A woman who dedicated much of her life to ensuring Killarney was a special place to live in and visit every Christmas is being remembered in the town in a very special way this festive season.

The feature star on the spectacular Tree of Light in Killarney takes on an extra special meaning this year as it will be dedicated to the late Rena Kennelly, the gifted artist who designed and created the magnificent Christmas crib in St Mary’s Cathedral for over 50 years.

She had been at the helm of that project every Christmas season since the Church was refurbished in the 1970s and her work was created using life-sizes figures, a striking stable full of animals, an artificial lake, fir trees and moss which she sourced herself.

Fittingly, she also helped create the state-of-the-art new crib – designed for a new generation – which was unveiled last year and she was also responsible for the design of the wonderfully atmospheric sacred space in the cathedral.

Rena, who passed away last March, lived in Aghadoe, Killarney and formerly at Cleeny, Killarney and Ballymullen, Tralee.

For her incredible dedication, she received the coveted Benemerenti Medal in August 2022 which is the highest honour Pope Francis can bestow on a person for services to the Church. She was also honoured with a civic award by Kerry County Council.

Rena worked in her earlier years as a nurse in Scotland before she met the dashing Colm Kennelly, a Trinity graduate and a fine footballer who was the youngest member of the Kerry team that won the 1953 All-Ireland.

Colm then worked as a civil engineer for the ESB in Tralee and affairs of the heart brought her home. They later moved to Guyana in South America before returning home again four years later when Colm accepted an offer to join Kerry County Council, later to become county engineer.

Predeceased by Colm, Rena is mum to daughters Shirley and Kate and son Mark.
She is greatly missed too by her daughter-in-law Paula, sons-in-law John Joe Clifford and Dan O’Driscoll, sister Margaret Moriarty, brother Gene O’Sullivan, grandchildren Jason, Kenneth, Ciara, Colm, Ailbhe, Justine and Catherine and great-grandchildren Roan and Ben.

Chairman of the Christmas in Killarney Committee, Cllr Niall Kelleher, said the star dedication was a fitting tribute to a wonderful woman who is very fondly remembered in the town.
“Rena was a wonderfully creative and gifted woman and we all saw her remarkable work in the cathedral every year,” he said.

The Tree of Light and the feature star will be officially switched on after 6.15pm Mass in St Mary’s Cathedral on Monday, 9December 2).
The 1,000ft Californian Redwood tree is adorned with over 3,500 energy efficient bulbs.
In previous years the Tree of Light star was dedicated to the memory of Johnny Hickey and Yvonne Quilll for their dedication to the Tidy Towns campaign and Paul Coghlan, who is a former President of Killarney Chamber of Commerce.