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Tralee rivals feeling the heat ahead of crunch relegation playoff

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2 years ago

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Conor Hayes of Kerins O'Rahillys and Diarmuid O'Connor of Na Gaeil. Photos: Sportsfile.

On Saturday another town club will be demoted to the intermediate grade of Kerry football as Kerins O’Rahillys take on Na Gaeil in the senior relegation playoff. The match will take place in Austin Stack Park at 4.30pm. It will be streamed live by Clubber.

If they were to be relegated, it would mark a significant fall from grace for Rahillys who reached the Kerry SFC final as recently as 2021. They also claimed the Senior Club Championship title in 2022 before going on to win the Munster Club Championship in impressive fashion. Ultimately, they came up just short against Dublin kingpins Kilmacud Crokes in the All-Ireland semi-final.

The club from Strand Road found the going tough in this year’s Club Championship, losing all three of their group games by ten points or more. Key forward Jack Savage returned to Ireland for the County Championship and they picked up a win against Shannon Rangers, but it wasn’t enough to qualify from a group that also contained Mid Kerry and Spa. Reaching the final would have automatically saved them from relegation.

For crosstown rivals Na Gaeil, Saturday’s playoff will be the last outing of their second season at senior level, and they will naturally be hoping to survive and secure their status for a third consecutive year. They also struggled in the Club Championship, losing all three of their games against Spa, Kenmare Shamrocks and Templenoe.

Some brief respite came via an excellent victory over Dr Crokes in the Kerry SFC but their failure to advance from their group and make it all the way to the final means the prospect of returning to intermediate is now staring them in the face.

The midfield battle between Rahillys pair David Moran and Tom Hoare and Na Gaeil duo Jack Barry and Diarmuid O’Connor will be of critical importance. Can county men O’Connor and Barry dominate, or will their former mentor Moran steer his side clear of danger?

The final of the Junior Premier Championship also takes place this weekend. Listowel Emmets square off against Ballymac on Sunday at 2pm at Austin Stack Park.

The semi-finals of the Novice Championship are both on Saturday at 3pm. Asdee play Lispole in Connolly Park and Scartaglen take on Duagh in Knocknagoshel.

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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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