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Crokes are used to being the bad guys

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All-Ireland Senior Club Semi-Final
Dr Crokes v Mullinalaghta (Longford)
Saturday at 3.30pm
Semple Stadium, Thurles

Everybody loves an underdog and with a parish of just 450 people, you’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger (or smaller?) underdog than Mullinalaghta St Columba’s from County Longford.

Nicknamed ‘The Half Parish’, Mullinalaghta shocked the nation when they defeated Dublin kingpins Kilmacud in the Leinster final. Now their sights are firmly set on the other Crokes, Pat O’Shea’s Munster champions who are on the hunt for a second All-Ireland title in three years. On paper it’s an open and shut case but veteran defender Fionn Fitzgerald is wary of the threat that Saturday’s opponents could pose.

“They have really captured the imagination,” Fitzgerald said at the AIB All-Ireland semi-final media day. “Their run has taken on a life of its own. They’re a bit like the Slaughtneil story, but they’ve also been knocking on the door for a while.

“They’ve won Longford three times and been in Leinster where they gave St Vincent’s a rattle, but beating a Dublin team was the thing because Dublin have been so successful. They also beat Rhode and Éire Óg so they have form.

“They’re from a small area but they have been genuine kingpins in their county, and I was always tracking them.”

Crokes are overwhelming favourites with the bookies but Fitzgerald knows that victory in Thurles isn’t a foregone conclusion.

“All-Ireland semi-finals are always very close and we lost three of them before we finally won one. We didn’t perform and the opposition did, and they were the better teams on the day.

“There are no favourites in this one, I don’t buy that tag. You trust the work you have done and hope it’s good enough on the day.”

Many neutrals will be cheering on the minnows this weekend but that won’t bother the Crokes; they’re well used to playing the bad guys by this stage. The Killarney club are eager to cap a flawless 2018/19 campaign which has seen them crowned club, county, league, Munster and O’Donoghue Cup champions. All things being equal you would expect them to win with plenty to spare.

In light of Kilcummin and Beaufort’s recent triumphs, victory for the Lewis Road club would set up a unique treble as no county has ever produced the winners of the Junior, Intermediate and Senior Club Championships in the same year.

In the other semi, Corofin (Galway) play Gaoth Dobhair (Donegal) in Carrick-on-Shannon. That match is also on Saturday with an earlier throw-in time of 1.30pm. Both games will be broadcast live on TG4 with coverage starting at 1pm.

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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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