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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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Parnell commemorated in Beaufort on 125th Anniversary of Land League meeting

A special ceremony was held in Beaufort to mark the 125th anniversary of Charles Stewart Parnell’s historic visit to the village in 1880, when the Irish nationalist leader addressed thousands […]

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A special ceremony was held in Beaufort to mark the 125th anniversary of Charles Stewart Parnell’s historic visit to the village in 1880, when the Irish nationalist leader addressed thousands at a pivotal land reform meeting.

The commemoration, which took place beside the Beaufort Bar, honoured the legacy of the former MP and founder of the Irish National Land League.
The original meeting was held in a field belonging to Patrick O’Sullivan and attracted a crowd of approximately 3,000, defying the orders of local landlord ‘The O’Mahony’ of Dunloe Castle, who had threatened eviction to any tenant who supported the gathering.
Padruig O’Sullivan, proprietor of the Beaufort Bar and a direct descendant of Patrick O’Sullivan, addressed attendees at the unveiling of a new monument to mark the occasion.
The stone was designed by renowned uilleann piper and artist Tomás O’Sullivan, who also composed a special piece of music titled Parnell’s Blackbird to honour the occasion.
The original 1880 meeting was reported in publications such as the ‘Dundalk Democrat’, which gave a vivid account of the powerful speeches delivered that day.

Extract from the Dundalk Democrat – May 1880

The meeting, held on Sunday, May 16, 1880 in Patrick O’Sullivan’s field south of the Beaufort Hotel, was arranged in defiance of local landlord ‘The O’Mahony,’ who warned tenants they would be evicted for taking part. Nevertheless, the turnout was overwhelming.
Parnell arrived by special train and travelled by carriage from Killarney with fellow MP ‘The O’Donoghue’. The two were met by a band and a large welcoming crowd. Police and a Government reporter were present, but the atmosphere remained peaceful and spirited.
Speakers rallied against the unjust land laws of the time. ‘The O’Donoghue’ praised Parnell as the “shining star” of Irish nationalism and stated that “Kerry desired that her meeting should partake of a national character.”
When Parnell spoke, he described it as “the largest land meeting he had attended since County Mayo” and declared the movement to reclaim Irish land as one of the greatest undertakings in Irish history. He condemned the laws that allowed landlords to evict tenants and seize food as rent payment, noting that 600,000 farmers were subject to the whims of just 10,000 landlords.
He called for legislative reform, including the suspension of evictions and Government-backed tenant purchase schemes, warning that if Parliament failed to act, “the people will do for themselves what the Legislature refuses to do for them.”
He concluded by proposing the first resolution.
“That in the opinion of this meeting, the eviction of occupiers of land for non-payment of rent arbitrarily fixed by the landlord is unjust, subversive of the true interests of the country and calls for the emphatic condemnation of all lovers of justice.”

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St Pauls sign American Maisie Burnham

Killarney’s Utility Trust St Pauls women’s basketball team has announced the signing of American player Maisie Burnham for the upcoming 2025/2026 season. The club, who performed strongly in the latter […]

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Killarney’s Utility Trust St Pauls women’s basketball team has announced the signing of American player Maisie Burnham for the upcoming 2025/2026 season.

The club, who performed strongly in the latter part of the recent season and reached the league final, is looking to build on that success.
Maisie Burnham, a 24-year-old, six-foot-tall guard from Spangle City, Washington, comes to Killarney with a strong playing record. During her time at Liberty High School, where she also played volleyball, she was a high-scoring player.
She then went to Eastern Washington University, where in the 2020/2021 season, she led the team in scoring with over 14 points per game, a record for a freshman player at the university.
Burnham later moved to the University of Portland, where her scoring average continued to improve, reaching a peak of 16.3 points per game in the 2024/2025 season.
Utility Trust St Pauls say they are looking forward to welcoming Maisie to Killarney well in advance of the new season.

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