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Crokes and Corofin set for dream club final

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It’s the match-up that all the football purists wanted.

Dr Crokes and Corofin, two of the modern era’s finest proponents of attacking football, will go head-to-head in the All-Ireland Senior Club Championship final on March 17. Forget about defence, this promises to be a straight shoot-out for the biggest prize in club football.

Crokes were comfortable enough against Mullinalaghta, save for a shaky period in the first half when they conceded a second goal and had a man sent off in a matter of minutes.

No one in the entire world - apart from one umpire behind the Crokes goal - seems to have seen the incident that resulted in Johnny Buckley receiving his marching orders in the 18th minute of play. None of TG4’s cameras picked up on the apparent flashpoint, but the referee’s match report later confirmed that Buckley was dismissed for striking his opponent.

My understanding is that Dr Crokes have their own footage and they are adamant that there is no clear evidence of a striking motion. Club officials have described it as a “coming together” and indications are that they will be appealing the decision.

The experienced midfielder will be a massive loss to Crokes if he is unavailable for the decider. As strong Pat O’Shea’s squad is, you simply can’t replace a player of Buckley’s calibre. If the officials really did get it wrong then you would naturally hope that the red gets rescinded and he’s free to participate.

David Shaw relocated to midfield in Buckley’s stead and he had a fine game, as did the typically accurate Tony Brosnan who kicked six points (four from play). Forwards Kieran O’Leary, Brian Looney and Gavin O’Shea also did well and in defence, athletic Kerry star Gavin White put in a Man of the Match performance from centre back.

The obvious worry for the Kerry champions is the dreaded high ball, a weakness that was exposed once again in Semple Stadium the last day. Corofin have very clever forwards, most notably Ian Burke and Gary Sice, so the Crokes rearguard will need to be on high alert from start to finish. Fionn Fitzgerald was brilliant in the second half against Mullinalaghta but apart from him and Gavin White (who did most of his good work going forward) you couldn’t say that any Crokes defender had a particularly great game.

Corofin are slight favourites to lift the Andy Merrigan Cup on St Patrick’s Day and they are undoubtedly a quality side, but I still think Crokes are that small bit slicker in attack. The key will be cutting off the supply line to Corofin’s dangerous forwards and when you look at it like that, getting Johnny Buckley off the hook could well be the difference between winning and losing.

Pic: Sportsfile.

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Chamber pays tribute to late Dick Henggeler

Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce has expressed condolences following the death of Dick Henggeler, the well-known owner of The Rose Hotel in Tralee. Mr Henggeler passed away peacefully at […]

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Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce has expressed condolences following the death of Dick Henggeler, the well-known owner of The Rose Hotel in Tralee.

Mr Henggeler passed away peacefully at his home in Baltimore, USA surrounded by his Aghadoe-born wife Eibhlin (née Moriarty), their son Franz, and other family members.
Dick and Eibhlin purchased The Rose Hotel in 2015 in tribute to their late daughter Dorothy, who represented Washington DC in the 2011 Rose of Tralee Festival.
The Chamber said Mr Henggeler would be remembered for his warmth, good nature and positive approach, as well as for being a forward-thinking and knowledgeable businessman.
“He knew how to run a good hotel and that was and still is very obvious at The Rose Hotel, which is a great success story,” the Chamber said.
It added that continuity of ownership will remain in place, with Eibhlin, Franz, daughter-in-law Amber, and grandchildren Conrad and Rowan continuing to honour Dick’s legacy and vision for the hotel.
“Dick took enormous personal pride in Tralee and all of Kerry and he was always available to generously support any community initiative or endeavour undertaken in Killarney,” the Chamber said.
“He will be greatly missed by all that knew him but he leaves a wonderful legacy.”

He will repose at O’Shea’s Funeral Home, Killarney, on Friday (October 17), from 4:00pm to 6:00pm. The funeral will arrive at St Mary’s Cathedral on Saturday morning at 10:00am for Requiem Mass at 10:30am, with burial afterwards in Aghadoe Cemetery. The Requiem Mass will be live streamed at https://www.churchservices.tv/killarneycathedral.

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Beaufort Film Night returns with French drama-comedy

Beaufort Film Night will return on Friday (October 17) at Cullina National School, with a screening of the French drama-comedy The Marching Band. The film tells the story of Thibaut, […]

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Beaufort Film Night will return on Friday (October 17) at Cullina National School, with a screening of the French drama-comedy The Marching Band.

The film tells the story of Thibaut, a successful conductor recently diagnosed with leukaemia. A search for a bone marrow donor reveals that he was adopted and has a brother, Jimmy, a cafeteria worker.
The two meet, discover a shared love of music, and form a strong bond through an unexpected collaboration with Jimmy’s workplace band.
The Marching Band (French title En Fanfare) will screen at 8.30pm. Admission is €7, cash only, and will cover the motion picture licence fee.
The film has a 12A rating and is in French with English subtitles.
Beaufort Film Night is a non-profit community group that screens cultural English and international films that usually do not receive general release in Kerry.
The event is supported by Kerry County Council Arts Office and Access Cinema. Cullina National School is providing the venue.
Further details are available on Beaufort Film Night’s Facebook page @BeaufortFilmNight.

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