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WILLIE O'CONNOR'S
KERRY GAA SCENE
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
17 November 2000
CO. SENIOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP
ON SUNDAY at 2.45 p.m. at Austin Stack Park. Tralee, Ballyduff play
Ballyheigue in the AIB County Senior Hurling Championship Final. On their way
to the final, Ballyduff defeated Kenmare/St. Pats in the first round,
Abbeydorney in the quarter-final and Crotta O’Neills in the semi-final.
Ballyheigue defeated Kilmoyley in a very closely fought contest in
the quarter-final and had a comfortable win over Causeway in the semi-final.
Both clubs are steeped in the hurling tradition and the pride of the parish
will be very much in evidence when both teams do battle for the honour of
winning the Millennium County Hurling Championship.
Ballyheigue have had a long wait for Sunday’s final with their
side of the draw finishing much earlier than Ballyduff’s. Due to the delay in
playing the quarter-final replay between Lixnaw and Crotta O’Neills and the
subsequent delay in playing the semi-final, Ballyduff, who had qualified for
the semi-final in mid August, had to wait until two weeks ago to play the game.
In the intervening period of time, bad weather and unplayable
pitches also hampered the preparation and training of both teams. Let us hope
that there will be an improvement in the weather in advance of Sunday’s final
and that our County Senior Hurling Final will be the spectacle that it ought to
be.
Ballyduff last won the Neilius Flynn Cup in 1995 when they
defeated Ballyheigue in the final of that year which completed their three in a
row of County Championship titles in the 1990s. Ballyheigue’s last title was
won in 1997 when they defeated Causeway to make it two titles in a row. In the
1996 final they defeated Ballyduff and reversing the result of the previous
year.
In the decade just past, both clubs have been to the forefront of
winning senior titles. Ballyduff won four, 1991 and the three in a row
1993-1995. Ballyheigue won in 1992, 1996 and 1997.
Both teams will have a good blend of youth and experience in their
lineouts for the final and this is strong evidence that the hurling tradition
is as good as ever in the two clubs.
JUBILEE TEAM:
The County Board at Sunday’s final will honour the St. Brendan’s
team, which defeated Kilgarvan by 5-7 to 3-6 in the county final of 1975. They
will be guests at the match after enjoying a reunion lunch hosted by the County
Board. The team will be presented to the crowd during half time.
MATCH PROGRAMME:
The match programme on Sunday is compiled and edited by the North
Kerry Hurling Board. There will be plenty to read including profiles of the two
participating teams and some interesting articles. There will be a tribute to
the Kerry Minor Hurling team who won the All-Ireland B title in September when
they defeated Meath in the final played at Semple Stadium, Thurles and not
forgetting their superb display against Clare in the first round of the Munster
Minor Hurling Championship last April at Austin Stack Park.
All the proceeds of the programme will go towards the promotion of
hurling in the North Kerry Hurling Board area.
AIB COUNTY FOOTBALL FINAL:
The final of the AIB County Senior Football Championship between
An Ghaeltacht and Dr. Crokes will be played on Sunday, November 26 at Austin
Stack Park at 2.30 p.m.
The Shannon Rangers County Championship winning teams of 1972 and
1977 will be the guests of honour at this year’s County Final.
MILLENNIUM CUP FINAL:
The final of the FEXCO Millennium Cup last Sunday turned out to be
a thriller. It lived up to all expectations and culminated in a one point
victory for Glenflesk in the dying minutes of the game when Paud O’Donoghue
pointed a free in front of the posts after John Crowley had been fouled going
through.
It was an all round good and consistent team performance by
Glenflesk, which kept them narrowly ahead for much of the game. John Crowley’s
first half goal was inspirational and gave them the edge until An Ghaeltacht
drew level with just minutes remaining. In a tension packed climax, which for a
while looked like extra time would have to be played, came that all-important
movement when Seamus Moynihan passed to John Crowley.
An Ghaeltacht will quite naturally feel very disappointed with the
result and they will certainly recover sufficiently to focus their attention on
their County Championship Final with Dr. Crokes in a week’s time. They are a
very good team and are worthy runners up in this highly competitive
competition. They will also have learned a lot from Sunday’s defeat and can
feel proud of the great contribution they made to a thrilling final.
Sunday’s game was a fitting finale to a competition that captured
the imagination of all the teams in the county. Some great games were played and
with the pride of the club at stake it gave us some fantastic moments to
remember.
The FEXCO Millennium Cup and The Michael O’Connor Cup, which is
presented for the Club Championship, were both presented to Glenflesk’s Captain
David O’Donoghue.
MUNSTER CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS:
FEXCO Millennium Cup winners Glenflesk will play Moyle Rovers, the
Tipperary County Champions, in the semi-final of the Munster Club Championship
at Ardfinnan, Co. Tipperary on this Sunday at 2.30 p.m.
Waterford County Hurling Champions, Mount Sion, defeated Ballyduff
in the Munster Club Hurling Championship played at Walsh Park, Waterford City
on Sunday last. The game however will have been a very useful part of
Ballyduff’s preparations for Sunday’s County Final.
CAHILL CUP FINAL:
Congratulations to Derrynane on their victory over Scartaglin in
the final of the Cahill Cup played in Cromane on Sunday last. Once again we
extend our sincere thanks to the Cromane Club for making their field available
to us. Clubs that have played there over the past few weekends have been loud
in their praise of the field and the excellent condition of the playing surface
despite all the heavy rainfall.
