Kerry GAA Online

WEEKEND OF CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES....

The first round games in the Castleisland Co-Op Mart County Intermediate, Junior and Novice Championships are on this weekend with games on Saturday at 7.30 p.m. and on Sunday at 2.30 p.m. Extra time will be played if necessary.

Earlier this year it was Ardfert and last year it was Finuge who set the standard for the Junior Championship by winning the Munster and All-Ireland titles after their victories in the previous year’s County Junior Football Championship. Now that they have progressed to playing in the Intermediate County Championship I’m sure they will make good use of their experience in their efforts to win that competition this year and after big boost of winning the County, the Munster and All-Ireland Junior Finals they would love to have that same experience again at Intermediate level.

All the clubs embarking on that road to Croke Park this weekend would love to follow in their footsteps and for that reason I’m sure every club will give their all in this weekend’s first round games as they take the first step towards capturing the county Intermediate and Junior titles.

The Provincial and All-Ireland Intermediate and Junior Club Championships have added an exciting new dimension for the Castleisland Co-Op Mart County Club Championship winners in these grades. The county champions in these competitions now have the opportunity to aim for Provincial and All-Ireland honours as well, a privilege that was previously reserved for the County Senior Club Champions.

There are some mouth watering and interesting contests in store for the club players and their supporters over the weekend. If last year’s experience is anything to go by then there could be some shock results when the cut and thrust of championship football grips the players, who would all dearly love to have experience of eventually playing in an All-Ireland Intermediate or Junior Club Final in Croke Park.

We all know from Ardfert and Finuge’s experiences the impact for a club and local community of playing in the All-Ireland Junior Club Championship and it is only a matter of time before the Intermediate and Junior All-Ireland Series attains the same level of interest as the Senior Club Championship.

The road to All-Ireland glory and the experience of playing in Croke Park could start for some Kerry club this weekend.

Co. Championship 2006

RESULTS:

The home club is responsible for phoning the match result to the county PRO immediately after the game finishes. Results should be phoned to (066) 7124754 or faxed to (066) 7181040. Saturday’s results should be phoned in Saturday night.

Short match reports can be faxed to the above fax number or e-mailed to prokygaa@gofree.indigo.ie at any time on Saturday night or on Sunday. They can also be phoned after 8 o'clock on Sunday night. These reports need only be sixty or seventy words long and should include the half-time score and the important scores and scorers of each half as well as any incident that was of significance in the game, such as a penalty or an important save by the goalkeeper. The full-time score, however, should be phoned immediately after the game in order to meet the deadlines for the national papers and radio.

It would be desirable to have reports from every game in the Intermediate, Junior and Novice championships.

AIB COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

After last weekend’s opening round of the AIB County Senior Football Championship, Rathmore, Dingle, Mid Kerry, St. Brendan’s, Kenmare and St. Kieran’s have advanced to the last sixteen and the Round 3 draw. Kerins O’Rahillys and John Mitchels who played out a thrilling and exciting draw last Saturday and even after extra time was played they were still deadlocked. The replay will be at Austin Stack Park on this Saturday at 7.30 p.m. and extra time will be played if necessary.

Because of a power failure in one of the floodlights pylons, the second half of the Austin Stacks v Laune Rangers game could not proceed and the game has been rescheduled for this Sunday at 2.30 p.m. at Austin Stack Park. Admission to this game is free of charge. Extra time will be played if necessary.

Milltown/Castlemaine, Kilcummin, Shannon Rangers, Feale Rangers, West Kerry and East Kerry will have a second chance to qualify for the last sixteen in Round 2, which will be played on the weekend of May 28th.

Co. Championship 2006

COUNTY HURLING LEAGUES

The Round 3 games in Division 2 of the Credit Union County Hurling League will be played on this Wednesday May 10th at 8.00 p.m.

Results should be phoned in to the County PRO (066) 71 24754 or faxed to (066) 71 81040 immediately after the game finishes.

COUNTY MINOR FOOTBALL LEAGUES

After last Friday’s semi-finals and the results of some of the back matches the final stages in Keane’s Super Valu County Minor Football Leagues have been reached and some finals will be played on this Sunday evening. Extra time will be played if necessary.

There is a double bill at the Strand Road pitch in Tralee with the Division 1B Final between Castlegregory and Beaufort at 5.00 p.m. followed by the Division 2B Final between Dromid/Waterville and Listowel Emmets at 6.30 p.m. The Division 4B Final between Duagh and Keel will be played at Farranfore at 6.30 p.m. On Saturday May 20th Valentia play Tarbert in the Division 4A Final at Farranfore at 6.30 p.m. and the Division 5 Final between Skellig Rangers and Lispole will be played at Milltown also at 6.30 p.m.

Results should be phoned in to the County PRO (066) 71 24754 or faxed to (066) 71 81040 immediately after the game finishes.

