THE international judges who will decide whether Killarney deserves to retain its purple flag for being a top quality late night town will go on a pub crawl – so to speak – as part of the adjudication process.
They will visit several hostelries and late night entertainment venues as part of their research and they will observe the behaviour of revellers leaving nightclubs, late bars and fast food outlets.
Killarney is anxious to retain the purple flag status it received last year after being judged one of the best managed locations, between the hours of 5pm and 5am, in terms of safety, facilities, entertainment options and atmosphere.
The Killarney Purple Flag Working Group members will play host to an official overnight assessment which will take place on Friday and Saturday, August 5/6 and is deemed of great importance to the town.
Independent assessors will hit the town to review the progress made since its initial accreditation in 2014 and the official 12-hour assessment on August 5/6 will take place from 4pm to 4am.
Their walkabout will start with a visit to the gardens of Killarney House before they stroll along along East Avenue Road to the Outlet Centre and the train and bus stations. The judges will then make their way along the streets and laneways in the town centre before visiting a number of entertainment venues, including several hotels and pubs.
They will monitor the crowds on the streets from 11pm to 2am and they will be keeping a close eye on behaviour, policing, surveillance and CCTV coverage, public transport and customer care.
They will speak with taxi drivers at the local rank after 1am before visiting McSorley’s Nightclub and the residents’ lounge in the Killarney Towers Hotel and they will return to the streets between 2.30am and 3.30am to monitor the situation in the town in the early hours of the morning
The local steering committee, chaired by Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce Deputy President Paul O’Neill, is seeking the support of all businesses in Killarney during the assessment and businesses are being asked to decorate their premises and inform all frontline staff of the purple flag and assessment.
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