Well accustomed to welcoming special guests, Killarney again rolled out the red carpet for a VIP visitor when the Mayor of Fountain Hills in Arizona paid a visit for three days and three nights.
Mayor Ginny Dicke, who was accompanied on the visit by her husband Jim, are the first citizens in the master planned community, established in 1970, and prior to that the area was a cattle ranch and part of one of the largest land and cattle holdings in Arizona.
The land was purchased by an entrepreneur in the late 1960s and the community was carefully designed by Charles Wood Jnr who was also the designer of Disneyland in southern California.
Seán Counihan (left) and Killarney hotelier Michael O’Donoghue welcome Margaret and Jeanette Lehann from Scottsdale, Arizona on a previous visit
Fountain Hills is in very close proximity to Killarney’s sister town of Scottsdale and Mayor Dickie said she would be happy to foster stronger links between the twin locations.
The mayor and her husband, a teacher, who were based in the International Hotel during their stay, were formally welcomed to Killarney by chairman of the town twinning association and former Mayor of Killarney, Seán Counihan and association treasurer and former town clerk Michael O’Leary.
Similar to Killarney, one of the Fountain Hills community’s most valuable assets is its natural beauty. Incredible views and natural desert terrain provide for a wide range of outdoor activities including hiking, biking, boating and golf and, in fact, Fountain Hills boasts some of the more challenging and picturesque golf courses in the State of Arizona.
Elected mayor in 2018 and reelected in 2020, Ginny Dickey supervised an elected body welcoming new and expanded businesses, healthcare facilities and several residential developments while improving roads, parks and buildings.
Killarney has been twinned with the City of Scottsdale in the US State of Arizona – home to the prestigious Phoenix PGA Open – since 2021.
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