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WEEKLY
NEWS
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Weekly Kerry GAA Scene
by
Co. PRO Willie O'Connor
15th March 2007
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15th March 2007 |
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ALL-IRELAND FINALISTS CAN BE PROUD OF THEIR CAMPAIGNS... Congratulations to Ardfert, on adding the All-Ireland title to their Munster and County Intermediate Club Football Championship titles, beating the Derry and Ulster Champions, Eoghan Rua by two points, last Saturday under the new floodlights at Croke Park. They won all three titles with determined performances and even when defeat seemed imminent they never gave in. They have proved on countless occasions in the County, Munster and All-Ireland series that a game is never won until the full time whistle has been blown. It was heartbreaking for Duagh in the Junior All-Ireland Club Final, who battled in traditional Kerry fashion, being beaten by just a single point by Greencastle from Tyrone in a game that could have finished level and gone to extra time had Duagh been given the opportunity to shoot for an equaliser just before the full time whistle sounded. Both clubs can be justifiably proud of their campaigns in the county, provincial and All-Ireland series, including last Saturday night’s two All-Ireland Finals. Ardfert’s campaign will be best remembered for the spectacularly close finishes and matching winning goals; their county final win against Annascaul, their Munster final victory over Corofin of Clare and of course their ability to dig deep especially in the low scoring and highly intense All-Ireland Final with John Egan’s first half goal being the decisive score at Croke Park. Duagh’s campaign was equally dramatic and inspiring with their closely fought games in the county championship, their spectacular wholehearted display against Adrigole of Cork in the Munster final and against Park/Ratheniska from Laois in the All-Ireland semi-final. The All-Ireland Final was an equally closely fought game and unfortunately for the Kerry and Munster Champions luck deserted them with the last action of the game. Those injury time dramas and memorable individual performances were the material for the headlines of the two All-Ireland Finals. Behind all the headlines, each player on both panels, each member of the team management and club officer made their own individual contributions to what was a magnificent achievement for everybody. It was a fantastic team effort that made the All-Ireland dream come true for Ardfert for the second successive year and I’m sure the Duagh players and their supporters despite their defeat will have very happy memories of their success story of the past few months that led them all the way to Croke Park and an All-Ireland Final. The sacrifices made, the time spent in training and preparing, have all been worthwhile as Ardfert Team Captain, Jonathan Best accepted the All-Ireland Intermediate Cup from GAA President, Nickey Brennan. For Duagh there is no consolation prize but they fought a great campaign and their players and management are an inspiration to teams the length and breadth of Kerry to follow in their illustrious and highly sporting footsteps. What an unforgettable few months it has been for the Ardfert and Duagh players, mentors, their parishes and communities. Playing in the All-Ireland Intermediate and Junior Finals at Croke Park has been a tremendous experience for the teams, officials and supporters and last Saturday will be remembered for many years as the greatest occasion in the history of the two clubs. Two small rural clubs, Ardfert whose players are equally proficient in both hurling and football, have achieved the ultimate accolade of winning their second All-Ireland Club Final in Croke Park in successive years, this time playing at the higher Intermediate level. Duagh scaled heights that perhaps they never thought possible a few months ago. Playing for the pride of the parish has never been so meaningful when small junior and intermediate clubs can have the opportunity of having their big day out at the finest stadium in Europe. The achievements of Ardfert, Finuge and Duagh have shown the way and their achievements can be a catalyst for every club in Kerry as they prepare for this year’s club championships. The Provincial and All-Ireland Intermediate and Junior Club Championships have added an exciting new dimension for the county club championship winners in these grades. ALL-IRELAND SENIOR CLUB FINAL On this St. Patrick’s Day at 2.00 p.m. it is the turn of Dr. Crokes to contest the AIB All-Ireland Club Final against the might of Crossmaglen Rangers from Co. Armagh. We wish the players and officials and their manager Pat O’Shea the very best of luck and hope that they will bring the All-Ireland