Kerry SFL: Austin Stacks and Kerins O'Rahillys clash to decide title
This year's Kerry County League Division 1 title will be decided when Austin Stacks and Kerins O'Rahillys clash in the second last round at Connolly Park. Both sides are locked at top of the table on fifteen points each. It looks like a winner takes all game as both will be playing teams positioned towards the foot of the table in their final match.
Stacks travelled to Beaufort who are battling relegation and emerged victorious 1-20 to 1-16. It was level after the opening quarter at 0-5 each. Fergal Hallissey was accurate from placed balls for the home side while Ferdia O'Brien (2), Brendan O'Sullivan and Sean Quilter had scored for Stacks. The Tralee side stretched 0-11 to 0-17 clear by the 25th minute thanks to two Ryan O'Driscoll points from play, and a two-point free and a close-in free from Quilter. They looked in control.
But Beaufort, thanks to a Hallissey free and a goal from Ger Hartnett, saw the sides retire 1-9 to 0-12 at the interval and it was all to play for. Stacks were two clear by the 40th minute thanks to two Joe Reidy points, 0-15 to 1-10, when disaster struck for Beaufort when Sean Coffey, now playing outfield, picked up a yellow card following a clash with Ryan O'Driscoll. He then received a black and Beaufort were reduced to 14 players.
But Beaufort refused to throw in the towel and Liam Carey fired over a two-pointer to level the contest 1-14 to 0-17 in the 59th minute. But Stacks finished the stronger with a Ferdia O'Brien goal and a point, and a point each from Ryan O'Driscoll and Joe Reidy. Stacks escaped to victory despite a late Fergal Hallissey two-pointer which brought his total to 0-9.
Kerins O'Rahilly's had things far easier against a depleted Rathmore who were not only missing their county players but also those gone to the US. The Tralee club won as they liked on 6-15 to 2-10. O'Rahillys led 4-4 to 1-5 at half-time thanks to a brace of goals each from Conor Hayes and Darragh O'Connor despite an Alan Dineen goal from play for Rathmore.
Ciaran Collins was waging a one-man battle for Rathmore but early second half two-pointers from O'Connor and Tom Hoare removed all doubt while O'Connor completed his hat-trick as the Tralee side moved 5-11 to 1-7 clear by the 46th minute. O'Rahillys cruised to a 17-point win.
Glenflesk travelled to Glenbeigh to play the locals and they beat them 1-21 to 1-10 with a power-packed second half. This result means that Glenbeigh/Glencar are relegated but they fought hard in the opening half and trailed 1-10 to 1-6 with Callum Cronin and the Roche brothers Darragh and Dylan on the scoresheet. Glenbeigh could only manage four points in the second half while Tommy Bowler kicked three two-pointers and Darragh Roche continued to find the target. Glenflesk move to 10 points in fifth spot.
In a relegation four-pointer, Laune Rangers managed to beat Ballymacelligott 2-16 to 1-14 but neither side are safe with Ballymac needing a miracle to stay up as they play Legion and Crokes, along with Beaufort, in their final games. There was nothing in the game at the interval with Rangers leading 1-7 to 0-9. A John Tyther goal from a penalty was the difference at the break with Niall Collins, Aidan Breen and a two-pointer from Donal Daly keeping Ballymac in touch.
A point each from Eoin and Darragh Clifford and a two-pointer from Tyther pushed Rangers four clear but a Jack Joy two-pointer offered Ballymac hope. But then once Daire Cleary struck for a Rangers goal, they always controlled the game.
Dr Crokes, who will probably have to settle for third place this year, won the Killarney derby by a point, beating Killarney Legion 1-11 to 0-13 with David Shaw kicking some fine second half scores. Crokes led by the minimum at half time, 1-6 to 0-8. Brian Looney, who lined out at midfield for Dr Crokes, kicked two points including the final score of the game.
Kilcummin beat Spa 1-21 to 2-11 and that means Spa are still not safe. Philip O'Leary got the all important goal for the winners.
