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Kerry soccer chief rejects claims that league breached COVID restrictions

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5 years ago

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The Secretary of the Kerry District League, John O’Regan, has said that the money he collected from spectators at a recent game at Mounthawk Park in Tralee was for charity.

O’Regan denies claims that he charged an admission fee of €5 at the Premier A League Final between Killarney Athletic and Killarney Celtic, a match that was supposed to be played behind closed doors in line with COVID-19 restrictions.

He also rejects suggestions that upwards of 180 people were at the league decider, stating that the initial accusations were made by someone with a “personal vendetta” which stems from O’Regan’s friendship with disgraced former FAI CEO John Delaney.

Meanwhile, as was reported by Paul Rowan and Mark Tighe of The Sunday Times, the FAI have said that they are "investigating attendances at fixtures in Kerry”.

MONEY

Speaking to the Killarney Advertiser yesterday, O'Regan confirmed that fans were, indeed, asked for money as they entered the ground – as had been reported by multiple attendees – but the long-serving secretary insisted that the money in question was for charity.

“We weren’t allowed to charge but we were collecting for the Red Cross,” O’Regan said. “And what we were asking people to do was to make a donation. Anybody who wanted to donate to the Red Cross was allowed to do so. And people did donate generously.

“Next Thursday night we’ll be presenting the Red Cross with a cheque for €1,000 that we collected at the game. But there was no charge as such.

“Now, the players were charged €2, as always. We’re entitled to do that. That’s a development levy that everyone pays. Otherwise we wouldn’t have Mounthawk Park. It’s a levy that was agreed by all the clubs and very few people complained about it.

“We’re still developing as you can see. We’re starting another bit of a stand at the back of the goals. We haven’t made a bob for I don’t know how long and we’ve got nothing from the FAI. We have insurance and we have work that was done by builders and things over the years. Our reserves are starting to run down a bit.”

GUIDELINES

As for the number of spectators watching the game itself, O’Regan accepted that there may have been people there who shouldn’t have been, but he also asserted that “no guidelines were broken” by the Kerry District League.

“If somebody came to me and said their young fella was playing and he’s under 18, they were allowed in,” he said, referring to the COVID-19 recommendation which states that minors may be accompanied to a match by one parent or guardian.

The Premier A is a senior league so the vast majority of each squad participating in the final was made up of adults. If the players aged 17 and under brought one parent each, this should have accounted for three spectators.

Eyewitness accounts suggest that there may have been around 120 spectators at the fixture, excluding matchday personnel such as players, management, match officials, first aid, league officials and media.

(At this point it should be noted that this journalist was actually playing in the game. While I did not count the number of people and cannot verify the exact attendance, it is fair to say that there were more people there than there should have been, something O’Regan accepts.)

O’Regan said that a training session and another match that were also being held at the facility on the day in question may have contributed to the crowd. He also posited that some spectators may have snuck in via alternative routes.

“There was a few there alright but I can’t do anything about what’s passing up and down,” he said.

“We don’t have the luxury of having everything walled in like Fitzgerald Stadium or Austin Stack Park. They can come in through Tralee Dynamos’ pitch – now, I don’t know whether they did or not [for this match] – and, unfortunately, on the left-hand-side there’s a walkway and people can come from the middle of Tralee or Caherslee.

“Maybe a few people got in that way. There are a few gaps all over the place.”

On Sunday, Rowan and Tighe revealed that the FAI were looking into the incident, but yesterday O’Regan told the Killarney Advertiser that “to the best of [his] knowledge” there was no investigation underway.

However, this morning the FAI have again confirmed that they are following up on the KDL’s alleged breach of COVID-19 restrictions.

In a brief statement to the Killarney Advertiser, a spokesperson said: “The FAI is investigating attendances at fixtures in Kerry.”

 

Read the full interview with John O’Regan in Friday’s Killarney Advertiser as he discusses his critics, his friendship with John Delaney and his thoughts on his future as league secretary

 

Above: File photo of Mounthawk Park in Tralee. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile.

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Tree of Light ceremony on Monday

The spectacular 100ft Tree of Light in Killarney, festooned with close on 3,000 lights and topped with a giant star, will again illuminate the town this Christmas with the official […]

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6 hours ago

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7 December 2025

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The spectacular 100ft Tree of Light in Killarney, festooned with close on 3,000 lights and topped with a giant star, will again illuminate the town this Christmas with the official switch-on date planned for Monday next, December 8.

