The second series of talks for the new ‘Summer in Killarney’ festival took place at Killarney House in Killarney National Park, focusing on the lives and work of literary figures F. Scott Fitzgerald and Mary Lavin.

The event, titled ‘The Great Irish-American Voices of F. Scott Fitzgerald & Mary Lavin’, featured presentations by authors Gráinne Hurley, writer of Gratefully and Affectionately: Mary Lavin and The New Yorker, and Killarney native Patrick O’Sullivan Greene, author of Gatsby: Death of an Irishman.

Following their presentations, both authors joined Irish Times journalist Ronan McGreevy for a panel conversation exploring the impact of both writers on American literature.

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