One of the southwest’s major tourist attractions, Muckross Traditional Farms, in the heart of the Killarney National Park, is to shut down indefinitely in September, and will operate on a very limited basis for the next two months, staff have been told.

A training and awareness programme is being offered in Co Kerry at vets, AI, milk recorders, and anyone else dealing with farmers — to help them spot farmers struggling to cope with the after-effects of the bad weather of 2012.