title back to the Kingdom. Last year’s All-Ireland Scór Set Dancing winners from the Spa Club, Killarney will provide the entertainment at the AIB All-Ireland Senior Club Championship Finals at Croke Park on this St. Patrick’s Day. Liam O’Connor will also be part of the St. Patrick’s Day entertainment at Croke Park with his unsurpassable and energetic renditions of traditional Irish music. Liam is an avid supporter of the Dr. Crokes Club. COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DRAW The draw for this year’s AIB County Senior Football Championship will take place on Wednesday March 28th on Ciarraí Abú on Radio Kerry from 9.00 p.m. to 10.00 p.m. The draws for the Castleisland Co-Op Mart County Intermediate, Junior and Novice Football Championships were held last week and some mouth watering first round games are in prospect. The games will be played on the weekend of April 29th. The clubs will be taking the first steps to follow in the successful paths of Ardfert and Duagh on that weekend. Ardfert are gone into the Senior Championship this year and Duagh are promoted to the Intermediate Championship. CREDIT UNION COUNTY LEAGUE RD. 1 The majority of the games will be played on Sunday at 2.30 p.m. with the exception of the Division 1 game between Dr. Crokes and Ardfert, which is postponed. In Division 5 the game between St. Senan’s and Moyvane is postponed to mid April. Some games are being played on St. Patrick’s Day. See fixtures for details. As the County Football League gets the 2007 playing season under way for all our clubs and their teams, we look forward to a very competitive and sporting year. A good start to the league is half the battle for a team and bearing that in mind we can expect some great games to be played at venues right throughout the county on Sunday. In Division 1 Dingle and Ardfert are the two teams promoted this year. Dingle face Kilcummin in this opening round. In the other games in this division Gneeveguilla face the 2006 winners, Kerins O’Rahillys and the 2006 runners up Laune Rangers are at home Rathmore. On St. Patrick’s Day at 4.30 p.m. Milltown/Castlemaine travel to Austin Stacks at a venue to be confirmed and Listowel Emmets make the long journey to Gallarus to play An Ghaeltacht at 4.00 p.m. In Division 2 the race for promotion is very much to the forefront as teams can ill-afford to lose points, especially early in the campaign. Castleisland Desmonds and St. Mary’s are eager to get back into the top flight and they have a tough task in hand. In this round Desmonds travel to John Mitchels and St. Mary’s are at home for a local derby game against neighbours, Waterville. This game is on St. Patrick’s Day at midday. Also on St. Patrick’s Day newly promoted Beale are at home to St. Michael’s/Foilmore at 1.00 p.m. Sneem have a local derby game away to Dromid Pearses on Sunday. Currow are at home to Annascaul and Finuge travel to Spa. In Division 3 the newly promoted teams, Na Gaeil and Tuosist face tough opponents in this first round. Na Gaeil are at home to Castlegregory at 3.00 p.m. on St. Patrick’s Day in what should be a very competitive game and at 2.00 p.m. Lispole are at home to Ballymacelligott. On Sunday Tuosist are at home to Glenflesk, Tarbert face the long journey to play Skellig Rangers, Legion are at home to Kenmare and Beaufort host Renard. From Croke Park under floodlights last Saturday night it’s back to their home pitch for Duagh on this Sunday when they host Ballydonoghue in Division 4. St. Pat’s have a long journey to travel on Sunday when they travel to Valentia Newly promoted teams Cromane and Cordal face tough games in this first round. Cromane are away to Scartaglin and Cordal travel to play Glenbeigh/Glencar. Ballyduff are at home to Brosna, Firies are at home to Keel. Sunday’s opening round has some good competitive fare in store for all the players to herald the end of the long winter break and all the teams throughout the county are delighted to get back into action. Many of them will have been playing already in their District Board leagues over the past few weeks. The County League is a great competition - providing regular football in its 11 rounds for all the teams involved. It is a very competitive league and every team is strongly motivated to perform well. Round 2 will be played on the weekend of March 25th and Round 3 on the weekend of April 1st. Short match reports can be faxed to the above fax number or e-mailed to prokygaa@gofree.indigo.ie at any time 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. AERTEL: COUNTY MINOR LEAGUES The Keane’s Super Valu County Minor Football Leagues were due to commence on Bank Holiday Monday with games in all divisions but due to so many clubs having players involved in the Tralee CBS and St. Brendan’s College teams in Monday’s Corn Uí Mhuirí Final, Round 1 is postponed to a