Tralee: Kindhearted Group Look For Donations In Christmas Collection

Posted in Charity, Kerry News, Tralee by Fergus Writes Things

Donations of clothes, toiletries and toys are welcome in this Christmas collection campaign

A GROUP of local kindhearted people are looking to help make this years Christmas a little easier and a little more special for those less fortunate among us by organising a donation campaign for clothes, toiletries and toys.

The ‘Caring For Christmas’ group is a collaborative effort by local people here in town and who are collecting the much needed items for three different local organisations:

Arlington Lodge Homeless Shelter
Baile Mhuire Daycare for the Elderly
Adapt Kerry Womens Refuge

They have so far organised a day of collection for this coming Wednesday December 2nd (9.30-5pm) at the Yummy Market Cafe and are in talks for another for this coming Friday December 4th, but this second day has yet to be confirmed.

Grainne Landers is one of the organisers behind the generously minded group and who is hoping that they might be be able to make some peoples Christmas just a little bit better through the collection.

“We just really wanted to do something that would help the most vulnerable, that they would have something for Christmas,” said Gráinne when speaking to Fergus Dennehy earlier today.

“We [Caring For Christmas] are just a group of individuals. Some of us knew each other, some of us didn’t and we just got together and thought about what we could do for Christmas for the more vulnerable organisations,” she continued.

“We just looked at the groups where we know the funding is very difficult for them and that they struggle all year round with that. Especially coming up to Christmas, some people mightn’t have families around them and that they might be very isolated,” she said.

The group are hoping that the generosity of the public will ring through and are looking for a number of specific, yet simple items.

“Toiletries would be a big thing [that we’re looking for] for all three organisations. The likes of shower gels, deodorants, razors, shaving creams and soap, all those kind of things,”

“The only clothing donations that we’re taking are hats, scarves, gloves and socks and finally we’ll be collecting toys for Adapt,” she continued.

“There’s a second entrance [to the Yummy Cafe] on the Bridge Street side and we’ll be collecting there. As we collect, people will come from our group and take the donated items as the day goes on and hopefully we’ll be able to hand them out to the three organisations on the Thursday and Friday,” she finished.

28Nov2015

Mental Health Exhibition To Take Place In Brandon Hotel Tomorrow

Posted in Mental Health, Tralee by Fergus Writes Things

The Mental Wellness exhibition will take place in the Brandon Hotel tomorrow.

A NEW and comprehensive guide to the various mental health support services in Kerry will be launched at the ‘Open Our Minds Mental Wellness Exhibition that will take place in the Brandon Hotel tomorrow Sunday November 29th from 1pm-6pm.

‘Minding Our Minds: A Guide to Supports and Services’ will be a free information resource for those experiencing that are experiencing challenges to their emotional well-being.

The free directory has been produced by the Killarney voluntary group, ‘Be Aware ! Prevent Suicide’, which has organised four mental wellness exhibitions to date.

“Be Aware! Prevent Suicide is committed to being a bridge between the community in Kerry and service providers, both voluntary and statutory,” Be Aware Chairperson and Founder Deirdre Fee said.

“We are committed to de-stigmatising mental health issues by talking about them, by informing our community about them—the signs, the symptoms, as well as the help and support that is available,” she said.

“There is a wealth of highly trained support and service providers in the county, and nationally, who can help us deal with the life-changing events and traumas that challenge our emotional well-being. Their contact details, along with the services they provide are listed in ‘Minding Our Minds’,” she continued.

The chairperson said that the publishing of 80,000 copies of the directory had been made possible by the generosity of the Kerry public in supporting fund-raising for Be Aware!Prevent Suicide.

She acknowledged the support of key fund-raising events and groups such as Cycle for Suicide Prevention in Memory of Stephanie O’Sullivan, the Charity Fashion Show in Memory of Stephen O’Sullivan, Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), North, East and West Kerry Development, ‘Calendar Girls Rev up for Charity’ and the ESB.

She said that 55,000 copies of the free directory would be distributed to homes in Kerry while the balance would be donated to third level colleges and second level schools.

“The guide has realised all our expectations thanks to the support of so many people who fund-raised and worked to make it a reality,” Ms Fee said.

“We believe it will be an invaluable resource for Kerry. The next step will be to generate the finance to ensure its delivery to every home,” she said.

“We would appreciate any help in this regard. Ideally, a mail shot by An Post would be the most efficient means of delivery but this is expensive.”

Ms Fee said that recovery will be the theme of the Mental Wellness Exhibition which will follow the successful formula of information stands, workshops and public speakers.

Stories and insights on recovery will be communicated chiefly by professionals and people who have journeyed through wellness with the support of Kerry Peer Support Network which opened its first Recovery Centre in Tralee in 2013.

