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O’Donoghue Cup Preview: High stakes semi for Crokes and Spa, Legion take on Gneeveguilla

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East Kerry Championship: Semi-Final Spa v Dr Crokes Sunday at 2pm Fitzgerald Stadium

Sunday’s Killarney derby between Spa and Dr Crokes promises to be a high-octane affair as both sides vie for a spot in the final of this year’s O’Donoghue Cup.

This rivalry has been fairly one-sided down through the years but Spa turned the tables back in June when they picked up a long-awaited 1-14 0-15 league victory up in Tullig. A first-half goal by Ciarán Spillane kept Spa in contention that day and late points by Shane Cronin (two) and Ryan O’Carroll proved crucial as the Crokes fell to a shock defeat.

All things told, it was an up-and-down league campaign for Spa and they finished up seventh in Division 1 with six wins and five defeats. They were naturally disappointed to have exited the Intermediate in the group phase but there was some joy in the championship for many of their players as 13 Spa men were part of the East Kerry team who won the Kerry Senior Football Championship earlier this month.

The absence through injury of Dara Moynihan is a blow but the fine form of those East Kerry boys, particularly the likes of Dan O’Donoghue, Liam Kearney, Shane Cronin and Even Cronin, bodes well heading into the business end of the East Kerry Championship. Victory over Crokes on Sunday would send Spa through to their first final since 1989 when they beat Gneeveguilla after a replay.

In recent years, the O’Donoghue Cup has been an opportunity for the Crokes to put the cherry on top of the icing on top of their cake. This time out, the O’Donoghue Cup is whole cake. Last weekend’s defeat to Dingle in a County League back game means that the Crokes are now facing the unfamiliar prospect of finishing 2019 trophyless.

Remarkably, the Lewis Road club have won at least one piece of silverware in each of the past 15 years and they will be keen to keep that run going by retaining the trophy they won back from Rathmore in 2018.

The winners of this match will take on either Legion or Gneeveguilla in the final next week. With the Crokes failing to advance to Munster for the first time in four years, the East Kerry Board will (barring replays) manage to get the tournament finished by December 8, two weeks earlier than last year’s decider which took place on December 22.

 

 

Gneeveguilla looking for another scalp

East Kerry Championship: Semi-Final
Killarney Legion v Gneeveguilla
Saturday at 2pm
Fitzgerald Stadium

The Magic of the Cup™ rarely applies to the East Kerry Championship. Since 2004, only two teams (Dr Crokes and Rathmore) have lifted the O’Donoghue Cup so it has been a lean spell indeed for the underdogs. Could Gneeveguilla buck the trend?

This year’s Division 3 champions were fancied by many to give out-of-form Rathmore a good game last weekend but I’m not sure how many people thought they’d go out and actually win it. But win it they did.

A Shane Crowley goal gave the Junior Premier outfit the perfect start and they led by five, 1-6 to 0-4, at the interval. A second goal early in the second helped to open up a commanding 2-7 to 0-4 lead and despite a spirited Rathmore comeback, they just about held on to win by a solitary point. Gneeveguilla defender DJ Murphy was named Man of the Match.

Next up for Gneeveguilla are another Division 1 club in the Legion. The Killarney side had a resounding victory over Fossa in the last round, eventually winning with 15 points to spare.

As a senior club, Legion will naturally be favourites to advance to their fourth final since 2013 but Stephen Stack’s side will have to be wary of the threat posed by their semi-final opponents. If they do manage to get over the line, an all-Killarney final against either the Crokes or Spa beckons.

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Chamber pays tribute to late Dick Henggeler

Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce has expressed condolences following the death of Dick Henggeler, the well-known owner of The Rose Hotel in Tralee. Mr Henggeler passed away peacefully at […]

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Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce has expressed condolences following the death of Dick Henggeler, the well-known owner of The Rose Hotel in Tralee.

Mr Henggeler passed away peacefully at his home in Baltimore, USA surrounded by his Aghadoe-born wife Eibhlin (née Moriarty), their son Franz, and other family members.
Dick and Eibhlin purchased The Rose Hotel in 2015 in tribute to their late daughter Dorothy, who represented Washington DC in the 2011 Rose of Tralee Festival.
The Chamber said Mr Henggeler would be remembered for his warmth, good nature and positive approach, as well as for being a forward-thinking and knowledgeable businessman.
“He knew how to run a good hotel and that was and still is very obvious at The Rose Hotel, which is a great success story,” the Chamber said.
It added that continuity of ownership will remain in place, with Eibhlin, Franz, daughter-in-law Amber, and grandchildren Conrad and Rowan continuing to honour Dick’s legacy and vision for the hotel.
“Dick took enormous personal pride in Tralee and all of Kerry and he was always available to generously support any community initiative or endeavour undertaken in Killarney,” the Chamber said.
“He will be greatly missed by all that knew him but he leaves a wonderful legacy.”

He will repose at O’Shea’s Funeral Home, Killarney, on Friday (October 17), from 4:00pm to 6:00pm. The funeral will arrive at St Mary’s Cathedral on Saturday morning at 10:00am for Requiem Mass at 10:30am, with burial afterwards in Aghadoe Cemetery. The Requiem Mass will be live streamed at https://www.churchservices.tv/killarneycathedral.

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Beaufort Film Night returns with French drama-comedy

Beaufort Film Night will return on Friday (October 17) at Cullina National School, with a screening of the French drama-comedy The Marching Band. The film tells the story of Thibaut, […]

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Beaufort Film Night will return on Friday (October 17) at Cullina National School, with a screening of the French drama-comedy The Marching Band.

The film tells the story of Thibaut, a successful conductor recently diagnosed with leukaemia. A search for a bone marrow donor reveals that he was adopted and has a brother, Jimmy, a cafeteria worker.
The two meet, discover a shared love of music, and form a strong bond through an unexpected collaboration with Jimmy’s workplace band.
The Marching Band (French title En Fanfare) will screen at 8.30pm. Admission is €7, cash only, and will cover the motion picture licence fee.
The film has a 12A rating and is in French with English subtitles.
Beaufort Film Night is a non-profit community group that screens cultural English and international films that usually do not receive general release in Kerry.
The event is supported by Kerry County Council Arts Office and Access Cinema. Cullina National School is providing the venue.
Further details are available on Beaufort Film Night’s Facebook page @BeaufortFilmNight.

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