Excitement is building in Killarney as the Scorchers Cheerleading Team, Code Black, have received a major boost ahead of next month’s All Star World Championships in Orlando.

Securing a prestigious bid, after taking home first place at their most recent competition, which allows them to bypass the preliminary ‘Battle Round’ and advance directly to the semi-finals of the All Star World Championships.

“Receiving a bid like this is recognition of the hard work, discipline and teamwork the squad has shown all season. said Katlyn Moynihan “It puts them in a strong position heading into the championships.”

The All Star World Championships brings together the very best teams from all over the world to compete and celebrate cheer. The judging panel, in Orlando, is made up of the most respected and experienced figures in global cheerleading, and whose expertise shape the sport at the highest level.

With the competition just weeks away, the athletes remain focused on refining their routine and strengthening their performance before proudly representing their club and Kerry in Florida next month. Now, they’re hoping the county will rally behind them, sharing their story, cheering them on, and celebrating these remarkable young athletes carrying the Kerry name with pride.

The team will also host a Fundraising Quiz Night on Friday, March 27 at the Killarney Avenue Hotel.

Teams of four can enter for €40; come along, enjoy the night and help this talented team turn their world championship dream into reality.

The team are continuing their fundraising drive ahead of the All Star World Championships in Orlando, with donations – big or small – welcomed through their iDonate page https://www.idonate.ie/crowdfunder/scorcherscheerleading.

A widely acclaimed exhibition on the origins and early years of Fianna Fáil in Kerry will opened at Killarney Library on Tuesday for a three-week period and will coincide with a free public lecture on the subject at the library on March 26.

This year marks the centenary of the foundation of the party in 1926 and the exhibition, presented by historian Owen O’Shea, focuses on how the party developed and grew in Kerry in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

The exhibition is called “Soldiers of Destiny, Fianna Fáil in Kerry 1926-1933” and is supported by a Commemorations Bursary from the Royal Irish Academy.

It was officially opened by An Taoiseach Micheál Martin recently at Tralee Library. Mr Martin said the exhibition “has provided a deep insight into the foundations and rapid growth of one of democratic Europe’s most successful political parties.”

Owen will deliver a talk on the same subject on Thursday, 26 March at Killarney Library at 7pm as part of the programme of lectures from the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society. The lecture is free and open to members of the public.

“The foundation of Fianna Fáil 100 years ago was a transformative moment in Irish politics and represented a new phase of Civil War politics in Ireland.

In this, its centenary year, I am presenting the story of the party in Kerry where its organisational and electoral successes were without parallel in this period,” said Owen O’Shea.

“Éamon de Valera’s party set about establishing a network of branches in Kerry with enormous speed and the Fianna Fáil vote in the constituency grew rapidly from 33% in 1927 to 68% in 1933.”

The seven TDs who represented Kerry during those years were Denis Daly, Fred Crowley, Tom McEllistrim, William O’Leary, Thomas O’Reilly and Jack Flynn.

Their stories are being shared for the first time as are many of the election posters and political material from the time.

“I am very grateful to the Royal Irish Academy for funding this exhibition and I hope it will attract anyone with an interest in Irish history and politics,” he added. It will be open at Killarney Library during library opening hours until March 31.