Roses begin journey to Tralee

The journey to the Kingdom is underway for 32 Rose of Tralee hopefuls. The cross border trip will include visits to Galway, Derry, Sligo, Belfast and Limerick, before arriving in Tralee in time for the Rose Ball on Friday.

For the first time in a decade, the Rose Tour will visit Northern Ireland, taking in a tour of the Titanic Festival in Belfast and Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Derry, the 2013 UK City of Culture. Tomorrow the Roses will cross the Border to Sligo, followed by an evening in Galway, where they’ll first meet their Escorts. However, the Roses will have to wait until Friday when the Escort Rose pairings will be revealed, before all 32 Roses attend the annual Rose Ball as guests of honour.

This year’s festival and Rose Gathering will continue until Tuesday, when the 2013 Rose of Tralee will be selected. Rose of Tralee televised host Daithí O’Sé says there’s no other festival in the world that ties its diaspora together in the way the Rose of Tralee International Festival connects the global Irish community.

via Radio Kerry News

Tralee Bypass to open on Friday August 16th

Kerry County Council today announced the €97m route will be officially opened on Friday 16th August at 12:00pm by Minister Jimmy Deenihan.

The bypass was originally due to open in March; however contractors BAM said this date would be delayed due to a number of factors including uncovering deposits of limestone, as well as heavy rainfall last year.

Friday’s opening now means the bypass is open in time for this year’s Rose of Tralee Festival, and expected to reduce journey times through Tralee by at least 8 to 10 minutes. Kerry South Deputy for Fine Gael, Brendan Griffin has welcomed the announcement.

via Radio Kerry News

10K Fun Run announced for Rose of Tralee Festival

The Rose of Tralee International Festival has announced the addition of a 10k Fun Run which will take place on the morning of Sunday 18th August.It’s expected to attract crowds to the town centre ahead of the day’s parade and air display.This event, organised by Marcus Howlett, will be the first race in the new Kerry’s Eye Tralee International Marathon Race Series, a unique series of races to be held between the 18th August 2013 and the 16th March 2014.The Rose of Tralee International 10K Run will be run through the streets of Tralee, starting in the Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre and finishing on Denny Street, taking in Oakpark Road, Rock Street and the Mall.

via 10K Fun Run for Rose of Tralee Festival.

Kerry woman has half million lottery win

A Kerry woman has collected €500,000 at the National Lottery offices. She won the prize in last Friday’s Euromillions plus draw, with a €3 quick pick ticket bought in Spar on the Oakpark Road in Tralee. The winner, who wishes to remain anonymous, was accompanied by her husband. She said that she didn’t check her ticket until Sunday evening, and was told by the shop to contact the National Lottery.

The couple say they plan to use the prize money to pay off their mortgage and do some improvements to their house, as well as taking a holiday.

via Radio Kerry News.

Work to start late this year on new facility for Kerry hospice

It’s hoped that work will begin on a new extension to the Palliative Care Unit of Kerry General Hospital, later this year.

Fundraisers with the Kerry Hospice have already raised €3 million of the €4.5 million cost of the new unit, which will include 15 en suite single rooms for patients with terminal illnesses. Architects will visit the site within the next fortnight, with planning permission being lodged and tenders being sought as soon as possible afterwards. Nursing Manager with the Suiamhneas Palliative Care Unit, Mari O’Connell, says the new facility will make a huge difference to both staff and patients at the hospice

via Radio Kerry.

New Arrival in Manor West

Currys/PC World are the latest arrival in Tralee’s Manor West Retail Park and in doing so marks the first time the park has achieved full occupancy.

Tralee, Cork & Limerick IT’s to form new university

It has been proposed that the Institute of Technology in Tralee will merge with Cork IT and Limerick IT to create a new technological university. If it goes ahead, it’ll be the biggest change to happen at IT Tralee since it was first established as a regional technical college 35 years ago. IT Tralee, along with Cork and Limerick ITs, have announced plans to come together to create the Munster Technological University.

The statement from the presidents and chairs of the three institutes governing bodies, says the technological university would become the largest higher educational institution in Munster, with over 24,000 students. Last year’s Hunt Report, the national strategy for higher education, recommended the merger of ITs and since then, the institutes have been working together towards the establishment of the Munster Technological University. The three ITs say they are confident their proposal will meet the criteria for technological university status and that they are seeking this designation at the earliest opportunity

Related articles

• Three more ITs to seek ‘technological university’ status (thejournal.ie)
• JRI America Inc. to establish a Software Development Operation in Tralee (kerrynews.wordpress.com)

Major Fenit Harbour development to go ahead

Plans for a major development at Fenit Harbour have been given the go ahead. Kerry County Council has granted Tralee and Fenit Harbour Commissioners planning permission for the expansion and development project, subject to 19 conditions. The plans involve the provision of a new 210 berth marina expansion, a new boat lift, oyster training bays, and additional car parking. They also include the extension of existing and development of new break waters.

Required: Escorts for the Rose of Tralee

The clock is ticking if you would like the chance to be a Rose Escort for this year’s international Rose of Tralee Festival. “The Rose of Tralee Escorts are the 32 most envied men in Ireland every August,” according to Colm Croffy, the Rose of Tralee Escort Co-ordinator.

Eligible single men between 21 and 30 years of age could enjoy a chance to become their county’s Rose Escort and secure a place at the now famous Escorts Boot Camp Weekend. Once they have shown their mettle and proved their worth, the ultimate reward will be a week of fun in Tralee. Application forms can be downloaded from roseoftralee.ie and the closing date is Friday April 22nd.

via Kerry Radio

20 new jobs for Tralee tech firm

Tralee technology company Aspen Grove has announced the creation of 20 new jobs due to the continued expansion of its business. The company provides web-based business process solutions for financial property management, valuations and sale.

The 20 high-end technical positions will be created within their development and networking teams and come onstream by the end of October, the company said. The positions on offer include project managers, software developers, database administrators, designers and report writers.

“These are graduate-level positions and are a huge boost to the technology sector in the Tralee and Kerry area,” CEO Sean Ryan said. The company is based at Shannon Development’s Kerry Technology Park in Tralee.

For more information see http://www.aspengrove.ie/jobs.html

via Irish Examiner