T OWN TALK Eco warning for National Park Grady’s dream comes true in his last weeks in politics

One of the biggest newspapers in the world has warned that Killarney National Park is an ecological disaster zone.

London’s The Guardian has picked up the park’s battle with Rhododendron. It also said that there are too many deer in the park adding to the ecological issues there.

The paper’s Ireland correspondent Rory Carroll wrote:

“Some Irish environmentalists, however, say the park in the heart of County Kerry is also home to a much darker phenomenon: a slow-motion ecological calamity. Rhododendron, sika deer and other invasive alien species are asphyxiating the ecosystem, creating “ghost forests”, they say,” In the same piece he quoted rewilding activist and local landowner Eoghan Daltun.

He told the newspaper:

“Killarney National Park is an ecological disaster zone. You have zero natural regeneration of trees. It contains what is by far Ireland’s most important remaining piece of indigenous woodland and it’s being allowed to just essentially die off.”

The official opening of Killarney Skate Park is scheduled for today, Friday.

The park has been a long held ambition for Cllr Donal Grady who will retire from politics next month.

Grady has been a long-time advocate of the project and has being pushing for the park for years.

The long-serving local councillor announced his retirement from politics in March.

July’s Killarney Municipal District meeting will be his last time that he will sit in the council chamber as an elected official. It is fitting that the official opening of one of his pet projects will come as he approaches the end of illustrious and colourful political career.

Construction workers moved in to a small site adjacent to the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre in May and despite the recent weather, remain on target to complete the job this week ahead of the opening today.