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THE PRINCE OF WALES & THE ROME ESCAPE LINE

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During the recent visit to Killarney House & Gardens by The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles met briefly with members of the Hugh O’Flaherty Memorial Committee.

To mark the Royal Visit and the 75th Anniversary of the creation of the WW2 Rome Escape Line by Killarney native Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, the Memorial Society presented the Prince with a boxed first edition copy of Major Sam Derry’s book “The Rome Escape Line”.

As a brief background to the book’s story, Memorial Society Chairman Jerry O’Grady brought Prince Charles through an album of images of the main characters from the time and from Nazi occupied Rome. These included an April 1945 copy of the London Gazette announcement by his grandfather King George VI, that Monsignor Hugh J O’Flaherty was being awarded a CBE (Commander of the British Empire), for his services to the Forces in Italy.

Jerry O’Grady said, “The Prince was delighted to accept this special edition of Sam Derry’s book and had a particular interest in the involvement of Sir D’Arcy Osborne, the then British Ambassador to the Holy See, saying that he had been a friend of his mother, Queen Elizabeth. He was also aware of the part played in this incredible story by Gestapo Chief Col. Herbert Kappler and quickly identified his image within the album”.

Jerry O’Grady added, “We were hoping that it might have been possible for the Prince and Duchess to pay a short visit to the nearby Hugh O’Flaherty Memorial, but Garda security considerations ruled this out.  However, we did show him some images of the Memorial and we were delighted to have had the opportunity to share our story with Prince Charles and introduce him to the Monsignor’s niece Pearl Dineen” 

Plans are being prepared to hold a special commemoration on June 4th, 2019 to mark the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Rome and the effective winding up of The Rome Escape Line. 

Further Information: oflahertysociety2008@gmail.com 

Photos Courtesy Hugh O’Flaherty Memorial Society.

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Paralympic legend Jason Smyth visits St Brendan’s

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Paralympic legend Jason Smyth visits St Brendan’s


World renowned Paralympian and world record holder Jason Smyth paid a visit to St Brendan’s College on Wednesday afternoon as part of a high profile visit to Killarney.


The six time Paralympic gold medallist spoke to second year students from St Brendan’s College, alongside students from neighbouring schools St Brigid’s Presentation Secondary School and Killarney Community College.
The interactive talk and interview took place ahead of World Sight Day, with the legendary sprinter sharing his personal journey with Stargardt disease, a genetic eye condition that left him legally blind at eight years old.
The Derry native, who holds the world record as the fastest Paralympian on earth over 100 metres, offered inspiring insights into overcoming physical adversity and achieving success at the highest level of world sport.
The school visit formed the opening leg of his Killarney schedule before he took centre stage later on Wednesday evening at The Killarney Plaza Hotel & Spa.
Smyth headlined An Evening with Paralympian Jason Smyth, an event organised by the Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce as part of its winter schedule, sponsored by AIB.

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Deerpark Retail Park placed on market for fifteen million euro

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Deerpark Retail Park in Killarney has officially been placed on the market with a guide price in excess of 15.4 million euro, excluding VAT.

International real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield has been appointed as the sole sales agent to handle the high-profile commercial property sale on behalf of its current owner, Investcorp.

Investcorp, a global investment management firm headquartered in Bahrain, had previously acquired the prominent shopping complex.


The sale represents one of the largest commercial property offerings to launch in County Kerry this year.

Located roughly 1.3 kilometres west of Killarney town centre, the scheme enjoys strong regional connectivity and sits adjacent to independently owned operations including a Tesco Extra store, a Tesco petrol filling station, JYSK, and Aldi.


Constructed in 2006, the development extends across approximately 10,482 square metres, or 112,835 square feet.

The scheme comprises a mix of modern retail warehouse units and a complementary neighbourhood centre, offering 13 individual units in total with Part Open and Part Bulky Use planning permission.

The units range in size from 94.6 square metres up to 1,994.9 square metres. Visitors have access to approximately 248 customer parking spaces across the commercial grounds.

The park is currently 100 per cent occupied by a strong line-up of established national and international brands.

Key retail tenants include Marks & Spencer, Boots, DID Electrical, Maxi Zoo, and Mountain Warehouse.

The neighbourhood centre element accommodates service and convenience operators such as Costa Coffee, Card Factory, and Salon B.

The first-floor accommodation is fully let to Peak Performance Academy, which provides additional rental diversification.

Additionally, the scheme benefits from an agreement with Tesla to operate eight electric vehicle charging bays within the customer car park.


Commercial figures show that the property generates a total current rental income of 1,326,458 euro per annum, with a weighted average unexpired lease term of 4.45 years to break options and 6.46 years to lease expiry.

Cushman & Wakefield noted that the quoted guide price of 15.4 million euro reflects a net initial yield of 7.83 per cent, assuming standard purchaser costs of 9.96 per cent.

The selling agents highlighted that the fully occupied asset offers investors an attractive income profile alongside scope for additional income generation through parking commercialisation.

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