COUNTY MINOR HURLING LEAGUES

Abbeydorney had just one point to spare after extra time when they narrowly pipped Kenmare/Kilgarvan to win the 13 a side final of Division 2 of the Keane’s Super Valu County Minor Hurling League on Sunday last at Lewis Road.

Kilmoyley have qualified for the Division 1 Final and they will meet St. Brendan’s who defeated Ballyheigue in last Sunday’s semi-final.

JUNIOR FOOTBALL LEAGUES

The first round games of the Credit Union County Junior Football Leagues will be played on Friday May 19th. There are nine rounds in Division 1 and seven rounds in the other divisions and they will be played on subsequent Friday evenings.

Co. League Info

JUNIOR ELEIGIBILITY

Eligibility restrictions for playing in the 2006 County Junior Football Leagues were agreed at the February County Committee meeting. A club’s first 15 players are automatically excluded, any player who starts a Club Championship game or who plays in the Senior County Championship with a Divisional Team even as a sub is also excluded. All Senior, Under 21 and Junior County panellists are excluded. Players, who through injury or transfers were not available early in the season, cannot play in the junior leagues. Clubs may apply in writing to the GAC to regrade players after Round 1 of the Club Championships.

Clubs first 15 lists must be approved by District Boards and sent to County GAC.

SOCIAL & RECREATIONAL GAMES

The GAA’s “Gaelic Games for All” initiative was launched earlier this year and in Kerry, since their inception a number of years ago, our County Junior Leagues are regarded as social and recreational games. So in Kerry we are well ahead as far providing recreational games programmes for players and they have proved very popular. Players look forward to playing in these leagues every Friday evening throughout the summer.

The Croke Park initiative is the brainchild of the Social and Recreational Games committee under the chairmanship of former Wexford Hurling manager, Tony Dempsey TD. The committee was established in 2003 to address concerns expressed by the Strategic Review Committee (SRC) with regard to the need to create more opportunities for those interested in playing Gaelic games outside of the traditional competition structures.

A booklet entitled “Gaelic Games for All” will be distributed to clubs outlining ways in which clubs can provide games for retired or recreational players and for those with Special Needs as well as suggested rules for indoor and mini games.

The long-term aim of the Association is to develop Social games as a recognisable facet of club life in as many clubs as possible throughout the country and there is a responsibility on GAA clubs to provide games for all their members and not just the elite. There is much that can be done by clubs to promote the playing of our games in a recreational or social context and clubs are encouraged to examine ways in which they can develop non-contact games on a social level among their members.

The SRC established that there was a necessity to develop games for all ages with the emphasis on participation and fun and to encourage the participation of those whose interest in sport is primarily recreational and social and for whom competitive success is not a priority.

SCÓR NA bPÁISTÍ

The County Finals of Scór na bPáístí kindly sponsored by Compound Feed Engineering Ltd. were held at the Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney last Sunday. The prizes were presented to the winners by Kerry Senior footballer, Bryan Sheehan.

The Figure Dancing was won by the team from Kilgarvan N.S. represented by Sarah Godfrey, Michael Godfrey, Elaine Healy-Rae, Theresa Healy-Rae, Karmen O’Shea, Megan Murphy, Rachel Healy, Katie Harrington and Sub – Linda Kelleher.

The winner of the Solo Singing was Niall Crowley from Kilcummin N.S. Dromclough N.S. won the Instrumental Music category represented by Aoife Trench, Aoin Foran, Lianne Canty, Norma Harrington and David Foran.

Mairead Leen, Drumnacurra N.S. was the winner of the Recitation. The Ballad Group from Ballylongford N.S. won in their category, represented by Dearbhla O’Connor, Saoirse O’Connor, Emily Wrenn and Alisha O’Sullivan.

Jason Culloty, Mairead Foley and Tommy Carroll from Tiernaboul N.S. won the Quiz. Pres Boys N.S. represented by Michael Quirke, Darragh Crowe, David Slattery, Cian O’Donoghue, Bryan O’Doherty, Ryan Patten, Noel Harrington and Killian Walsh were the winners of the Novelty Act.

Aine O’Connor, Brid Kerrisk, Deborah Kerrisk, Sara Affonso, Darren Nagle, Niall Buckley, Michael Fell and Denis Kerrisk from Firies N.S. won the Set Dancing.

All of these winners will be taken to Croke Park to visit the Museum and Stadium on Friday, June 16th.

SYMPAYHY

We extend our deepest sympathy to East Kerry PRO, John O’Leary on the death of his father and to Donie Sheehan, Dr. Crokes on the death of his wife.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamnacha dílse.