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Irish Examiner
08-06-2025
- Irish Examiner
Kerry SFL: Austin Stacks and Kerins O'Rahillys clash to decide title
This year's Kerry County League Division 1 title will be decided when Austin Stacks and Kerins O'Rahillys clash in the second last round at Connolly Park. Both sides are locked at top of the table on fifteen points each. It looks like a winner takes all game as both will be playing teams positioned towards the foot of the table in their final match. Stacks travelled to Beaufort who are battling relegation and emerged victorious 1-20 to 1-16. It was level after the opening quarter at 0-5 each. Fergal Hallissey was accurate from placed balls for the home side while Ferdia O'Brien (2), Brendan O'Sullivan and Sean Quilter had scored for Stacks. The Tralee side stretched 0-11 to 0-17 clear by the 25th minute thanks to two Ryan O'Driscoll points from play, and a two-point free and a close-in free from Quilter. They looked in control. But Beaufort, thanks to a Hallissey free and a goal from Ger Hartnett, saw the sides retire 1-9 to 0-12 at the interval and it was all to play for. Stacks were two clear by the 40th minute thanks to two Joe Reidy points, 0-15 to 1-10, when disaster struck for Beaufort when Sean Coffey, now playing outfield, picked up a yellow card following a clash with Ryan O'Driscoll. He then received a black and Beaufort were reduced to 14 players. But Beaufort refused to throw in the towel and Liam Carey fired over a two-pointer to level the contest 1-14 to 0-17 in the 59th minute. But Stacks finished the stronger with a Ferdia O'Brien goal and a point, and a point each from Ryan O'Driscoll and Joe Reidy. Stacks escaped to victory despite a late Fergal Hallissey two-pointer which brought his total to 0-9. Kerins O'Rahilly's had things far easier against a depleted Rathmore who were not only missing their county players but also those gone to the US. The Tralee club won as they liked on 6-15 to 2-10. O'Rahillys led 4-4 to 1-5 at half-time thanks to a brace of goals each from Conor Hayes and Darragh O'Connor despite an Alan Dineen goal from play for Rathmore. Ciaran Collins was waging a one-man battle for Rathmore but early second half two-pointers from O'Connor and Tom Hoare removed all doubt while O'Connor completed his hat-trick as the Tralee side moved 5-11 to 1-7 clear by the 46th minute. O'Rahillys cruised to a 17-point win. Glenflesk travelled to Glenbeigh to play the locals and they beat them 1-21 to 1-10 with a power-packed second half. This result means that Glenbeigh/Glencar are relegated but they fought hard in the opening half and trailed 1-10 to 1-6 with Callum Cronin and the Roche brothers Darragh and Dylan on the scoresheet. Glenbeigh could only manage four points in the second half while Tommy Bowler kicked three two-pointers and Darragh Roche continued to find the target. Glenflesk move to 10 points in fifth spot. In a relegation four-pointer, Laune Rangers managed to beat Ballymacelligott 2-16 to 1-14 but neither side are safe with Ballymac needing a miracle to stay up as they play Legion and Crokes, along with Beaufort, in their final games. There was nothing in the game at the interval with Rangers leading 1-7 to 0-9. A John Tyther goal from a penalty was the difference at the break with Niall Collins, Aidan Breen and a two-pointer from Donal Daly keeping Ballymac in touch. A point each from Eoin and Darragh Clifford and a two-pointer from Tyther pushed Rangers four clear but a Jack Joy two-pointer offered Ballymac hope. But then once Daire Cleary struck for a Rangers goal, they always controlled the game. Dr Crokes, who will probably have to settle for third place this year, won the Killarney derby by a point, beating Killarney Legion 1-11 to 0-13 with David Shaw kicking some fine second half scores. Crokes led by the minimum at half time, 1-6 to 0-8. Brian Looney, who lined out at midfield for Dr Crokes, kicked two points including the final score of the game. Kilcummin beat Spa 1-21 to 2-11 and that means Spa are still not safe. Philip O'Leary got the all important goal for the winners.
Irish Independent
01-06-2025
- Irish Independent
Kerry soccer club set to improve long-term playing facilities for members
Contracts between the club and Tralee-based company PST Sports were recently signed paving the way for a new all-weather pitch at its club grounds. It's taken over three years of hard work and organisation just getting to this point. Such a facility will enable players train and host multiple games throughout the winter months. The overall cost of a state-of-the art Astro pitch is expected to top €500,000. The club applied for Sports Capital Funding and received €100,000 – 50 per cent of what it applied for. Club members have been phenomenal in supporting various fundraising activities and training fees that have helped raise money for the project. The financial balance of the pitch will be paid for through a combination of future loans and fundraising. Given that Tralee Dynamos cater for adults and children including a new academy that accommodates over 100 girls, the club is disappointed not to have received more in the way of grant assistance for its facilities. By the time interest loans are repaid the new all-weather pitch will be 70 per cent member funded. 'It's great news for the club. We're targeting a finish date of the middle of September. There has been a big push over the last few months to try and have it done before the start of next winter,' said club treasurer, Fergal O'Shea. The club plays through the winter and usually by mid-season its two grass pitches are unplayable. This is due to a combination of weather and four or five teams playing on the same surface within days. With the club active mostly at evenings and weekends, an opportunity exists for community organisations to use the facility by day. Tralee Dynamos has a longstanding relationship with Kerry Parents & Friends Association. 'We contacted them and said they can have free access to it during the day. It is a great organisation and this would be an acknowledgment of the work they do. Hopefully, this is a relationship that can be built on with better club house upgrades in the future. This is something we will be actively pursuing,' said Fergal. 'But having an all-weather facility gives us flexibility. We can train every night of the week if we want and have four or five matches on a Saturday without having to consider its impact on the pitch. This is huge for us. "A big call out must go to our members who over the last three years paid their contributions through training fees. This put a lot of trust in us to deliver. A huge thanks to them. It's great for them to be able to see this is finally happening,' he said.
