News
UK specialists train fire crews to prevent future Park devastation

A specialist UK company spent the week training local fire staff to help prevent a repeat of the 2021 devastating fire in Killarney National Park.
Staff within Killarney National Park began training with Rob Gazzard who is a chartered forester and surveyor with international experience in forestry, contingency planning, incident management and wildfires.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) purchased vehicles fitted with water pumps, and with the latest technology including thermal surveillance, drone operator and helicopter on standby, it will ensure the response from emergency crews is immediate.
In April 2021, fires tore through Killarney National Park causing extensive damage.
Up to one third of the Park - approx. 2,500 hectares – was scorched with flora and fauna wiped out.
Some fires came as close as 10 metres to a church and school in the Black Valley area.
Fire crews from five different districts concentrated on the area which also saw properties under threat.
Fires also became a real threat for The Oak Woods but fire fighters managed to avert danger.
Firefighters and the Emergency Services as well as volunteers went to heroic efforts to bring the blaze under control.
The Park was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1982 and forms part of a Special Area of Conservation. There were 1.7m visitors to Killarney National Park in 2022, with 306,000 visiting Killarney House and Gardens, 106,000 of whom were cyclists.
It is of high ecological value because of the quality, diversity, and extensiveness of many of its habitats and the wide variety of species that they accommodate. It also has the most extensive covering of native forest remaining in Ireland.
“We are liaising with four international groups on best practices, early smoke and fire detection appliances capable of spotting a fire outbreak, will ensure our staff and Kerry County Council Fire Services will be able to respond and prevent a repeat of the 2021 devastation in the Park, when over 2,500 hectares were destroyed," said Regional Manager of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Southern Division, Eamonn Meskell.
"NPWS management and staff meet regularly with the fire services and a detailed safety plan of the Park is ready.
“A helicopter company is on retainer, in the event of another fire it will carry specialised Bambi buckets, capable of delivering water for aerial firefighting.”
News
Fassbender ready for second Le Mans appearance
Local Hollywood A-lister Michael Fassbender is in the final preparation stages for his second appearance at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. The iconic endurance race is celebrating its […]

Local Hollywood A-lister Michael Fassbender is in the final preparation stages for his second appearance at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The iconic endurance race is celebrating its 100th edition next weekend.
The Fossa star has already arrived in the famous French twon where he is involved in a week-long series of engagements including drivers’ parades, autograph sessions and more serious appointments like car safety checks, practice and qualifying.
Like last year, when he finished 16th in the LMGTE Am class, Fassbender has been entered in to the event by the German Proton Competition team with Estonian Martin Rump and the Austrian Richard Lietz.
Fassbender dreams of following the trajectory of fellow Hollywood actors Patrick Dempsey who was second in LMGTE Am class in 2016 and Paul Newman who finished second overall in 1979.
News
Ireland’s oldest citizen has Killarney connections
Ireland’s oldest woman met with President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin this week. Máirín Hughes, who turned 109 on May 22 has strong Killarney connections. The previous record […]

Ireland’s oldest woman met with President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin this week.
Máirín Hughes, who turned 109 on May 22 has strong Killarney connections.
The previous record was held by 107-year-old Nancy Stewart who died on September 10 2021.
Although born in Belfast, Máirín went to school in the Mercy Convent. Her father was a customs and excise officer and the family moved around a lot eventually coming to Killarney after spells in County Down and Dublin.
Her mother came from the Rathmore area and her father was from Newmarket in County Cork.
She attended the Mercy Convent and has, in previous interviews, recalled growing up on the shores of Lough Lein.
“Neighbours who had three children were given the job of taking me to school,” she said. “They were annoyed because the children were going to school for two or three years but I was put in to the same class as them – my mother had taught me.”
In 2021 she featured in the book ‘Independence Memories: A People’s Portrait of the Early Days of the Irish Nation’, sharing stories of being kept in school in Killarney during an attack on the RIC barracks down the road.
In 1924 she started a degree in science and a diploma in education at University College Cork, before working in the pathology lab in University College Cork’s Department of Medicine for 16 years.
last year she recalled her story on the podcast: ‘Living History – Irish Life and Lore’.
During the broadcast she talked about her parents’ membership of the Gaelic League in 1910; the Spanish Flu in Ireland in 1918; The Black and Tans in Killarney in 1921; the early days of the new Free State; Eucharistic Congress in Dublin in 1932, visiting the Basket Islands in 1929; and working in the UCC medical laboratory from 1932 until 1948.
This week President Michael D. Higgins hosted an afternoon tea event to celebrate the important role that a variety of people have and can play in different communities and Máirín was among the guests of honour.