MOLYNEAUX CUP FINAL:
This final between Laune Rangers B and Desmonds B played in the
John Mitchels pitch on Saturday last ended in both teams finishing level. Extra
time was not played due to the oncoming darkness of the evening. Thanks to the
John Mitchels Club for giving us the use of the pitch at very short
notice. The replay is fixed for the
same venue on Saturday, November 25 at 2.30 p.m.
INTERMEDIATE CUP FINAL:
The final between Ballymacelligott and Beaufort will be played on
Saturday, November 25 at 2.30 p.m. at Fitzgerald Stadium.
JUNIOR CUP FINAL:
Finuge play Gneeveguilla in the Junior Cup final on this Saturday,
November 18 at 3.00 p.m. at Beaufort.
COUNTY LEAGUE:
Two important games in the last round of Division 2 of the Lee
Strand County Senior Football League are fixed for this Saturday at 3.00 p.m.
Waterville are at home to Austin Stacks and St. Mary’s are at home to
Annascaul. The results of these two games will decide if either Annascaul or
Waterville are relegated.
NATIONAL LEAGUE:
There was no joy for us in Dungannon last Sunday as Tyrone won the
second round game of the Allianz National Football League comprehensively. One
cannot expect the team to perform at the level they are accustomed to so soon
after the long championship campaign. We have a lot of ground to make up in the
league if we are to get off the bottom the table. The team will undoubtedly
recover the lost ground and we can look forward to seeing them performing at
their full potential in the remaining games.
We have asked Dublin for a postponement of our third round home
game, which is fixed for Sunday, November 26. This is the date of the AIB
County Senior Football Championship Final and it is on those grounds that we
have sought the postponement. We are hopeful of a positive response to our
request.
SUPPORTERS CLUB SOCIAL:
The 11th Annual Social of the Kerry GAA Supporters Club will be
held at Ballygarry House Hotel, Tralee on Saturday, December 2. Seamus Moynihan with the Sam Maguire Cup
will be the Guest of Honour. Music will be by Uibrian from Kenmare. Tickets are
£15 and can be obtained from any member of the committee.
The Supporters Club had a very enjoyable trip to last Sunday’s
National League game. The craic was good on the outward and return journeys and
they spent a very enjoyable night in Dundalk. The club in Dungannon warmly
received them on their arrival there on Sunday and the hospitality shown to
them is gratefully appreciated. The local club provided food and refreshments
when they arrived at the match venue.
LAUNE RANGERS MILLENNIUM CELEBRATION:
On Friday, November 24 at the Earl of Desmond Hotel, Tralee, the Laune
Rangers Club are holding their Millennium Banquet. This year’s All-Ireland
medal winners Mike and Liam Hassett and Mike Frank Russell along with all of
Laune Rangers’ thirty six other All-Ireland medal winners who between them hold
fifty five medals will be presented with a special Millennium Award. The Master
of Ceremonies for the evening will be RTE’s Brian Carthy. Music will be by the
Billy Curtin Band. Tickets are available from Declan Falvey, John O’Donnell and
Mary Griffin.
The night is sure to resurrect many happy memories not only of the
club’s finest hour on St. Patrick’s Day 1996 when they won the All-Ireland
Senior Club Championship Final as well as the club’s many successes in the
county competitions in recent years.
MILLENNIUM BANQUET:
Kerry County Board will honour all surviving All-Ireland Senior
Medal holders in football and handball at The Millennium Banquet, which will be
held in The Brandon Hotel Tralee on Saturday, December 9. One hundred and forty
five surviving medal holders will be honoured.
This will be an historic night when an expected attendence of over
seven hundred and fifty guests will gather for this memorable night of
celebration of Kerry’s success at All-Ireland Senior level. Fear an Ti will be
Micheal O Muircheartaigh and the President of the GAA Sean McCague will head
the distinguished guests.
Invitations should be posted to the guests by the end of this
week. Tickets will not go on sale for the banquet because the capacity of the
Brandon Conference Centre will only be able to accommodate the invited guests.
KERRY ASSOCIATION IN GALWAY:
The Annual Dinner Dance of the Kerry Association in Galway was
held in the Sacre Couer Hotel, Salthill on Friday last. Mike Frank Russell and
I were very warmly received as guests at the function and of course the
presence of the Sam Maguire Cup made the night very special for the Kerry
people living in Galway. There were many stories recalled of what it was like
to be from Kerry and living in Galway during the lead up to our two games with
Galway in the All-Ireland Final and the replay.
AN GHAELTACHT:
Ta Cumann Caide na Gaeltachta ag eagru Oiche Mhor Raiseanna Capall
I dTigh tabhairne Quinns De hAoine seo an 17u Samhain ar a deich a chlog. Ta an cumann ag iarraidh airgead a bhailiu
faoi lathair agus beidh deich ras ann le deich chapall I ngach ras. Beidh an
Geallghlacadoir I lathair chomh maith agus ta suil le slua mor don ocaid.
INTER-FIRM:
Lee Strand, Tralee play Schering Plough of Cork in the Munster
Inter-firm football Championship at the Kerins O’Rahillys Pitch, Tralee on this
Saturday, November 18 at 2.30 p.m.
MID KERRY SEMI-FINALS:
The semi-finals of the Mid Kerry Senior Football Championship are
fixed for this weekend. On Saturday, Laune Rangers play Keel at 3.00 p.m. in
Milltown and on Sunday at 2.30 p.m. in Cromane, Milltown/Castlemaine play
Beaufort.
SYMPATHY:
To Michael O’Donoghue, Legion and formerly The Park Place Hotel,
on the recent death of his sister.