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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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Con O’Leary: Killarney loses a vibrant and popular personality

Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce has led the tributes to the late Con O’Leary, an extremely popular and very successful businessman in the town, who passed away in the […]

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Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce has led the tributes to the late Con O’Leary, an extremely popular and very successful businessman in the town, who passed away in the early hours of Sunday.

Con was a vibrant and popular personality in Killarney where he operated The Laurels on Main Street, a thriving bar and restaurant, which he inherited following the passing of his father, Thado.
The business organisation said from a social perspective, The Laurels became the beating heart of the town and it was a landmark at the Market Cross in the same way as Clery’s clock was in the capital city.
Chamber said Con’s passing really marks the end of an era as he was one of a golden age of inspirational local business people who developed and built Killarney, through hard work, bravery and great commercial flair, and helped create the wonderful tourist attraction and holiday destination it is today.
“Con was very proud of Killarney and he played a very active part in progressing the town at many levels.
“He was a man that was never short of great ideas and his contribution to the business life of the town and as a director of Killarney Race Company was immense,” Chamber said.
“He was ahead of his time in many respects with the introduction by what became known as “the singing lounge” many years ago and The Laurels always led by example through its successes in the annual Killarney Looking Good competition”.
The business representative organisation noted that the O’Leary family has always been very supporting of the town and Con’s daughter, Kate, was a very dynamic Chamber President and is still a very valued member of the executive.
Chamber expressed deep sympathy to Con’s wife, Anne, children Kate, Niall, Tara and Lorna, sons-in-law, grandchildren, sisters, relatives and friends as well as the dedicated staff in The Laurels, past and present, who Con always had great time for and a great rapport with.

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All Roads Lead To Kerry For National Road Safety Conference

Kerry County Council is to host a two-day road safety conference at the INEC Killarney on May 28 and 29. The ‘Safer Roads’ road safety conference is an inter-agency event […]

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Kerry County Council is to host a two-day road safety conference at the INEC Killarney on May 28 and 29.

The ‘Safer Roads’ road safety conference is an inter-agency event focused on improving road safety, reducing traffic-related incidents, and sharing knowledge and best practices for safer road use. It encompasses various strategies and efforts across multiple domains, including road design, engineering, enforcement, forensic collision investigation, technology, education, collision trends, occupational driving, cycling and scooting, e-mobility, active & sustainable travel and on-road events.

In addition to this, AI, Virtual Reality and Driver Simulation will play a significant role at the conference, in improving safety by predicting and preventing accidents, optimizing traffic, and aiding the development of autonomous vehicles.

This ‘Safer Roads’ conference is a non-public event where road safety professionals, speakers and service providers from across Ireland, other EU countries and the UK will attend, including transportation experts, government and local authority officials, roads policing and vehicle inspection agencies, road safety advocates, educators and promoters, collision responders, cycling bodies and community safety networks.

Kerry County Council’s Road Safety Officer Declan Keogh said:
“Road safety has evolved over the years to a much broader scope, in terms of e-mobility, sustainability, technology and engineering for instance. It’s not just about the road or the vehicle anymore, but also about how technology, human behaviour, enforcement, and education intersect to reduce risks and prevent collisions. The ‘Safer Roads’ conference will involve and include every branch of the road safety tree, right across the board, and in doing so, we aim to increase road safety awareness, improve road user behaviour and decrease the collisions and carnage we see on our roads every day,”

The two-day conference also provides an opportunity for exhibitors to attend, and interested state bodies, businesses and service providers are invited to exhibit at the event to showcase their products and services and engage with delegates and officials at the conference.

Further information about the conference and how to register or exhibit can be found here. https://www.kerrycoco.ie/safer-roads-road-safety-conference/

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