The centre was developed by a consortium of members including Tralee Mental Health Association, Irish Advocacy Network and Kerry Mental Health Services.

At the exhibition, the Network will unveil plans to roll out this model via other satellite centres throughout Kerry over the coming year.

Through the network’s Peer Support programmes, individuals listen to others who have dealt with similar experiences. They learn to move beyond illness and are provided with opportunities to seek out new pathways and meaning towards living a full life.

Jim Breen of Cycle Against Suicide will be the MC at the exhibition which runs from 1pm to 6pm at the Brandon Hotel on Sunday, November 29th.

The contacts for the event are Deirdre Fee (086-2308788) and Brenda Healy: 0868079204

25Nov2015

LOCAL: Tralee Named Ireland’s Top Tourism Town

Posted in Kerry News, Tralee by Fergus Writes Things

Tralee received one of the highest accolades at the Fáilte Ireland awards today.

IT’S A great day for the parish.

IN NEWS that is sure to delight residents of the town, Tralee has today been named as the best large tourism town in Ireland at the Fáilte Ireland Tourism Towns awards.

Through the help of local volunteer groups and work done by the various tourism organisations and businesses in the area, the town managed to beat off stiff competition in Cobh, Kilkenny and neighbours Killarney to claim the prestigious accolade.

Judges for the award were quick to make note in their comments of the beautiful and wonderfully colourful town centre and the the well maintained traditional shop fronts.

They were equally impressed with the wide array of parks and attractions on offer for tourists such as the Aqua Dome, Tennis courts, Museum’s, Siamsa Tire, the Kerry Camino, accommodation, cafes, pubs, and eateries, extensive shopping that are all a stones’ throw from each other.

On the back of the prestige garnered by winning, the town will now receive a certificate and a grant of €5,000 towards further development in the tourism sector.

“In Kerry, tourism is everybody’s business and in Tralee almost 1,000 people are now directly employed in tourism related enterprises,” said Kieran Ruttledge of Tralee Chamber Alliance and Tralee Tidy Towns, when accepting the award on the town’s behalf.

Check out the promotional video for Tralee below…

24Nov2015

Song Of The Week #1: Chapter 2: ‘Strange Things-Randy Newman’

Posted in Music, Tralee by Fergus Writes Things

Chapter 2 are a very entertaining and diverse local band.

IF THERE’s one local band that you should be listening to, it’s these guys.

Chapter 2 are a Tralee based band, whose band members hail mostly from Edenderry in Offaly, with one member originating in Dublin.

If you’ve been out anytime in Tralee or Kerry over the last year or two, you’ve probably (definitely) heard this bands name come up, even in passing and they’re certainly not one to be missed if you ever get the chance.

The line up consists of Aaron Hutchinson (Cajon) Ryan Hurst (Guitar) Michal Wagner (Guitar and vocals) Robin Clarke (Bass) and Oscar Cusack (More guitar and vocals).

They’re currently working on releasing their first EP and can found be found playing in a number of pubs/clubs around the county.

Check out their Facebook page HERE for more information.

Watch Chapter 2 in action down below as they cover ‘Strange Things’ by Randy Newman.

23Nov2015

TRALEE NEWS: Dynamos To Host Charity Game In Honour Of Joe

Posted in Charity, Kerry News, Local News, Tralee by Fergus Writes Things

Joe Flynn pictured with Ray D’Arcy and Joe’s two daughters Joanne and Bernie. Photo Credit: RTÉ

TRALEE Dynamos are getting set to host a very special match this coming Sunday November 29th in honour of their former player Joe Flynn, who is suffering from terminal oesophageal cancer and who has been given just a few months to live.

Joe is a well known and much loved character around the town whose profound strength and courage in the face of his illness have garnered him nationwide support (see article here).

His former club therefore have taken it upon themselves to host their very special ‘Kick it For Joe’ legends game at their pitch at noon on Sunday.

They are inviting players of all ages to come out and play in the game, with no limits on the number of players on each side and with the use of rolling substitutions, fitness should not be a concern for those who are worried.

Donations will be taken at the game with all money collected going straight towards the Kerry Cork Health Link Bus which is a free service that takes those that are suffering from cancer and who might not have any other way of getting to their treatment, up to Cork University Hospital (CUH) and back again.

Anyone wishing to help out on the day can contact Noel White on 083 1165199.

22Nov2015

TRALEE NEWS: Iceland Store To Open In Town This Week

Posted in Local News, Tralee by Fergus Writes Things

The Iceland store in the Horan Centre in Tralee is getting ready to open this week.

THE FAMOUS Iceland brand will officially bring its business to Tralee this coming week with the supermarket chain set to open its doors this coming Wednesday November 25th.