Irish Examiner
30-05-2025
- Irish Examiner
Nearly a decade after Kerry debut, Barry Dan O'Sullivan finds game that suits him
Patience and Barry Dan O'Sullivan are long acquainted. Perseverance and Barry Dan are equally familiar bedfellows. But it is only in the past month where this pair of attributes, on display by the 29-year-old midfielder for almost a decade now, have finally begun to receive payment. Mike Quirke, to give him his credit, was first to advocate for Kerry's current middle-third arrangement and how effective it could be. Quirke, a selector in recent campaigns, was a guest on the Irish Examiner Gaelic football podcast the Monday after the League's third round when he championed the approach first adopted by management in Round 6 and repeated for the first time in championship during the victory over Roscommon a fortnight ago. Joe O'Connor made his first appearance of the year during Kerry's Round 3 League defeat to Dublin. There he partnered Diarmuid O'Connor. A reprisal of the county's 2024 midfield partnership. A partnership Quirke wanted broken up. 'I'd love a scenario where you'd Joe O'Connor wing-forward, I think he'd be unbelievable as a wing-forward,' said Quirke. 'But that second spot [at midfield], whether it is Barry Dan, there are question marks over him.' Barry Dan had actually started the county's opening two games of the League. He then disappeared from the line-up. In the ensuing four games, he saw the last quarter of an hour against Tyrone and nothing else. It was the Round 6 victory at home to Armagh when management plumped for Joe O'Connor at half-forward. Éamonn Fitzmaurice described his performance in the No.10 slot as 'immense'. Partnering Diarmuid O'Connor at midfield that evening was Seán O'Brien. The latest piece of evidence that Barry Dan was again out of the first team picture. The story really of his broken Kerry existence. 'Seán has put himself to the top of the midfield queue,' former Kerry forward Seán O'Sullivan told the Examiner the week after the Armagh win. 'The other option is Barry Dan, but for whatever reason, he just doesn't seem to have the trust of management at the moment.' Diarmuid's shoulder injury against Armagh stalled Joe O'Connor's stay in the half-forward line. Him and O'Brien were the midfield picks for their final outing of the League round-robin. O'Brien departed injured the Salthill field on 47 minutes. Barry Dan kicked two points upon replacing him and has not let go of the No.9 shirt since. Knocks to others cleared his path, but when you've persevered as long as he has, you are due the odd domino being knocked in your direction. His selection for the Munster semi-final against Cork represented his 10th championship appearance but first start. Nine years and two months after his 2016 League debut against Roscommon, where he replaced Johnny Buckley off the bench, and seven years after his first League start, he'd finally earned a first championship start at 29 years of age. The Tralee-based vet was a two-year Kerry minor and three-year U21. He pocketed All-Ireland medals at minor and post-primary level, the latter with Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne. Fitzmaurice, first his teacher and then Kerry manager, used him once in the 2016 League, twice in 2017, and on five occasions in 2018. Present, but not a presence felt. The Peter Keane era and he were not acquainted. He was also on the outside looking in for Jack's 2022 all-conquering comeback. David Moran's subsequent retirement, Joe O'Connor's ruptured cruciate, and later injuries to Diarmuid O'Connor and Stefan Okunbor necessitated a Barry Dan recall for the attempted title defence. Then selector Diarmuid Murphy labelled him the form midfielder of the 2022 county championship. His determination for this second chapter to be less peripheral than the first was underlined in June 2023 when he missed his brother's wedding in Rome, for which he was best man, to be part of the panel for the county's Sam Maguire group fixture away to Cork. It was a game he only saw the last five minutes of. On his return to Páirc Uí Chaoimh in the middle of last month, for his full championship debut, he won two kickouts, was fouled underneath another two, successfully broke four more to a teammate, and also raised a white flag. In the first half of the Munster final, he won the Kerry kickout that led to David Clifford's opening goal and was also central to Clifford's second. He won the ensuing kickout, tallied 1-1 himself, and won a further restart that concluded with a Paul Geaney point. 'The new game suits him,' said Jack O'Connor. 'The ball is being kicked out, and Barry Dan is very strong under the ball, hard to shift him, and good in the air. A man like that will always be a big asset in that situation. 'Before, when it was the old game, the midfielders were more link players and box-to-box, whereas now the kickouts are crucial. He's a very, very strong man under the ball so the new game is suiting him.' The Dingle clubman was less prominent when operating either side of Joe and the returning Diarmuid O'Connor against Roscommon. That's his challenge going forward. Starting place cemented, perseverance and patience must now give way to impactful presence.
