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Home double-header for Lakers

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3 years ago

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Scotts Lakers captain Rui Saraiva in action at the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre.

The Scotts Lakers return home this weekend with a double-header of fixtures on Friday and Saturday night. On Friday at 8.15pm one of the league’s form teams, the Portlaoise Panthers, are in the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre.

The Laois club have only won six times this season but three of those victories have come in the last four games. University Kokomo graduate Desean Hampton is a key player for the Panthers along with Gary Morrissey, Seán Condon and Davin McEvoy.

On Saturday at 7.30pm, the University of Ulster will be in town looking to cement their playoff spot. The National Cup winners have Cork man Conor O’Sullivan on their books, while former SETU Carlow player Nate Shafer is another man to keep an eye on.

The Lakers will be hoping to bounce back from their recent six-point defeat away to the Dublin Lions. For long periods it looked like the visitors were going to end the February tour of Ireland with a much-needed and merited win but they just couldn't stick with the Lions in the final quarter.

There were several positives for Jarlath Lee despite the defeat. 18-year-old Eoin Carroll put in an outstanding performance, hitting 18 points and using his height to great effect around the basket. Senan O’Leary hit the same tally, including four three-pointers. Mark Sheehan, another teenager, hit a hat-trick of threes. Alongside Jack O’Sullivan, these four players have made a real impact this season. Add in Oisín Spring and the older Jamie O’Sullivan, still the right side of 21, and the Lakers have the nucleus of a squad for years to come.

On the night the Lakers hit an impressive fourteen from beyond the arc as the reliable Jack Ferguson and captain Rui Saraiva battled all the way.

PLAYOFFS

The St Paul’s women’s team are still on track to reach the playoffs, despite last weekend’s double overtime defeat to the Cavan Eagles.

Paul’s just came up short against the runaway Northern Conference leaders at the Virginia Show Centre but they are still in a strong position with two games to go. The top two from each conference advance to the post-season and James Fleming’s team are currently second in the south, one win behind Portlaoise. Finishing in first place would be preferrable as it would mean avoiding the Eagles in the playoffs.

The penultimate game of the regular season is an away trip to the National Basketball Arena where Griffith College Templeogue will provide the opposition. The Dublin side have had a strong season. They have put all the teams below them to the sword with relative ease and have been extremely competitive against the top teams in the division. Tip-off on Saturday is at 5pm.

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Home cup tie for St Paul’s could be epic

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1 month 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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1 month 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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