Dr Crokes will be reeling back the years when the club celebrates the Centenary of the Killarney Street League.

The Street League was played for the first time in 1924 at the Cricket Field, Muckross Road when four teams, one each representing College Street, Main Street, New Street, and High Street took part.
The 2024 first-round games get underway at 6.30 pm on Friday at the Lewis Rd playing pitches and will continue each Friday.

SCHEDULE

Round 1 August 9, Lewis Rd.
Round 2 August 16, Lewis Rd. pitches, 6.30 pm
Round 3 August 23, The Cricket Field, 6.30 pm (Muckross Rd, on the banks of the Flesk River) and at the Fitzgerald Stadium 7.30 pm.
Round 4 (final) August 30 at Lewis Rd.

The 100-year-old very valuable Silver Street Cup dating back to 1924 will be presented on the evening of the final by club president Jackie Looney followed by the annual Summer Barbeque - the club’s social highlight of the summer.

“We are making an extra effort with this year’s Street League to mark the centenary of this wonderful project linking our juveniles and adult members in Dr Crokes' summer celebration”, said David Byrne, Crokes Juvenile Secretary and leader of the project assisted by a great backup team from the Saturday morning Academy coaching sessions.

Former Dr Crokes and Kerry Stars will coach each team. Colm ‘Gooch’ Cooper is in charge of College Street, the High St manager is Johnny Buckley, former Kerry Ladies star Amanda Brosnan is the New Street coach and Kieran O’Leary is in charge of the Main Stree team.

Will sharpshooter ‘Gooch’ the holder of five All-Ireland medals repeat the College Street win of the inaugural 1924 final against New Street on the score of 4-4 to 2-1, refereed by Small Jer O’Leary, or will Brosnan, the former Crokes star with Kerry LGFA surprise everyone. New St were known locally as ‘The Boys below the Bridge.
All-Ireland winner Buckley has mustered a fine High Street team but O’Leary his former Kerry and Croke colleague will be encouraging Main Street to spring a surprise.
“Even though Dr Crokes was founded in 1886, and we had won the Kerry Senior Football Championship in 1901,1912,1913,1914, there was little or no football in Kerry during the War of Independence and the Civil War.

Young people longed for games and the Kerryman newspaper of October 18, 1924, reported that at a meeting of Dr Crokes Killarney, it was decided to form an Inter-Street League for the winter months and to present the winners with a silver Cup,” said Eoin Brosnan, the former All-Ireland winner and current chairman of Dr Crokes.

“I wish to express my appreciation to David Byrne our Juvenile Secretary and all of his helpers organising this historic Centenary project and for their thorough preparations for the next four Friday evenings followed by the annual summer Barbeque for all of our members.”

The Tralee and Killarney rivalry kicked in immediately after College Street won the inaugural Street League.
Rock Street (later Austin Stacks) winners of the Tralee Town League challenged the Killarney winners.

Paul Russell was only 18 years' old when he played at right corner back on the College Street team which won the 1924 Killarney Street League title. He impressed the Kerry selectors so much in the Street League that he went straight into the Kerry senior football team.

Still, a student at St Brendan’s College his first time wearing the green and gold was in the delayed 1923 All-Ireland final (played in September 1924), narrowly beaten by Dublin.

He was the automatic choice for right half-back and went on to win six All-Ireland medals by the age of 26, still the only Killarney man to do so.

In 1924 it was boys only who were catered for. The LGFA wasn’t formed until 1974 and it's fitting that the 2024 Street League caters for boys and girls. The latter are very prominent at the Saturday Academies.

Senior club player Kayleigh Cronin, All-Star and now All-Ireland LGFA winner as well as TG4’s Laoch na hImeartha in Kerry’s spectacular win at Croke Park on Sunday last will will be attending the games encouraging young girls to dream that one-day success can be theirs at Croke Park.