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EXCLUSIVE

By Sean Moriarty

Dr Crokes GAA Club is calling on people of Killarney to put sporting rivalries aside and get behind the club’s entry into the County Senior Hurling Championship.

Dr Crokes hurling manager John Lenihan says the club’s decision to enter the senior competition will add to the sporting excitement in the town.

Despite intense rivalry on the football pitch, the hurling arm of the club draws its players from every club in the region.

They won the County Intermediate title last year and at the club’s AGM earlier this week officials decided to exercise their option to play at the top level this season.

The move has yet to be ratified by the County GAA Board but this is expected to be a formality.

If ratified, a Killarney team will contest the 2021 Senior Hurling Championship where they will face the kingpins of Kerry hurling. North Kerry teams like Kilmoyley and Causeway have dominated the senior championship in recent years.

The last time a Killarney team won the coveted Neilus Flynn Cup was in 1969, when a combined team, made of players from every club in the town, were declared champions.

“It is no different to basketball, look at the excitement a national game brings to town,” Lenihan told the Killarney Advertiser.

“I would often go down and watch a Killarney Celtic game if they were playing a big match. These will be big occasions in Killarney and a major step in promoting hurling in town. Hurling is part of the GAA and one of our national sports.”

Since Killarney’s victory 52 years ago, every championship has been won by a North Kerry club. It is 30 years since Kenmare appeared in a County Hurling Final.

Dr Crokes arrival at senior level will add a breath of fresh air to the North Kerry dominance and will help grow the sport in the Killarney area.