later date. The scheduled Round 2 games will be played on Saturday March 24th. The first round of the Division 1 County Minor Hurling League will be played at 1.00 p.m. on this Bank Holiday Monday March 19th. MUNSTER UNDER 21 FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP Clare decisively beat Kerry in the quarterfinal of the Cadbury Munster Under 21 Football Championship at Kilmihil, Co. Clare last Saturday. The injuries to Darren O’Sullivan and Killian Young were a big setback for the team who also lined out without Duagh’s Anthony Maher. Nevertheless the players should have been capable of putting those disappointments aside and could not use it as an excuse for the performance of team on the day. Clare were clearly up for this game and could have won by a bigger margin had they converted all their scoring chances. There were very few positives from a Kerry perspective. KERRY V LIMERICK Following their one goal win against Limerick in Round 4 of the Allianz National Football League at Fitzgerald Stadium last Sunday our Senior Footballers remain in second place on the league table ahead of Mayo on score difference and behind Donegal, who have full points from their four games. Mayo are also on six points. Limerick were unable to exploit the current injury situation in the Kerry panel that had a number of key players out through injury. Due to club commitments the Dr. Crokes players were unavailable to play any part in this game as they prepare for the All-Ireland Club Final on St. Patrick’s Day. The players selected worked extremely hard to justify their selection on the team and they put in a committed performance that gave Kerry those valuable league points. The league has passed the half way stage and Kerry’s remaining games are away to Donegal at Letterkenny in Round 5, at home to Tyrone in Round 6 and away to Dublin in the last round. These three games are of vital importance and we must play to our full potential to earn the league points in those games. SUPPORTERS CLUB The Kerry GAA Supporters Club are organising an overnight trip for our Round 5 National League game against Donegal at Letterkenny on March 25th. They will depart on Saturday March 24th and return after Sunday’s game. Bookings must be fully paid for a week before travelling. Final payments, for those who have booked must be made at 8.00 p.m. on Tuesday next March 20th at Ballygarry House, Tralee and at the Listowel Arms Hotel. For further information contact any member of the committee, Martin Leane at (068) 48116, John King at (066) 7124229 or Donie O’Leary at (064) 58099. NATIONAL HURLING LEAGUE Kerry host Westmeath in their Round 3 game of the Allianz National Hurling Leagueon St. Patrick’s Day at 1.00 p.m. at Austin Stack Park, Tralee. Note the change of date. Our defeat against Mayo two weeks puts added pressure on the team as they prepare for this decisive game. Mayo are above Kerry in the table, with the Connacht side now in second place and Kerry dropped from top spot to third. Kildare are top of the table with three points and Westmeath are in fourth place with one point having drawn with Kildare. Westmeath had a bye in Round 1 and London had a bye in Round 2. Kildare have a bye in this round. COUNTY HURLING LEAGUE The first round games in Division 1 of the Credit Union County Senior Hurling League were postponed last Sunday due to pitch conditions. However Crotta O’Neills, who had home venue travelled to Ballyheigue to fulfil the fixture and came home with the two league points. The postponed games between St. Brendan’s and Ballyduff, Lixnaw V Kilmoyley and Abbeydorney V Causeway are rescheduled for 2.00 p.m. on Bank Holiday Monday March 19th. The home club is responsible for phoning in the result to the County PRO immediately after the game. CORN UÍ MHUIRÍ FINAL St. Brendan’s College, Killarney play Tralee CBS in the Credit Union, Corn Uí Mhuirí, Munster Colleges Senior “A” Football Final at Austin Stack Park, Tralee at 2.30 p.m. on Bank Holiday March 19th. In an all Kerry final in this very prestigious competition the rivalry between these two schools with such a wealth of football tradition will be rekindled and what a mouth-watering prospect that is. COUNTY COMMITTEE MEETING There is a change of date for the March meeting of the County Committee. The new date is Tuesday March 27th at Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney at 8.00 p.m.. NEW REFEREES COURSES 38 new referees have attended the course for new referees held at The Pavilion, Austin Stack Park over the past two weeks. This is a great response and hopefully we will see all these referees in action at Coiste Na nÓg games during the year. A second course for new referees is being organised for Killarney next week. Contact Joe Langan or Johnny Brosnan, Coiste Na nÓg for details.
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