What happened in Kerry this week

He’s the toast of Tinseltown, Cork and all of Ireland on the back of his Oscar win, but when Cillian Murphy returns to his home in West Kerry again he’ll be treated just like he always is – like one of the locals.

No town in Kerry has produced more All-Ireland senior football medal winners than Tralee, but this Saturday it's the turn of the ballers from Mounthawk Mercy Secondary School to bring a famous first Senior A Colleges title back to the county capital.

The Kerry Babies scandal that rocked Ireland four decades ago is to be the subject of a major new film in which the lead character Joanne Hayes will be portrayed as an ‘heroic Joan of Arc’ figure.

Kerry is going green as celebrations begin to mark St Patrick’s Day, and with landmark buildings lighting up and parades and festivals in towns and villages across the county, Kerry is sure to have a sham-rocking weekend.

A group of talented musicians, dancers and singers from around the county will be proudly flying the Kerry flag when they head to New York for this year's St Patrick’s Day celebrations.

Kerry’s youngest councillor, John Francis Flynn, is set to quit politics and emigrate to Australia, Kerry’s Eye can exclusively reveal.

Read the full story in Kerry’s Eye Digital Edition.



Huge welcome home for champion Claire

HOME WAS the heroine on Friday as Tralee turned out in force to welcome the county's newest world champion, as she returned in triumph from the World Aquatic Championships in Doha.

Schoolteacher Claire O'Connell was bowled over and emotional by the hometown reaction to her stunning medal winning exploits against the world's best swimmers.

"I wasn’t expecting it at all - it was a really pinch-me moment," she told Kerry's Eye after returning to the Tralee Sports Complex, where she began her long journey to world glory nearly 25 years ago.

"At home in Oakview, my parents had organised for the neighbourhood to be out and at the pool all the kids from Kingdom Swimming Club were lining up to be photographed with the medals.

Read the full story in Kerry’s Eye Digital Edition.



All-Ireland Final fever grips at Mounthawk

NO TOWN in Kerry has produced more All-Ireland senior football medal winners than Tralee, but this Saturday it's the turn of the ballers from Mounthawk Mercy Secondary School to bring a famous first Senior A Colleges title back to the county town.

As the trailblazers for schools football in Mounthawk and Tralee set out on their historic journey to Croke Park this Saturday, excitement is at fever pitch as they go for Hogan Cup glory.

"We have never seen anything like it in terms of the buzz around the school at the moment," vice-principal and football fanatic Pat Fleming told Kerry's Eye. "It’s a massive day for the school.

Read the full story in Kerry’s Eye Digital Edition.



Airport hits EIGHT MILLION passenger mark

MORE than eight million people have flown in and out of Kerry Airport since flights first took off from the Farranfore-based airport 34 years ago, as last year’s passenger numbers soared to the highest they have been in 15 years –an increase of 18% on the total from 2022.

As passenger numbers returned to pre-Covid-19 levels following significant impact on air travel due to the global pandemic in previous years, a total of 419,281 passengers travelled through Kerry Airport last year on flights to Dublin and overseas destinations in the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Portugal.

Soaring to levels that have not been seen for 15 years, the airport’s passenger numbers for last year is just 4,000 shy of its 2008 record when just over 423,000 flew in and out of the Farranfore-based airport –the highest ever year of traffic since scheduled flights commenced at Kerry Airport in 1989.

Read the full story in Kerry’s Eye Digital Edition.



Green light for Saint Patrick's Day!

Kerry is going green as celebrations begin to mark St Patrick’s Day, and with landmark buildings lighting up and parades and festivals in towns and villages across the county, Kerry is sure to have a sham-rocking weekend.

In Rathmore, however, the celebration shave already taken place - one of the earliest St Patrick's Day events in the entire county was held last weekend, with a strong local turnout for a spectacular parade in the village on Sunday.   

Meanwhile back in Tralee, the countdown continues to this year's parade, which gets rolling at 12 noon on Sunday. 

Read the full story in Kerry’s Eye Digital Edition.



Climate action takes root at Holy Family

FOR ONE day only this week, students in one Tralee primary school got the opportunity to cast the books to one side for great causes - it was to help fight climate change and taking biodiversity action.

For the environmentally aware and proactive students, the Holy Family school was the place to be on Monday as they left the classrooms behind them for the outdoors to participate in a unique project on the school grounds.

Each pupil from Junior Infants through to Sixth Class planted their own tree to help create a 100m hedge of native Whitethorn along the school boundary.

Read the full story in Kerry’s Eye Digital Edition.



Mary makes farming history

There was A FAMOUS first for Kerry farming was last Thursday when on the eve of International Women’s Day the first ever female chairperson of a farm organisation in the Kingdom was elected.

Sheep farmer Mary Sheehan from Castlemaine was the history-maker when she was elected as county chair of the Kerry branch of the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers’ Association (INHFA) at the organisation’s AGM in Milltown.        

“I am very proud to be the first woman chair,” she told Kerry’s Eye. “It was great to be nominated and seconded for the chair.        

“But it’s not about he/she or male/female. It’s about just having a group with a voice to raise our concerns.

Read the full story in Kerry’s Eye Digital Edition.