Kingdom comes to Kildare: Today (Thursday) the Kerry Group opens its Innovation Centre near Naas, Co Kildare. The most recent Kerry accounts show the group increased its expenditure on research and development (R&D) to €197m for the year and the centre is one of the reasons. When the development was announced some disgruntled Kerry farmers wondered why Tralee or Killarney could not be the R&D HQ. Management responded that they needed an international airport nearby and they were delighted to be able to keep it in the country. Farranfore just wasn’t big enough.