The lighting up ceremony will take place after a community Mass in the adjacent St Mary’s Cathedral at 6.15pm and a short prayer service will mark the big switch-on.
The towering Tree of Light is a landmark giant Californian Redwood tree located just outside the main door of the Pugin-designed building.
The project is an collaboration between a sub-committee of Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce and the Killarney parish and it creates a wonderful focal point in the town in the lead up to and during the festive season.
Killarney Parish Administrator, Fr Kieran O’Brien and Christmas in Killarney Chairman, Cllr Niall Kelleher extend a warm invitation to all community groups, schools, clubs and organisations, families and individuals to attend the special Mass next Monday evening or to visit the tree this Christmastime.
The feature star on the spectacular tree will take on an extra special meaning this year as it will be dedicated to the late Donal Grady, a long-serving local councillor and former Mayor of Killarney who worked diligently and passionately for the community.
Donal, who passed away in 2024, was a dedicated public representative who worked with great passion and a real sense of purpose on behalf of his loyal supporters.
Through his work as a long-serving chief fire officer in Killarney, he helped so many families at a time when they most needed assistance and reassurance and he brought a great sense of calm and responsibility to the position
The Tree of Light was first lit to mark the millennium year when it commemorated all those who lost their lives in the conflict in Northern Ireland and it was again illuminated in the mid-2000s to remember those who had been killed on Irish roads.
Since then the project is all about community and it celebrates the fact that Killarney is such a wonderful town to live in.
In the past, the star at the top of the tree has been dedicated to great community activists Johnny Hickey, Yvonne Quill, Paul Coghlan and Rena Kennelly.

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O’Donoghue planning National Rally Championship campaign

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7 hours ago

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7 December 2025

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Killarney’s Colin and Kieran O’Donoghue claimed victory in the Modified section of the Killarney Towers Hotel Killarney Historic Rally, delivering a controlled run in their Ford Escort Mk2 to secure Colin’s second win in the category and Kieran’s first.


At the finish ramp outside the Plaza Hotel on Saturday evening, Colin O’Donoghue confirmed he is considering a step into the Triton Showers Motorsport Ireland National Rally Championship next season.

He said he plans to travel to Mayo in March to see how the opening round suits before making a decision.

O’Donoghue set the fastest time on all nine stages to secure the win over second-placed Chris Armstrong/Conor Smith, also in a Ford Escort.


Third place went to Gary McPhillips and Conor Mohan, 17.9 seconds further back in their Escort.


The Modified section also featured the battle for the Carrick Cup, awarded in memory of Mike Gaine to the fastest Kenmare-based crew over Moll’s Gap.


This year it went to Tommy Randles/Darragh Lynch, who set the pace among the local contenders and finished 35th overall.

Randles, a long-serving club official, has hinted this could be one of his final competitive outings.


The best Kerry Motor Club crew was John Michael Kennelly / Dylan Harrington, who took fifth overall in the Modified division.

Dave Slattery / Denis Coffey continued their strong season with 13th overall (Class 6, 4th), while Hugh McQuaid and Rathmore school teacher Declan Casey placed 15th overall and sixth in Class 6.

Other locals included Seán Enright / Kevin Doherty who were Class 3 winners on the recent Thomond Rally and backed that up here with another steady finish in 26th.


Tadhg O’Sullivan /Frank Byrnes, Seán Hartnett/Kieran Doherty, Raymond O’Neill/Jason O’Connor, Cyril Wharton/Donal Falvey and Ray Stack/Gene Stack brought their Escorts home safely inside the top 40.

Gary Healy/Niall Myers, switching from a Civic to a Toyota Twin Cam 20V, took third in Class 5.


Paudie O’Callaghan/Daniel Murphy brought their Starlet home fourth in Class 4.


Noel O’Sullivan/Nicholas Burke, one of the few crews to have contested every Historic Rally since it began in 1996, finished 50th overall.


Killarney father-and-son team Tom and Mark O’Sullivan completed the demanding event in their Peugeot 205 GTi.

Representing Kerry Motor Club, Ken McKenna / PJ O’Dowd reached the finish in their Peugeot 205.

Kevin O’Donoghue / John McElhinney used Super Rally to return to the stages after mechanical trouble, as did Kenmare’s Shane McCarthy / Eamonn Creedon who were among several crews targeting future Carrick Cup success and completed their Honda EG6’s run under Super Rally as well.

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