Just three words: PRETTY POLLY SOLD. The bold, capitalised headline screaming from the front page lead story, 30 years ago today, sent shock waves reverberating not alone throughout Killarney but in every corner of the county, given the importance of the hosiery plant to the Kerry economy. It was revealed that the factory and its… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Turn Back Time
Agustus Pugin and Eamonn Casey had different design ideas
THESE strikingly contrasting images highlight the changing face of St Mary’s Cathedral in Killarney over the years. The black and white snapshot, taken at a wedding, shows the original altar and its stunning ceremonial backdrop with feature pews, on both sides, immediately in front. The second photograph shows the cathedral as it is now following… Continue Reading
Killarney waitress hit by stray bullet on College Square
THE very final victim of Ireland’s War of Independence was a 48-year-old waitress who had stepped onto the street outside the Killarney hotel in which she worked and was fatally wounded by a stray bullet fired by an unidentified RIC officer. Hannah Carey died when the policeman accidentally discharged his revolver as he drove through… Continue Reading
Not picture perfect but it changed a town’s mindset
IT was a picture that painted a thousand words, not one of them even remotely complimentary. Captured at quarter to eight on a dull March morning in 1982, it exposed an ugly, repulsive side to a town that, even then, locals took great pride in describing as Beauty’s Home. The Sunday morning monochrome snapshot portrayed… Continue Reading
Planning revelation on Killarney visit shocked Lemass
Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the death of former Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader, Seán Lemass. In this extract from the memoirs of Kerry South TD, John O’Leary, written with author, historian and researcher Owen O’Shea (pictured), it describes how a visit by Lemass to Killarney in the early 1960s led to the introduction… Continue Reading
