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Hard-working Killarney girls are champions of Munster

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1 year ago

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Killarney RFC joint captains Lily Morris and Fia Whelan accept the Munster League trophy.

On Saturday the Killarney RFC U18.5 girls travelled to Old Crescent RFC in Limerick and defeated last year’s winners Ennis by eight point to six to be crowned Munster League champions.

The U18.5 match was the grand finale after the U14 and U16 league finals and so it was played in front of a big crowd on a terrific day for girls’ rugby in the province.

The clash of Ennis and Killarney was always going to be battle and that’s exactly how it transpired. Ennis started the game and kicked deep and Killarney didn’t deal with it, which led to a scrum in a very favourable position on the 22. After a series of good carries by the Ennis forwards, they scored a try in the corner which wasn’t converted.

The Clare side led 5-0 in inside the first minute; the perfect start for the reigning champions.

What was very notable that Killarney took this early setback in their stride and straight away they were on the attack, but credit to Ennis their defence held firm after some good carries by the Killarney forwards Lily Morris, Ava O’Malley and Clodagh Foley.

On 18 minutes Killarney had a scrum just inside their own half and their number eight made a super run and linked up with scrum half Bronagh Dorrian, who passed to Cara Reilly. The referee then blew for an Ennis offside infringement and a penalty to Killarney.

Knowing it was going to be a tight game and conscious of getting the Kerry girls points on the scoreboard, co-captain Fia Whelan consulted with her fellow co-captain Morris and together they elected to take the penalty kick. Whelan slotted over the penalty to make it Ennis 5-3 Killarney.

Killarney’s back three of Marina Eagar, Holly O’Sullivan and Mary-Ellen Mc Donald dealt very well with Ennis’ kicks and they counterattacked on most occasions. Then, with 24 minutes on the clock, O’Malley picked from the base of a scrum on the right and out stripped their defence to make a brilliant run. She found the onrushing second row Joanne O’Keefe who made further ground. Her teammates finished a fine move off in style, going through the hands of Dorrian, Whelan, Eagar, Ali O’Donoghue and eventually Mary Ellen McDonald to finish off a super team try in the corner. It proved to be the match-winning score.

The Kerry girls continued to work hard in the second half and they finished the game in the ascendancy. In the end, they failed to extend their lead but it mattered little as they held on for a historic win.

“This win means an awful lot to us,” Killarney coach Diarmuid O’Malley said. “We can now bring this trophy back home and hopefully inspire the next generation of young Kerry players.”

KILLARNEY: 1. Annie O’Reilly, 2. Emma Dunican, 3. Emer O’Keefe, 4. Joanne O’Keefe, 5. Ella Guerin-Crowley, 6. Clodagh Foley, 7. Lily Morris (joint captain), 8. Ava O’Malley, 9. Bronagh Dorian, 10. Fia Whelan (joint captain), 11. Holly O’Sullivan, 12. Cara Reilly, 13. Ali O’Donoghue, 14. Mary Ellen McDonald, 15. Marina Eagar, 16. Molly Gabbett, 17. Melissa McCarthy, 18. Sarah O’Connor, 19. Isabella O’Leary, 20. Nell Crowley, 21. Jess O’Sullivan, 22. Jasmine Dwyer. Coaches: Josh Whelan, Diarmuid O’Malley. Manager: Elaine Clifford.

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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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3 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

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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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