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Lakers to make long-awaited return to Killarney home

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4 years ago

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Lakers captain Mark O'Shea. Photo: Grig Geniyevskiy.

National League: Division 1 South

Scotts Lakers v UCC Demons

Saturday at 7.30pm

Killarney Sports & Leisure Centre

The National League season is in full swing by this stage but from a Killarney perspective, something has been missing. With the Killarney Sports & Leisure Centre being used as a vaccination facility, the Lakers have been without a proper home for the first month of the campaign. Their two “home” fixtures to date have been staged 25km away in Castleisland. Both matches have ended in defeat.

All that will change this Saturday night as the St Paul’s senior team make their long-awaited return to the venue known locally as the Aura, or the Auracle (a nod to the Golden State Warriors’ Oracle Arena, traditionally one of the loudest venues in the NBA).

The Aura has seen some incredible nights since the Lakers returned to top-level basketball in 2017. Now, after a long layoff due to the pandemic, the club are hoping that supporters will return in their droves to see a new-look team that is packed with young, local talent.

Imports Ben Miller (Canada), Emilian Grudov (Bulgaria) and Rui Saravia (Portugal) will lead the way alongside Killarney men Mark O’Shea and Paul Clarke, but the rest of the squad is comprised of talented teenagers like Jamie O’Sullivan and Senan O’Leary.

Standing in their way this weekend are the UCC Demons, an imposing side who have won their opening four league games in convincing fashion. The Cork outfit also made light work of Ulster University in the first round of the President’s Cup with Tala Fam Thiam and American Andre Kennedy splitting 50 points in a 88-61 win.

It will certainly be a tough match-up for a Lakers team still finding their feet but head coach Jarlath Lee believes that last weekend’s 94-59 victory over WIT has given them a timely lift.

"We needed the confidence boost,” Lee admitted after the Lakers picked up their first win in four attempts. “We should have won our first game but complacency creeped in. I’m delighted that we never let that happen tonight.

“Ben Miller displayed great leadership and decision-making, especially in the second half. Senan O’Leary showed why I have him as a starter at the age of 17 by scoring 16 points, and Jamie O Sullivan, another teenager, had 20 points.

"We’re building for the future and we are taking the right steps. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen. Daniel Carroll was on the scoresheet again with four points, but I was mainly impressed with his defence. Mark Sheehan is always positive, always ready. A great kid to be a part of any team.

“But we will get back to work on Monday night and focus on Demons. It’s a home game so we'd really love a big crowd and loud fans to help us."

The club have reminded supporters that season and patron tickets are now available from any club officer.

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Home cup tie for St Paul’s could be epic

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4 weeks ago

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7 November 2025

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Paudie O’Connor National Cup (Round 1)

Utility Trust St Paul’s v GCU Brunell

Saturday 7.30pm

Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre

The St Paul’s women’s team will be hoping to get their National Cup adventure off the ground on Saturday when they welcome 2024 champions Brunell to Killarney. Tip-off in the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre is at 7.30pm.

Paul’s have displayed some fine early season form, although their unbeaten start in the Super League came to an abrupt end last weekend when they lost to the Trinity Meteors in Dublin. James Fleming’s side weren’t at their best on the day but they were well in contention heading into the final quarter with the scores at 47-45 in favour of the hosts. The Meteors pushed on in the fourth, however, eventually running out 63-53 winners.

St Paul’s scorers on the night were Maisie Burnham (13), Tara Cousins (12), Lorraine Scanlon (12), Lovisa Hevinder (9), Denise Dunlea (5) and Leah McMahon (2).

The Killarney club are now joint second in the table alongside the Meteors with both teams holding a 4-1 record. Killester are top having won each of their first five games.

Paul’s opponents on Saturday, Brunell, have won three out of five league matches so far.

LAKERS

The Utility Trust St Paul’s Lakers have now won three of their last four games in Division 1 of the Men’s National League following an impressive home victory over Moycullen in Killarney.

Eoin Carroll and Jack O’Sullivan made significant contributions of the Boys in Black; Carroll hit 17 points and collected 13 rebounds while O’Sullivan had 14 points, 12 rebounds and some spectacular blocks.

Steve Kelly posted 30 points and the durable Sam Grant played every second, adding 21 points along the way.

The Lakers started well before the visitors found their footing and the sides went in level at the half-time break after scores by home captain Carroll. There was still nothing to separate the teams entering the fourth quarter (68-65) but buckets by Carroll, Pablo Murcia and Grant opened up a nine-point lead. Moycullen fought back admirably, however, cutting the deficit to just four, but Luke O’Hea’s charges held firm to prevail by eight (88-80).

Next up is a cup tie against the Tipperary Talons, a side they defeated by 30 points just a couple of weeks ago. The cup can be very different to the league, though, and they will need another solid performance to advance to the next round. Tip-off in in Killenaule is at 6.30pm on Saturday.

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Chances of Kerry v Cork Munster final in 2026 decrease as Munster GAA delay seeding plan

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4 weeks ago

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7 November 2025

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After facing a backlash from Limerick, Clare, Waterford and Tipperary players, Munster GAA have postponed their plan to keep Cork and Kerry separate in the 2026 Munster Football Championship.

The new seeding system – which gives the two highest ranked Munster teams in the National League byes to separate semi-finals – will now come into play in 2027, twelve months later than initially planned.

This will give Clare and Limerick a chance to earn promotion to Division 2 of the league, potentially overtaking Cork if the Rebels were to get relegated to Division 3.

Despite traditionally being the two main contenders for Munster football honours, Kerry and Cork haven’t met in a provincial decider since 2021. The Kingdom have won each of the finals since then (one versus Limerick and three versus Clare) by an average margin of 15.75 points.

More high-profile Kerry v Cork finals might be desirable for fans of those teams, businesses in Killarney and Cork, and neutrals alike but Munster GAA’s plans to effectively keep the great rivals on opposite sides of the draw understandably drew criticism from the other participating counties. A statement by the GPA confirmed that players from Limerick, Clare, Waterford and Tipp had met via Zoom to discuss the matter. They were said to be “deeply disappointed and concerned” by the decision.

The 12-month delay will at least give two of those disaffected teams an opportunity to benefit from the new seeding process.

The draw for the 2026 Munster Football Championship will take place on November 27 under the old rules. As 2025 finalists, Kerry and Clare will get byes to the last four (but they will not necessarily be kept apart).

Nine members of Kerry’s squad are up for All-Stars at tonight’s awards ceremony in Dublin with Joe O’Connor and David Clifford also in contention for the prestigious Footballer of the Year award.

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