News
From Gaelic success to Aussie Rules star
By Sean Moriarty
She is already a star of the Gaelic football pitch but Dr Crokes and Kerry’s Amanda Brosnan is now making a name for herself as an Aussie Rules player.
As well as her starring roles with the Black and Amber and Green and Gold, she also plays Aussie Rules with the Cork Vikings.
Amanda took up the sport in April this year following her retirement from inter-county football at the end of the 2019 season and the birth of her daughter Nia in November last year.
“When things opened up I wanted to go back playing and always had an interest in Aussie Rules,” she told the Killarney Advertiser. “The skills carry over – catch and kick – but the ball is a different shape!”
She continued to play local ladies football with Dr Crokes but took on the additional challenge of contesting the Irish National Aussie Rules league too.
This lead to her being selected for the Irish Banshees and the Irish team took part – and won – an international tournament in Belfast over the weekend.
“The Irish team management attended all the league games, I wanted to be part of the Irish team,” she added. “We were invited to a few trial games after that too.”
The inaugural Clover Cup was hosted by AFL Ireland and featured men’s and women’s national sides from Ireland and the United Kingdom that competed in a tournament at Patrick Sarsfields GAA Club in West Belfast last weekend.
The Irish Banshees competed against the England Vixens, the Scottish Sirens, the Ulster Machas and the Welsh Wyverns in the tournament and ran out convincing winners over the English team in the final on Sunday.
Amanda did, previously, make the Irish U16 basketball team but drifted away from the court and hoops once her GAA career took off. She only ever made the Irish basketball panel and never actually played in an international match so last weekend’s AFL tournament was her first time to play for Ireland in any discipline.
“Any chance you get to represent your country, and that was not always possible coming from a GAA background,” she added.
Two other Kerry woman played for Ireland in last week’s AFL Clover Cup tournament, Tralee’s Marie Quirke and CJ Murphy from Farranfore.
Wallace Arnold coach drivers return to Killarney
A group of 26 former coach drivers, wives, and friends from the Wallace Arnold tour company returned to Killarney over a recent weekend.
The group travelled from Holyhead to Dublin in a restored Wallace Arnold coach, staying at the Killarney Towers Hotel for three nights.
During the visit, the group drove the vintage coach to local landmarks, including Kate Kearney’s Cottage and Muckross House, before returning to town ahead of the Kerry versus Donegal match. The itinerary also included a trip around the Ring of Kerry.
The trip allowed the former drivers to reconnect and reminisce about their years touring Ireland. Organiser Bob Adams said that the vintage coach drew attention from local residents along the route.
The group noted the absence of several former colleagues who could not travel due to health reasons, including veteran driver Hilton Caldwell who is well known in Killarney.
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