HANDBALL

Foundation Coaching Course

An Ghaeltacht Handball Club hosted a Foundation Coaching Course last weekend Saturday May 6th. It turned out to be a very successful day as twelve prospective coaches took part; six adult and six juveniles. While only adults can receive the Foundation Coaching Certificates, it is great to see Juveniles learning the trade at their age. These young players are the future of any Club, and it is incumbent on all Clubs within the County to encourage and nurture these young adults. An Ghaeltacht have been in existence just a short number of years, and they have made huge strides in all aspects of the game. This is another building block on the road to establishing good structures, and building the coaching element of the Club for the future. Adults and Juveniles can work together within the Club with proper supervision; this should be encouraged and facilitated wherever possible.
The aim of these Courses is to train more people, to get involved coaching Juveniles at Club Level. There is an increasing interest in the game at County Level, and more coaches are needed at Club Level to help those people already involved. Further Courses will be rolled out later this year and into 2006; it is hoped to hold refresher Courses on an as needs basis as well for current Foundation Coaches. We would ask Clubs to canvass their own members-adult and juvenile and Schools within their area, with a view to holding Coaching Courses. Many thanks to the two Tutors-Ollie Cassidy and Karen Lawlor, who did an excellent job on the day. The feedback from the participants was very positive, and their overall presentation and preparation was excellent. Thanks to Eileen Long for her hard work in preparing everything at local level, and for getting so many locals involved. Eileen along with Fr Kieran O Brien have been instrumental, in moving An Ghaeltacht forward in many areas. Finally we extend our gratitude to Maureen O Shea, as it was her brainchild to train Handball Tutors at Munster Level last year. Maureen-along with Willie Roche from Clare, worked closely with the Munster GAA Council to bring this idea to fruition. We thank Maureen; Willie and everybody involved at Munster GAA and Munster Handball level, for their commitment and hard work in carrying through this vital initiative. Maureen who is currently spearheading Ciarrai Abu on Radio Kerry, made a huge contribution to Handball at many levels-Club, County, Provincial and to the Ladies Game. This was only one of many initiatives she undertook in her handball years; it is a testament to her undoubted ability and forethought for the future of the game.

40x20 Girls Inter Provincial All Ireland Championships
The 40x20 Girls Inter Provincial Championships takes place next weekend-Saturday May 13th. As of now the venue is not known, but it looks like that it will be a straight Final between Munster and Connacht. The Connacht girls won the 40x20 and 60x30 Competition last year, and will have a very strong team out the next day. That being said the Munster Women are in with a great chance of reversing last year’s results. Kerry should have a big representation on the Munster Team, and along with girls from the rest of the Province should provide stern opposition for their neighbours.

Upcoming Events

The Adult and Juvenile players from the County, are in a quite period at present as there was no handball activity on the playing scene last weekend. This is the first competition free period since the start of the year, so it is a good time to re charge the batteries. The next outing for our adult players will be in the 60x30 Munster Championships, which will be starting shortly.
Our Juveniles will resume National and Provincial Competitions next month. Two Teams will be in action at Feile Na Gael, which will be held in Cork on weekend 16-17 June. Fergal Mc Namara, Lorcan Seymour, Conor Ringland, Brian Og Caball and Kieran O Connell will represent Tralee in the Boys 40x20. Ballymac will have the following girls in action-Fiona Griffin, Aine Casey, Ciara Griffin, Aine Casey.
Both Teams will give a good account of themselves, and should be in the shake up for honours. An Ghaeltacht flew the flag last year as their Boys Team won Division Three-Colm O Luing, Louise Ni Mhuircheartaigh, Eilis Ni Luing, Caoimhin O Se and Cian Mac Eoghain.
Four Teams will represent the County at the Community Games Munster Championships. The Kerry representatives will have a big say in this years Provincial Honours. The Ghaeltacht U15 Girls Team-Louise Ni Mhuircheartaigh, Eilis Ni Luing, Ciara Ni She, Neasa Ni Luing, and Sunniva Ni Raghallaigh won gold at last years Finals. The Ballymac U13 Girls Team-Aine Casey, Ciara Griffin, Nicola Horan, Laura Keane, Cornelia Prendeville and Hazel Prendeville took silver at the National Finals. The Munster Championships take place at Limerick venues on the following dates; Semi Finals on July 1st and Finals on July 8th
The full lineout for the County is as follows:
U13 Boys: Marian Park-Gerard Browne, Wayne Duggan, Jack Barry, Michael Wrynn, Gavin Peevers, Eoin O Carroll.
U15 Girls: Ballymac-Fiona Griffin, Hazel Prendeville, Aine Casey, Lorraine Horan
U13 Girls: Ballymac-Cornelia Prendeville, Nicola Horan, Ciara Griffin, Laura Keane, Anna Prendeville
U15 Boys-Ghaeltacht

Munster 60x30 Juvenile Competition
Following a meeting of the Munster Juvenile Committee recently, it was decided that a new Competiton would be tried out in the 60x30 Court. There will be two Groupings: U13 Team Of Six-four to play as two sets of doubles with two subs. U15 Team Of Six--four to play as two sets of doubles with two subs. Teams can be all boys/all girls or mixed boys and girls-it will be run off on the Cumann Na Mbunscoil Rules. Clubs are reminded that closing date for entries is May 19th

Fixtures

May 13: Girls 40x20 Inter Provincial Championships: Venue-TBA

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