After facing a backlash from Limerick, Clare, Waterford and Tipperary players, Munster GAA have postponed their plan to keep Cork and Kerry separate in the 2026 Munster Football Championship.

The new seeding system – which gives the two highest ranked Munster teams in the National League byes to separate semi-finals – will now come into play in 2027, twelve months later than initially planned.

This will give Clare and Limerick a chance to earn promotion to Division 2 of the league, potentially overtaking Cork if the Rebels were to get relegated to Division 3.

Despite traditionally being the two main contenders for Munster football honours, Kerry and Cork haven’t met in a provincial decider since 2021. The Kingdom have won each of the finals since then (one versus Limerick and three versus Clare) by an average margin of 15.75 points.

More high-profile Kerry v Cork finals might be desirable for fans of those teams, businesses in Killarney and Cork, and neutrals alike but Munster GAA’s plans to effectively keep the great rivals on opposite sides of the draw understandably drew criticism from the other participating counties. A statement by the GPA confirmed that players from Limerick, Clare, Waterford and Tipp had met via Zoom to discuss the matter. They were said to be “deeply disappointed and concerned” by the decision.

The 12-month delay will at least give two of those disaffected teams an opportunity to benefit from the new seeding process.

The draw for the 2026 Munster Football Championship will take place on November 27 under the old rules. As 2025 finalists, Kerry and Clare will get byes to the last four (but they will not necessarily be kept apart).

Nine members of Kerry’s squad are up for All-Stars at tonight’s awards ceremony in Dublin with Joe O’Connor and David Clifford also in contention for the prestigious Footballer of the Year award.

Start small and think big was always the motto of Con and Anne Stack who saw their company grow from a small operation in a shed in their back garden to a multi-national enterprise that now employs over 600 people.

That remarkable success story is to be recognised in their hometown of Killarney in the coming weeks when they are inducted into the Order of Inisfallen, the most prestigious honour the town can bestow.

Con, originally from Moyvane, initially served an apprenticeship in a knife-making factory in Germany, followed by a managerial role in a US multinational in Shannon. He moved to Killarney in February 1969 to take up the role as manager of Ross Products, a company that specialised in the manufacture of cardboard boxes, on Lewis Road.

He soon identified a market for cutting-edge fibre glass and glass reinforced products, with no capital required, and he operated from a shed at his home, with his Ballyduff native wife, Anne (née Leahy) by his side and playing her part.

Very soon an opportunity arose to create a product for the then thriving Pretty Polly factory in Killarney and Con spotted a requirement to manufacture fibre glass water tanks to replace galvanised steel models which were experiencing problems with rust.

He instantly built up a rapport with local companies like MD O’Shea & Sons and O’Callaghan Plumbing, as well as building boats for anglers, and to cater for a rapidly growing market, in 1973, Killarney Plastics was born.

Son Michael, remembers his mum dropping the five children to school before spending the day working alongside Con and, when school finished, they all made their way to their base in St Mary’s Terrace before being brought home to do their homework and have dinner.

Con left his post in Ross Products in 1980 and his company moved operations to an IDA supported, purpose-built unit, before the growth and the need became such that the current Tricel plant in the Ballyspillane Industrial Estate was developed.

The remarkable dedication shown and groundwork put in by Con and Anne Stack in the early days paid handsome dividends as Killarney Plastics became a key part of global engineering company Tricel.

From humble beginnings, it evolved into a family-led global provider, delivering performance and innovation-driven solutions across the water, environmental, construction and distribution industries.

Tricel develops, manufactures and distributes an extensive range of innovative products mainly across Ireland, France, Denmark and the UK and it provides specialist services to customers in over 50 countries worldwide.

600 PLUS EMPLOYEES

With 14 companies within the group it currently employs 620 people, 200 of whom are based in Killarney.

Con and Anne remained full-time in the business until they passed it on to their children, who are masterminding a very successful future for one of the great Killarney business success stories.

Now enjoying their retirement, they are secure in the knowledge that their lifetime of work is in good hands and that family remains the key to success. They have four sons, Michael, Con, Richard and Robert and a daughter Graine.

The Order of Inisfallen is a civic honour – a joint initiative between Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce and Kerry County Council – that recognises those who have made exceptional contributions to the local economy and to the tourism industry.

Previous recipients have included former Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Charles, King of England, actor Michael Fassbender, entrepreneurs Donal Ring and Michael O’Donoghue and entertainer Daniel O’Donnell who has attracted thousands of people to his Killarney concerts,.
The award is named after Inisfallen Island, on Lough Leane, which was historically a centre of learning where the precious Annals of Inisfallen were scripted.