By Con Dennehy

One of Kerry’s best-known priests, Canon Tom Looney, will launch his new book Unbeatable this Sunday at 6pm in the Glenbeigh Handball Complex.

The book tells the remarkable story of Fr Tom Jones, a Tralee-born priest who was also one of Ireland’s greatest early handball players. Born in 1868 on Rock Street, Jones was crowned All-Ireland Handball Champion in 1888 after defeating John Delaney of Athy — a title he retained the following year. Alongside fellow Tralee player James Fitzgerald, Jones also claimed the Munster double-handed championship in 1889. The pair’s legacy was later honoured when a handball alley in Tralee was named after them in 1949.
After a short but glittering sporting career, Fr Jones entered St Brendan’s College, Killarney, in 1889 to study for the priesthood, later attending Maynooth College, where a court named Jones Alley still stands in his memory. He served in several Kerry parishes, including Glenbeigh, Ballyferriter, Killorglin, Dingle and Caherciveen, and founded the Glenbeigh Handball Club in 1946.
Canon Looney, a native of Killarney, has served more than 50 years in the priesthood and is a respected historian and author. His previous works include a biography of Dick Fitzgerald, King in a Kingdom of Kings.