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Tribute to motor club stalwart John Flynn

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By Sean Moriarty

With John Flynn, there was one golden rule: if something was worth doing at all it was worth doing right.

This is how the popular Barleymount man is being remembered this week by his friends and colleagues in Killarney and District Motor Club.

John passed away on Monday night after a relatively short illness.

He will be very much missed by his daughters Kate and Sinéad, son-in-law Kevin, Sinéad's partner Kevin, granddaughter Isla, sisters Mary (O'Meara) and Sheila (Hickey), mother-in-law and Eithne Tarrant.

His colleagues in the club behind such major events like the Rally of the Lakes and The Killarney Historic Rally will also miss the man who gave so much to local motorsport.

He was unable to attend this year’s Rally of the Lakes in May as he was too sick but the club did not forget him either on the occasion of its biggest event of the year.

Each year KDMC present the sought after Silver Wheel Award to the person who has gone above and beyond in the support of motorsport in the county.

When John Flynn was announced as the 2022 recipient at the event’s prizegiving ceremony at the Gleneagle Hotel in May, everybody present was in agreement that he was a deserving winner.

He is best remembered for two reasons within rally circles. He was always the first man on duty on any given event as he operated the time control at a rally start and he was always the last man to finish in his role as Car Accountability officer.

His dedication to the job meant that Rally Control always had the most up-to-the-minute figures in terms of withdrawals and retirements, crucial information for operational and emergency reason.

His radio call sign "all accounted for” in his soft and gentle tones was reassuring for those in the rally office that needed to know the whereabouts of anything up 160 rally cars at any given moment.

And such was the nature of the job, he was always the last man to finish and always put in the longest shift of any person working on an event.

“In order to start his count with certainty he always insisted on personally manning the first control out of Parc Ferme and throughout the remainder of the rally one could rely on clear accurate reports from the start and finish of every stage, right through to final control and when each successive figure was transmitted, the message "all accounted for" would invariably follow,” his friend and motor club colleague Mike Marshall said.

“John’s accuracy and dependability as Car Accountability was widely recognised throughout the Munster-based clubs and most called on his services in that role for their own events.”

Outside of motorsport he ran a successful plumbing business.

“John started his working life as a milking machine fitter with Westphalia, whose Irish headquarters was then in Castleisland, not far from his home near Scartaglin,” added Mike.

“When Westphalia moved to Cork, John decided to continue on his own in the plumbing and heating sector and the same attention to detail which characterised every aspect of what John took on was evident in the quality of his work.”

Following Requiem Mass at the Prince of Peace Church, Fossa on Thursday morning, John was laid to rest at Aghadoe Lawn Cemetery.

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Con O’Leary: Killarney loses a vibrant and popular personality

Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce has led the tributes to the late Con O’Leary, an extremely popular and very successful businessman in the town, who passed away in the […]

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Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce has led the tributes to the late Con O’Leary, an extremely popular and very successful businessman in the town, who passed away in the early hours of Sunday.

Con was a vibrant and popular personality in Killarney where he operated The Laurels on Main Street, a thriving bar and restaurant, which he inherited following the passing of his father, Thado.
The business organisation said from a social perspective, The Laurels became the beating heart of the town and it was a landmark at the Market Cross in the same way as Clery’s clock was in the capital city.
Chamber said Con’s passing really marks the end of an era as he was one of a golden age of inspirational local business people who developed and built Killarney, through hard work, bravery and great commercial flair, and helped create the wonderful tourist attraction and holiday destination it is today.
“Con was very proud of Killarney and he played a very active part in progressing the town at many levels.
“He was a man that was never short of great ideas and his contribution to the business life of the town and as a director of Killarney Race Company was immense,” Chamber said.
“He was ahead of his time in many respects with the introduction by what became known as “the singing lounge” many years ago and The Laurels always led by example through its successes in the annual Killarney Looking Good competition”.
The business representative organisation noted that the O’Leary family has always been very supporting of the town and Con’s daughter, Kate, was a very dynamic Chamber President and is still a very valued member of the executive.
Chamber expressed deep sympathy to Con’s wife, Anne, children Kate, Niall, Tara and Lorna, sons-in-law, grandchildren, sisters, relatives and friends as well as the dedicated staff in The Laurels, past and present, who Con always had great time for and a great rapport with.

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All Roads Lead To Kerry For National Road Safety Conference

Kerry County Council is to host a two-day road safety conference at the INEC Killarney on May 28 and 29. The ‘Safer Roads’ road safety conference is an inter-agency event […]

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Kerry County Council is to host a two-day road safety conference at the INEC Killarney on May 28 and 29.

The ‘Safer Roads’ road safety conference is an inter-agency event focused on improving road safety, reducing traffic-related incidents, and sharing knowledge and best practices for safer road use. It encompasses various strategies and efforts across multiple domains, including road design, engineering, enforcement, forensic collision investigation, technology, education, collision trends, occupational driving, cycling and scooting, e-mobility, active & sustainable travel and on-road events.

In addition to this, AI, Virtual Reality and Driver Simulation will play a significant role at the conference, in improving safety by predicting and preventing accidents, optimizing traffic, and aiding the development of autonomous vehicles.

This ‘Safer Roads’ conference is a non-public event where road safety professionals, speakers and service providers from across Ireland, other EU countries and the UK will attend, including transportation experts, government and local authority officials, roads policing and vehicle inspection agencies, road safety advocates, educators and promoters, collision responders, cycling bodies and community safety networks.

Kerry County Council’s Road Safety Officer Declan Keogh said:
“Road safety has evolved over the years to a much broader scope, in terms of e-mobility, sustainability, technology and engineering for instance. It’s not just about the road or the vehicle anymore, but also about how technology, human behaviour, enforcement, and education intersect to reduce risks and prevent collisions. The ‘Safer Roads’ conference will involve and include every branch of the road safety tree, right across the board, and in doing so, we aim to increase road safety awareness, improve road user behaviour and decrease the collisions and carnage we see on our roads every day,”

The two-day conference also provides an opportunity for exhibitors to attend, and interested state bodies, businesses and service providers are invited to exhibit at the event to showcase their products and services and engage with delegates and officials at the conference.

Further information about the conference and how to register or exhibit can be found here. https://www.kerrycoco.ie/safer-roads-road-safety-conference/

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