Connect with us

Sport

Moving Munster to start of year could ‘probably’ work – Clifford

Published

2 years ago

on

David Clifford with Killarney Advertiser sports editor Adam Moynihan at Croke Park.

by Adam Moynihan

Kerry captain David Clifford has indicated that he could get on board with a potential reshuffle that would see the Munster Championship being moved to the start of the season.

Speaking to this writer at Croke Park for the launch of SuperValu’s sponsorship of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, Clifford acknowledged the historical value of the provincial competition while also suggesting that he would be open to change.

“You’re well aware of the importance of it (the Munster championship). Look, there’s a lot of history there and stuff like that. But should it be moved to a different time of the year? It’d probably be hard to have an issue with [that].

"You’re still keeping the competition and then you’re still having those games, so I don’t think when it’s played in the year is as important really.”

Clifford and his teammates beat Division 4-bound Tipperary by 20 points in last Saturday’s Munster semi-final. In Leinster, Dublin defeated Laois by 26. One-sided mismatches like these have led to more and more calls for the provincial championships to lose their traditional standing as important precursors to the All-Ireland series.

Radical plans to do exactly that, while also moving the National League closer to the All-Ireland series and effectively promoting it to championship status, failed to garner enough support at the last GAA Congress in 2021. Instead, the league was joined up to the All-Ireland series as a seeding mechanism only, with the four provincial championships retaining their pre-All-Ireland series billing.

Would the Footballer of the Year be in favour of going the whole way and giving the Munster Championship less relevance when it comes to the serious business of summertime football?

“Possibly, yeah. If it was something like: you played a Munster Championship and then maybe some sort of a league that had a bearing on championship… Yeah, I think that’s probably something that could work.”

Last weekend’s blowout win was frustrating at times for Kerry as they came up against a packed defence that seemed content with keeping the score down. Encountering such set-ups is not uncommon in the modern game but Clifford, who was limited to just two points (both from frees), is philosophical about the challenge this presents.

“That’s the reality now so there isn’t much point in us thinking back to football in the past where it was more open. I actually think it’s very enjoyable to try and find ways of breaking down defences and maybe seeing the different approaches you can take. At the end of the day, if we’re winning, that’s all that matters really.

"So I wouldn’t say it’s that much less enjoyable.”

Despite only turning 24 in January, Clifford has already worked his way into the ‘greatest of all time’ discussion with a string of mesmeric performances including an unforgettable display in last year’s All-Ireland final, when he kicked eight points.

But the Fossa native, who is a PE teacher in St Brendan’s College, is keeping his feet on the ground.

“You try and brush it off as much as possible. There’s nothing really to be gained from getting involved in a conversation like that.

"People are going to say what they’re going to say. You can’t really control that.

"But I suppose I try not to let it have an effect [on me].”

Listen to Adam’s full interview with David Clifford on ‘The Kerry Football Podcast’.

Also available on YouTube.

Related Topics:
Advertisement

Sport

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

Published

3 days ago

on

22 March 2025

By

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.

Attachments

Continue Reading

Sport

Spa GAA Club unveil hi-tech solar panels

Published

3 days ago

on

22 March 2025

By

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.

Attachments

Continue Reading