News
84% of supporters expect East Kerry to prevail, survey reveals
by Adam Moynihan
A survey carried out by the Killarney Advertiser has found that 84% of our readers are expecting East Kerry to win the 2022 Kerry Senior Football Championship.
With a stacked squad that includes the best players from Fossa, Kilcummin, Glenflesk, Rathmore, Listry, Gneeveguilla, Firies and now Legion, the 2019 and 2020 champions are odds-on favourites to recapture the Bishop Moynihan Cup this time around. And fans clearly believe that those odds are justified as roughly five out of six respondents say the men from the East will do the business.
Kingpins of the 2010s Dr Crokes have been tipped to win by 4% of those surveyed. Last year’s beaten finalists Kerins O’Rahillys (2.2%) were the only other team to receive more than 2% of the vote.
If there is to be an upset, could it come in the guise of a small club from rural south Kerry? Around 28% of readers have singled out Templenoe as the championship’s dark horses.
The club that gifted Kerry with the Spillanes have already reached the final of this season’s Club Championship and it appears as though their underdog story has resonated with fans across the county. When asked which team they will be shouting for if their own club/district doesn’t win the Kerry SFC, 35% of supporters said they’ll be backing Templenoe.
Roughly 9% of neutrals opted for Rahillys with East Kerry and Spa close behind.
This year’s County Championship will feature a group phase for the first time ever with the top two from each four-team pool advancing to the quarter-finals. Fans are anticipating that the following teams will qualify safely from their respective groups: Dr Crokes and Kenmare Shamrocks; East Kerry and Dingle; Austin Stacks and Mid Kerry; and Templenoe and South Kerry.
If that forecast does, indeed, come to pass, it will mean that last year’s beaten finalists, Kerins O’Rahillys, and another seeded team, St Brendan’s, will be eliminated at the first hurdle. Rahillys will be missing influential players Cormac Coffey and Jack Savage, both of whom have emigrated to the Middle East. Brendan’s, meanwhile, are without their Na Gaeil players this year following the Killeen club’s promotion to senior.
Two divisional teams from North Kerry could find the going tough if our readers know what they’re talking about. Shannon Rangers (43%) and Feale Rangers (28%) are apparently the two main candidates for the worst record when all is said and done.
David Clifford has been dazzling spectators all year long and more fireworks are on the way if our survey is to be believed. Over 60% of our readers reckon the East Kerry’s talisman will finish up as the championship’s top scorer. Dr Crokes sharpshooter Tony Brosnan got 11% of the vote with Clifford’s teammate Darragh Roche and Kenmare star Seán O’Shea next in line on 5% each.
The County Championship is a tried and trusted breeding ground for Kerry stars of the future and our survey also tasked respondents with pinpointing the type of players that Jack O’Connor will need to keep an eye out for in the coming weeks. (Readers were asked to select the three most pressing positions from a list of 10.)
Over three-quarters of those polled (76%) said a new midfielder is a priority with half forward emerging as the second highest priority (48%). Corner back, half back, and corner forward (roughly 25% each) were next on the list.
The championship gets underway this weekend with a full round of fixtures between Friday and Saturday.
SURVEY RESULTS
1. Who will win the 2022 Kerry Senior Football Championship?
East Kerry 84%
Dr Crokes 4%
Rahillys 2%
Mid Kerry <2%
Others 8%
2. Who are your dark horses for the competition?
Templenoe 28%
Spa 12%
Mid Kerry 12%
St Kieran’s 10%
Others 38%
3. If your team doesn’t win the Kerry SFC, who would you like to see win it?
Templenoe 35%
Rahillys 9%
East Kerry 9%
Spa 8%
Others 39%
4. Which team will end up with the worst record?
Shannon Rangers 43%
Feale Rangers 28%
West Kerry 6%
Na Gaeil 5%
Others 18%
5. Which player will be the championship’s top scorer?
David Clifford 61%
Tony Brosnan 11%
Darragh Roche 5%
Seán O’Shea 5%
Others 18%
6. Kerry boss Jack O’Connor should be on the lookout for a… (respondents were asked to choose three positions)
Midfielder 76%
Half forward 49%
Corner back 28%
Half back 26%
Corner forward 25%
News
Ireland’s oldest citizen has Killarney connections
Ireland’s oldest woman met with President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin this week. Máirín Hughes, who turned 109 on May 22 has strong Killarney connections. The previous record […]
Ireland’s oldest woman met with President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin this week.
Máirín Hughes, who turned 109 on May 22 has strong Killarney connections.
The previous record was held by 107-year-old Nancy Stewart who died on September 10 2021.
Although born in Belfast, Máirín went to school in the Mercy Convent. Her father was a customs and excise officer and the family moved around a lot eventually coming to Killarney after spells in County Down and Dublin.
Her mother came from the Rathmore area and her father was from Newmarket in County Cork.
She attended the Mercy Convent and has, in previous interviews, recalled growing up on the shores of Lough Lein.
“Neighbours who had three children were given the job of taking me to school,” she said. “They were annoyed because the children were going to school for two or three years but I was put in to the same class as them – my mother had taught me.”
In 2021 she featured in the book ‘Independence Memories: A People’s Portrait of the Early Days of the Irish Nation’, sharing stories of being kept in school in Killarney during an attack on the RIC barracks down the road.
In 1924 she started a degree in science and a diploma in education at University College Cork, before working in the pathology lab in University College Cork’s Department of Medicine for 16 years.
last year she recalled her story on the podcast: ‘Living History – Irish Life and Lore’.
During the broadcast she talked about her parents’ membership of the Gaelic League in 1910; the Spanish Flu in Ireland in 1918; The Black and Tans in Killarney in 1921; the early days of the new Free State; Eucharistic Congress in Dublin in 1932, visiting the Basket Islands in 1929; and working in the UCC medical laboratory from 1932 until 1948.
This week President Michael D. Higgins hosted an afternoon tea event to celebrate the important role that a variety of people have and can play in different communities and Máirín was among the guests of honour.
News
Philip is running over 100kms for Cancer charity
Local runner and charity fundraiser Philip Kissane is set for the biggest challenge of his career as he lines up for the Cork City Marathon on Sunday. Phillip has already […]
Local runner and charity fundraiser Philip Kissane is set for the biggest challenge of his career as he lines up for the Cork City Marathon on Sunday.
Phillip has already completed four half marathons at various locations around Killarney – all in aid of Kerry Cancer Support Group – or the Cancer Bus as it popularly called.
This is the second time that Phillip has run four half marathon and an official race for the charity.
Back in 2021 he finished with 5km Run Killarney event but his finishing race this time around is over eight times the distance at 42kms.
“We are delighted with Philip’s continued fundraising support but also with his awareness raising for the charity,” Breda Dyland, Service Manager Kerry Cancer Support Trust.
“We are getting busier all the time and still get no statutory funding so are dependent on fundraisers like Philip’s to keep us on the road. We have just put our new wheelchair accessible bus on the Cork route so Philip’s funding will be going towards the operation of this vehicle.”
Ireland’s oldest citizen has Killarney connections
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Philip is running over 100kms for Cancer charity
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