The store will be located up in the Horan Centre and will throw open its doors to the public at approximately 9am this Wednesday.

It has been reported that the store will/has created up to 25 jobs, but this has not been confirmed.

Tralee folk will no doubt be eager to see for themselves what the new store has to offer.

We’ll just have to wait until Wednesday to find out.

19Nov2015

TRALEE NEWS: Tralee Mans Mix-Up Leads To Unexpected Opportunity

Posted in Kerry News, Local News, Something Cool, Tralee by Fergus Writes Things

Joe Griffin’s less than stellar camera skills went viral this past week.

THE old saying goes that two wrongs don’t make a right but for one Tralee man, many continuous wrongs all of which included a GoPro camera, have somehow led to an incredible chance for him to film a promotional video of Las Vegas.

Joe Griffin, who is a Clogherbrien native but now living in Dublin, found himself at the centre of a viral internet story last week when footage from his August trip to Las Vegas was uploaded to YouTube by his son Evan.

If you haven’t seen it yet, then I’d recommend you do so below, but suffice to say that he might need to brush up on some of his camera skills.

The Las Vegas Tourist Board were clearly so enamored with Joe’s four-minute long ‘sightseeing’ trip that they contacted him and offered to fly him and his son out to film the promotional video for the famous city.

You can clearly never predict which video is going to go viral, but for Joe and his camera mishaps, he certainly found a winning formula here, just not the right camera angle.

Check out the famous footage down below…

10Nov2015

TRALEE NEWS: Patients At Kerry General Hospital At High Risk Of Infection According To New Report

Posted in Local News, Tralee by Fergus Writes Things

A new HIQA report has stated that patients in KGH are at a high risk of infection.

A REPORT compiled by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has found that patients in the Kerry General Hospital are at a high risk of infection due to a substandard physical enviornment.

The report which was compiled in July of this year, the first of two reports compiled on the hospital, found that high risk findings were identified in relation to the maintenance and infrastructure of the Operating Theatre Complex, the infrastructure of the Oncology Day Unit and the management of the legionella related risk.

The physical enviornment within the hospital was reported to have been below the national and international standard required to reduce the risk of infection to patients.

It is stated in the report that “extensive deficiencies in the maintenance in the hospital physical environment were
observed by inspectors in the Operating Theatre Complex. Overall, the Operating Theatre Complex was dilapidated with several areas of ceilings, walls, woodwork,and floors significantly damaged, worn and non-intact to the extent that they could not be cleaned effectively, and facilitated the production and accumulation of dust.”

It goes on to state the the findings were “unacceptable” in any clinical area but are of particular concern in high risk clinical areas such as operating theatres.

The findings of the follow up report, compiled in August of this year, were significantly more positive it seems after it was stated that numerous plans had been put in place by hospital authorities to oversee the improvements in the required areas of the hospital.

You can read the full HIQA report on the Kerry General Hospital HERE.

9Nov2015

TRALEE NEWS: Local Scout Leader On Look Out For Adult Members To Join New Scout Troop

Posted in Local News, Scouting Ireland, Tralee by Fergus Writes Things

Jason Kelly is on the look out for new adult members for his Rover troop.

ONE LOCAL SCOUT leader is on the lookout for any like-minded individuals in the county that would be interested in joining the new ‘Rover Troop’ that he is in the midst of setting up.

The new group would involve hiking, camping, mountaineering and a whole host of other outdoor activities.

Ardfert’s Jason Kelly is an experienced scout through and through having joined the historic and popular organisation close to six years ago and who is now on the hunt for any individuals out there, experienced or complete beginners, to join in with the new up and coming troop.

“Well, Rovers’ is the eldest youth member section (18 – 26 years) within Scouting Ireland. It’s the last section before you move onto becoming a ‘Scouter’, or Leader, as it would more commonly be called,” said Jason talking to the Tralee Outlook on Tuesday.

“Rovers has been gone from Kerry for a long time now, and myself along with another Rover in the county, Michael, from Killorglin, are looking to get it back going again,” he continued.

“The Crew, or Troop, will plan, do, and review all their own activities, which could range from anything from the traditional
scouting activities such as camping and hiking, to partaking in national activities such as ‘Rover Chill’, or going to international events such as ‘Rover Way’ & Jamboree, or just a nice quiet pint down the pub!,” he said.

What kind of people would they be looking for in the new troop then?

“What we’re looking for is anyone between the ages of 18 and 26, who would be interested, to get in contact as soon as possible. We’ve already put a few people together, but the more people we have the more activities and opportunities will be open to us. No previous experience of Scouting is necessary, but we do ask for genuine interest,” he finished.

Anyone looking to find out more information or sign up right away can do so by getting contact with either Jason (086 261 9877) or Michael (0851471799).