As Kerry FC reach the 100-match mark here are 10 milestone moments on their journey
Between wins and losses, through League of Ireland games and Munster and FAI Cup ties, these are 10 landmark games among the first 100 competitive matches Kerry FC has played
Kerryman
Today at 06:06
Well, that seemed to whizz by. One day you're at a press conference in Mounthawk Park hearing of plans to bring League of Ireland soccer to Kerry, the next you're back there settling in for the visit of Bray Wanderers for what will be Kerry Football Club's 100 competitive match across all competitions.
Two years, four months and three days seem to have shot by as Kerry FC reach the century mark – 91 in the First Division, five in the Munster Senior Cup and four in the FAI Senior Cup – as the Seagulls land in Tralee for what is the club's 100th game for the senior team.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sunday World
5 hours ago
- Sunday World
No political overtones to Linfield v Shelbourne, it's all about cold, hard cash
Blues desperate to boost their coffers with Champions League money having failed to attract the finance they need David Healy, right, will be desperate to get the better of Damien Duff and his Shelbourne side in the Champions League. Photo: David Maginnis/Pacemaker Press Shels v Blues, North v South, Duff v Healy, the scene is set for a mammoth showdown between the champions of Ireland next month at Tolka Park. Linfield v Shelbourne in the Champions League has more angles than a protractor, both on and off the field of play. When the Irish League champions meet the League of Ireland champions next month it will be 19 years since their last encounter. The South Belfast team emerged victorious from that Setanta Cup clash, winning 2-0 over the two legs. That result was not as big a surprise as the match between the two clubs the year before when Linfield caused shockwaves by winning the inaugural Setanta Cup in 2005. Under former Linfield hero Pat Fenlon, Shels were top dogs in the League of Ireland having won the title in the two previous years and were big favourites to beat the upstarts from the North. The final was played at Tolka Park on May 21 and home advantage was also thought to swing it in favour of the powerful Dublin club. However, Linfield's feared twin strikers Glenn Ferguson and Peter Thompson struck early in the first half to stun Shels and carry the cup back to Belfast. Linfield were dominant domestically under David Jeffrey back then and are league champions once again under current boss David Healy. Meanwhile, Damien Duff took his first step into club management in 2021 and last year guided the Drumcondra outfit to their first league title since 2006. Shels won it in thrilling fashion, beating Derry City 1-0 on the last day of the title race to pip Shamrock Rovers to the crown. Former Blackburn, Chelsea and Republic of Ireland midfielder Duff has been a colourful addition to the League of Ireland, never shy to duck issues, often with a dash of humour. His Linfield counterpart is also a very strong character and equally willing to make his opinions known. The former Manchester United, Fulham and Northern Ireland striker returned to the province to take on the reins of his boyhood club almost 10 years ago. After a rocky start, Healy went on to win four titles in a row and has won six in total after wresting the Gibson Cup from Larne's grip this year. Duff and Healy know each other through mirrored careers and mutual friend and former teammate Keith Gillespie. Some have tried to dress this clash up as an orange v green affair, North v South, the tired tribalism of the island of Ireland. That is merely wallpaper as far as the managers are concerned, for both have more important matters to worry about. Yes, there are bragging rights for fans and glory for the victors, but when all is said and done, this tie is all about cold, hard cash. Linfield are historically the richest, most successful team in the Irish League, and at one stage that might have applied to the entire island. In recent years, though, Larne, Glentoran and, laterly, Coleraine have overtaken the Blues in terms of spending power, causing much angst in the Linfield boardroom. The powers that be have traditionally held a sense of entitlement, but their 57 titles suggest a sense of superiority would be more apt. They have to be No 1. They have to be champions. Failure is not an option. Deliver or you're out is the maxim at Windsor Park. After losing the title to Larne twice in a row, had Healy not won the league last year, the likelihood was that he would lose his job and the club would revert to part-time status. Linfield posted a loss of £662,000 last year and it is significant that new contract negotiations with Healy were held back until after the Champions League draw was made this week. Having come close on two occasions previously, Linfield are desperate to reach the group stages of European competition, for the lucrative prize money more than the prestige. Linfield last year announced it was exploring the possibility of injecting cash into the club by selling a minority shareholding. This was deemed necessary to compete against Larne, now Coleraine are flexing their financial muscle too. But so far the club's endeavours to bring in new money has proved fruitless, leaving lucrative European prize money as the remaining avenue to bringing millions into the coffers. The Blues are worried about losing their status as the elite club in Northern Ireland, never mind the entire island. Shamrock Rovers have emerged in recent years as the most powerful club in Ireland, North and South, as their European heroics last year proved. Rovers were pitted against Larne in the group stages of the Conference League, the first time any Irish League