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A football tournament for players of a certain vintage

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5 months ago

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Players getting stuck in at the Tommy Griffin Tournament in Dingle. Photo: Aidan Fitzgerald.

by Adam Moynihan

Eighteen teams from Galway, Laois, Armagh, Cork, Dublin and Kerry will compete in this year’s Tommy Griffin Over 35 Football Tournament, which takes place on Saturday (November 9) in Dingle.

The event, which has been running since 2012, has become a popular feature of the local sporting calendar for footballers of a certain vintage. Speaking to the Killarney Advertiser this week, Tommy explained how the competition came about.

“A few of us were in the bar one night talking about kicking a bit of ball,” the former Kerry player said. “Fellas had retired by that time, so we said we’d try to gather a few lads from old teams. We made some enquiries and there was a bit of interest. We managed to gather eight teams the first year.

“Séamus Moynihan was a real driving force behind it in fairness to him. He brought a Sem team for years. We got teams from Cork and Dublin as well, and it grew from there.”

In the 2024 edition, a total of 26 matches will be staged at two venues: Páirc an Ághasaigh (the home grounds of Dingle GAA) and Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne. Each team will be guaranteed at least two games with the losers from Round 1 going through to the Shield.

Just as important as the football itself is the social aspect of the tournament. “It’s a social weekend with a bit of football thrown in,” Tommy jokes.

“It’s a great way of meeting up with lads you haven’t seen in years, and a great way of meeting lads you might have played against but never met. Shane Ryan (the former Dublin footballer) has been down a couple of times and the first time I met him was in the bar after the tournament, even though I actually marked him a few times.

“And there are lads who never played county level who get a chance to play against these county players. Stuff like that is good.”

Tommy, who won five All-Ireland medals during a stellar intercounty career, says the support of local businesses makes a big difference.

“We kind of fund it ourselves but suppliers for the bar (Muiris Dan’s) and Deirdre and Micheál from The Fish Box restaurant have always been very good to us. It’s great to get support from Denis Murphy from GMIB.ie as well.”

The SMERC recovery truck will be on site in Páirc an Ághasaigh to help players get the bodies right between games. After all, while they might be looking forward to their couple of pints later in the evening, they’re still competitive sportsmen.

“Ah look, it’s a bit of craic to start off,” Tommy notes, “but when the ball is thrown in, there’s always a bit of needle in it.”

PARTICIPATING TEAMS: Clann Éireann (Armagh), Claregalway (Galway), Cork Vets, Currow, Dohenys (Cork), Dr Crokes, Duhallow (Cork), Gneeveguilla, John Mitchels, Kerry Masters, Portlaoise (Laois), Raheny (Dublin), Rathmore, Russell Rovers (Cork), Spa, St Pat’s, Stradbally (Laois), Tuosist.

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Numbers Game: How Kerry can reach league final – or get relegated for first time in 24 years

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2 days ago

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22 March 2025

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by Adam Moynihan

Men’s NFL Division 1

Galway v Kerry

Sunday 3.45pm

Salthill

Live on TG4 YouTube

Kerry travel to Galway on Sunday knowing that defeat could well consign them to relegation for the first time since 2001. Win and they could be Croker-bound. It’s that tight heading into the final day of Division 1 of the National Football League. Anything could happen.

Let’s get the lay of the land before we wade into the murky waters of permutations. We currently have a three-way tie at the top of the table with Galway, Dublin and Donegal all level on eight points. Next up are Mayo on seven, followed by Kerry on six, Armagh and Tyrone on five, and already-relegated Derry on one.

PWDLPDPts
1Galway6321178
2Dublin640288
3Donegal640248
4Mayo6312-37
5Kerry6303116
6Tyrone621305
7Armagh6213-85
8Derry6015-291

In the seventh and final round of the league, Galway play Kerry, Mayo are at home to Donegal, Armagh host Derry, and Tyrone welcome Dublin to Healy Park, Omagh. All four matches are being played simultaneously at 3.45pm on Sunday.

So, who will be joining the Oak Leafers in Division 2 in 2026?

If Kerry lose they will remain on six points, which means that if Armagh and Tyrone both win, they will move onto seven points, relegating the Kingdom. However, if Kerry lose they will stay up if one or both of Armagh or Tyrone lose.

If Kerry lose and either Armagh or Tyrone draw and the other win, Kerry are safe on the head-to-head rule. If Kerry lose and both Armagh and Tyrone draw, there will be a three-way tie on six points. In this event, points difference will come into play, and Kerry will survive if they lose to Galway by less than 20.

If Kerry draw with Galway, they will almost certainly be safe. Such a result would move them up to seven points, and even if Armagh and Tyrone both win, Kerry’s superior points difference would, barring an incredible set of results, see them over the line. Kerry are currently on +11 with Armagh on -8 and Tyrone breaking even on zero. So Armagh would need to beat Derry by 20 points and Tyrone would need to beat Dublin by 12 for them both to overtake Kerry.

Now, let’s fix our gaze upwards rather than down. A place in the league final is also on the cards – if all those cards fall kindly.

If Kerry win, they will wind up on eight points, guaranteeing their status as a Division 1 team for the 24th year in a row. If they win by three points (or more), that’s where things get interesting. Such a margin of victory would see them overtake their direct opponents, Galway, on ‘points for’ (if they win by three) or ‘overall points difference’ (if they win by more than three).

It would also guarantee that they would slip in between Mayo and Donegal, with the winner of that game moving into first, and the loser missing out on the league final. (A draw would be enough for Donegal, but not enough for Mayo.)

Kerry’s fate (again, if they win) would then depend on the result in the Tyrone v Dublin game. If Dublin win, they will advance to the league final. If Dublin draw, they will advance to the league final. But if Dublin lose, they will be passed out by Kerry, and Jack O’Connor’s men will sneak into the Croke Park decider via the side entrance.

That would be a remarkable turn of events considering the team’s spotty form up to this point, but the main priority will simply be to win and ensure survival. Anything on top of that would be a hard-earned bonus.

Tyrone v Dublin will be shown on TG4 with all other Division 1 and Division 2 games available live on the TG4 YouTube channel.

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Spa GAA Club unveil hi-tech solar panels

Published

3 days ago

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22 March 2025

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This week has seen Spa GAA swap their traditional blue and gold colours to go green, all for the sake of climate change and the environment.

In partnership with solar energy specialist REC Ireland they have just installed a 28.5 kW Solar PV system at their club grounds in Tullig.

The system, comprising 60 PV panels and supported by 10 kW battery storage, is mounted on the south-facing roof of their multi-purpose sports hall. It represents a state-of-the-art installation and it comes on foot of the club being one of the first GAA club recipients of Kerry County Council’s Climate Action Grant Scheme, launched in 2024.

“This is a hugely positive initiative in terms of reducing our on-site carbon footprint, promoting renewable energy and reducing our dependency on oil and gas,” club chairman Tadhg Hickey said.

In a further sign of Spa’s commitment to the green agenda, the club have recently been shortlisted as the only GAA club in Kerry in the Shared Island Sports Club Electrical Vehicle charging scheme, under which funding is provided to install a network of publicly accessible chargers for communities through local sports clubs.

Along with ramping up public EV charging facilities in local communities, the scheme offers significant potential for clubs to generate income, and is another example of the positive contribution of sports clubs in their locality.

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