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By Sean Moriarty

Fossa GAA club marked its 50^th anniversary on Friday night by launching a new book that traces the first half century of club.

‘Fossa GAA: A Sense of Place’ traces the history of the club from its humble beginnings in 1969 to the present day.

The book, a pictorial history of the last 50 years, also features articles and snippets of some of the characters attached to the club over the last five decades.

The book was launched by former Kerry football hero and current RTE pundit Pat Spillane.

It was also attended by the Mayor of Kerry, Cllr Niall Kelleher, and Mayor of Killarney Cllr Michael Gleeson.

“It was great night,” Club Chairman, Dermot Clifford, told the Killarney Advertiser. “There are loads of photos in the book, it is a very colourful archive and a trip down memory lane.”

The club may be celebrating its 50^th anniversary but Dermot believes the membership has laid down a perfect foundation for the next 50 years.

The club is home to county star David Clifford, the first player from the club to make it to both a minor and senior county team.

Next weekend, the East Kerry Divisional side will tackle the County Senior football final. David Clifford will line out for East Kerry marking the first time since Cian Long’s 1995 appearance that a club member will contest a county decider.

“Reaching 50 years is very much a milestone, and that is a credit to the people who took the brave steps in setting up the club,” added Dermot. “But now that the first 50 years are out of the way we can look forward to the next 50 and that is down to our great underage structure. There was a time when the club did not have the belief it could field county players, we were competing against clubs that are over 100 years old.”

Books are on sale in The Golden Nugget Bar, Restaurant and Off-Licence, Foley’s Spar Fossa and from any committee member.