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Killarney take down Rugbaí Chorcha Dhuibhne in tight affair

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4 years ago

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Dylan O’Brien of Killarney makes a burst during his side's narrow victory over Rugbaí Chorcha Dhuibhne. Pic: Stephen O'Brien.

Munster U16 League
Killarney RFC 8 Rugbaí Chorca Dhuibhne 5
Aghadoe

In a low-scoring match in Aghadoe on Saturday, Killarney overcame Rugbaí Chorca Dhuibhne – and the elements - in their final home game in the first stage of the Munster U16 League.

Both teams came into this fixture in excellent form having won their first three matches of the season.

Tight early exchanges were a sign of things to come as scores proved very hard to come by. Killarney started very well defensively despite playing into strong wind and rain, but they were unlucky to lose captain Scott Carlton to injury after just six minutes.

The hosts battled hard under sustained pressure from RCD but they held their nerve to reach half-time without conceding. As they were unable to break the deadlock themselves, the half-time score was tied at zero.

The men from Dingle put up a strong defence of their own in the second half, making Killarney dig deep. The deadlock was finally broken when Shane O’Sullivan slotted a penalty to nudged Killarney into a 3-0 lead. The home team began to feel as though they might just be getting the edge as they created space to attack wide left of Dingle’s defence, but conditions and the intensity of the defence led to a knock-on.

As the match reached its conclusion, neither side had flinched. Matters were eventually decided in the final five minutes.

Killarney managed to get a foothold within the opposition 22 to make a crucial assault on the Dingle line. The clinching score they so desperately sought all day arrived when they found an overlap wide on the right and Dara Stack breached the defence to touch down on the line. The try wasn’t converted but Killarney now had a two-score lead. The heavy lifting was done.

Rugbaí Chorca Dhuibhne kept battling and they cut the deficit with a try of their own in the closing moments, but it was too little too late.

The teams will see each other again soon: they will meet in the semi-final of the West Munster Cup later in the season.

Next up for Killarney is the visit to Killorglin/Iveragh this weekend. They then face Abbeyfeale/Listowel away on the weekend of November 20/21.

KILLARNEY: Mark Kennelly, Cian Russell, Shane O’Sullivan, Scott Carlton (captain), Jack Donoghue, Bryan Walsh, Dara Stack, Adam Lynch-Herlihy, Alex Courtney-Sheehan, Dylan O’Brien, Kris O’Leary-Sacristan, Ciarán Doyle, Gearóid O’Connor, Connie Counihan, Tomás Chambers, Ronan Bennett, Pierce Leslie, Jake Leahy, Senan Cotter, Sam Dennehy and Tomás Swords.

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Home cup tie for St Paul’s could be epic

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2 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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2 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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