team had achieved the feat. Tiernan Lynch's side had won the Irish Premiership for two years in a row and had dreams of becoming the elite team in the land. There was much hype about this 'All-Ireland' clash, but on the night at Windsor Park, Rovers gave the Invermen a lesson, exposing a huge gulf in class in the 4-1 win. Trying to glean information from this formline is futile as Shels and Linfield are two different teams. Healy has been relatively quiet in the market since winning the title in May, signing only former Larne right-back Sean Brown. He feels the business he did earlier this year in signing Kieran Offord, Callumn Morrison and Alex Gorrin will bear fruit next season. A significant problem for Linfield is the fact that Shels are midway through their domestic campaign, whereas the Blues lost 4-1 to TNS in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Thursday. This undoubtedly gives the Dublin club another advantage, so Healy is up against it, but this is when he is at his most dangerous. He feeds off being written off, it galvanises him; he's like Popeye after eating spinach, and he loves being the unfancied underdog. Finally, there is the security aspect, but this has been overplayed. It's not Linfield v Rovers or Derry. The two teams have played before without issue and this is not the sort of tie that is likely to attract the mindless minority within Linfield's support. As with most clubs, the supporters who watch their team week in, week out are not troublemakers. They are passionate, vocal and proud, and they despair of the neanderthalic element that turns up for the occasional game. The battle will be won and lost on the field of play.
Irish Independent
6 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Rúaidhrí O'Connor: The IRFU need to balance their books while protecting the golden goose
On Friday night, a packed Aviva Stadium waved the most Irish-influenced Lions in history off on their mission to Australia with Andy Farrell, four of his assistant coaches, 16 of his players and a swathe of support staff on board. The men's national team won seven of their nine internationals this season with all of their home games sold out, while the women's team continued their steady improvement towards this year's World Cup. Leinster played Munster at a sold-out Croke Park and went on to win the URC and reach a European semi-final. At a glance, Irish rugby has never been in a stronger position.
Irish Examiner
11 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
John Kiely: 'It all hurts, it will hurt as much as it did last year'
JOHN Kiely doesn't have this feeling too often. Losing in Croke Park has only happened three times now, Kilkenny in 2019, Cork 12 months ago and now this, the most unlikely reversal against 14-man Dublin. Only in 2017, his first season in charge, has his most talented squad failed to reach the last four. Their consistency unmatched during that period. The fourteen titles collected in that period now feel somewhat distant. Limerick are not the leading force now, the mantle will be taken up by someone else next month. Kiely, about 40 minutes post match, arrived and as always gave his time to the media. 'Very disappointed, obviously, but we've lost to a better team on the day. Dublin deserve great credit for their performance. To win that game with fourteen men for such a long period of time is such a fantastic achievement for them. I think things stuck for them today, when they went to pick up a ball it stuck, when they went to catch a ball it stuck. They were really good on restarts, on ours and theirs. They were really, really good on the breaking ball." 'When the opportunities came in the last ten minutes they seized upon them and took them,' his side couldn't create a goal, couldn't get themselves back in front after the Dubs had assumed control with that quickfire blast. His side certainly didn't get near the level of that ferocious Munster decider, 'We weren't 100% sharp on the ball. We turned over balls that we shouldn't have, everything seemed to be that little bit harder for us. I think when you are that little bit off, it gives the opposition a chance. And I'd have to give great credit to Dublin, their performance today.' The Galbally native was full in his praise of the winning side, he wasn't surprised either, that Dublin had such a display in them, 'We had all our analysis done of Dublin, their performance levels in the Leinster Championship were of a very high level, across various different metrics. Work rate, puckouts, their accuracy has been very, very high. In one game they had over 85%. They might not have done all of those together in a single game in Leinster, but they were extremely competitive. They got their performance level right today, there is great credit due to them.' Did the Munster final take too much from them, nearly 100-minutes of toil, of battle with their neighbours, Cork? 'In a word? No. We drew the Munster final in normal and extra-time. We weren't chasing the drawing score, the penalties were the penalties.' 'We took a bit of time after the Munster final, and after the Munster final and got back on the horse last weekend. I felt the energy levels were good. Our warm-up went well today, and we started well against the breeze today, for the first 10-12 minutes. 'Whatever happened after the sending off, there was a response from Dublin that we didn't have, or give. Once they got their teeth into the contest they gave themselves a great chance. 'Goals win matches, they are a big part of it, they were two well taken goals'. 'It all hurts, it will hurt as much as it did last year, we wanted to be back in training next week'. The Shannonsiders will reflect on this, with Kiely set to continue into 2026, having agreed a two-year term last Autumn.
