Killarney

By Sean Moriarty
<h3>Not only does he love to chat &#8211; but he has made it his mission to inspire others since a life-changing accident &#8211; so it&#8217;s no wonder a Killarney man has secured his own radio show.</h3>
After completing a media and broadcasting course at Kerry ETB, Ian O&rsquo;Connell was offered his own Radio Kerry show which will feature Kerry people who have overcome hardship or difficulties to achieve great things.
The Pinewood man was left with a life-changing injury aged 16 after falling from his mountain bike in Killarney National Park in the summer of 2017.
As a result he sustained damage to his neck and spine.
Since then he has used his disability as a form of inspiration and encourages others to get on with life regardless of what is thrown at them.
He has been promoting a well-being lifestyle through his &lsquo;if you can&rsquo;t stand up, stand out&rsquo; mantra.
That is the inspiration for the new show which will be called &lsquo;Stand Out with Ian O&rsquo;Connell&rsquo; and will be broadcast at 8pm every Wednesday&nbsp;from December 1.
&ldquo;Before my accident I would never have thought of a career in media,&rdquo; he told the Killarney Advertiser. &ldquo;I did my work experience at Radio Kerry&rsquo;s Killarney studio, I could not believe it when Fiona [Stack &ndash; Radio Kerry&rsquo;s manager] called me in, not just to offer me a job but that I was getting my own show too.&rdquo;
Ian will also work behind the scenes at the radio station. He has already produced and presented short programmes &ndash; known as packages in the trade &ndash; on topical issues like Fitbit watches and social media influencers.
Meanwhile Killarney man Edward Groves is running a marathon in Mullingar on November 13 to raise funds for the Ian O&rsquo;Connell Trust. To donate go to GoFundMe: &#8216;Marathon fundraiser in aid of Ian O Connell trust&#8217;.

Ian plans to stand out in new radio chat show

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