News
St Paul’s youngsters do club proud
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The past season was another very successful one for the juvenile teams of St Paul's Basketball Club. With membership continuing to grow and reach record numbers of over 400 boys and girls, the future of Killarney basketball looks very bright and promising.
The St Paul's Little Dribblers initiative caters for almost 50 U-8 players every Friday evening where young participants learn new and basic basketball skills. The recent government Sports Capital Grant will facilitate the purchase of four new professional basketball hoops to assist the development of these young players.
At U-10 boys level, the club catered for 50 players while 35 more played at U-10 girls level. Both teams competed in monthly blitzes during the season while St Paul's hosted a blitz to finish the season.
The St Paul's U-11 boys team reached the Kerry cup final but lost a very close game while the U-11 second team made substantial progress throughout the season. The U-11 girls team were also very competitive in Kerry area board league and cup activities.
The U-12 boys team enjoyed a tremendous season securing a league and cup double. The U-12 girls also had a great campaign in Division 1 and clinched the Shield title. St Paul's U-14 girls did well in Division 1 competitions and the Division 3 team reached the semi-final of the playoffs.
The U-14 boys had an outstanding season winning the cup and the Castleisland Christmas tournament and also finished joint top of league. However, they missed out on the title after losing an away game to Duagh without having the opportunity to play at home. The U-14 Division 3 team also competed very well with a huge panel of players.
The U-16 girls performed admirably in Division 1 and lost the Shield final. The highlight of the season was a trip to Berlin in October where they won all their games against Alba Berlin. The U-16 Division 3 team remained in contention at the top of the league all season and were unlucky to lose out in the cup final.
The U-16 and U-18 boys teams trained hard all year under the guidance of Mikey Keogh and Antuan Bootle with the U-18s reaching the Cup final. The U-18 girls team competed in a very tough Division 1 but did very well to reach the Cup final before losing to Castleisland.
Congratulations to Jamie O'Neill, Ellen Kennedy, Tara Donnellan, Ben Switzer and Luke Crowley who represented Kerry this season. The return of National League basketball to Killarney and the emergence and success of Scotts Lakers is a huge source of inspiration to all the club’s juvenile players.
It is fantastic to see so many of the club teams competing in Division 1 leagues and the club hopes to bring other teams to that level with more coaching and development.
St. Paul's juvenile section are very grateful to our main sponsor Tricel and the Stack family for their tremendous support. Every child in the club received their own set of playing gear and it is fabulous to see all the teams wearing the same matching outfits.
Finally a special thanks to all the club coaches, assistant coaches, team managers
and the hard working comittee who give up their valuable time to look after
all the young players.
News
Ireland’s oldest citizen has Killarney connections
Ireland’s oldest woman met with President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin this week. Máirín Hughes, who turned 109 on May 22 has strong Killarney connections. The previous record […]
Ireland’s oldest woman met with President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin this week.
Máirín Hughes, who turned 109 on May 22 has strong Killarney connections.
The previous record was held by 107-year-old Nancy Stewart who died on September 10 2021.
Although born in Belfast, Máirín went to school in the Mercy Convent. Her father was a customs and excise officer and the family moved around a lot eventually coming to Killarney after spells in County Down and Dublin.
Her mother came from the Rathmore area and her father was from Newmarket in County Cork.
She attended the Mercy Convent and has, in previous interviews, recalled growing up on the shores of Lough Lein.
“Neighbours who had three children were given the job of taking me to school,” she said. “They were annoyed because the children were going to school for two or three years but I was put in to the same class as them – my mother had taught me.”
In 2021 she featured in the book ‘Independence Memories: A People’s Portrait of the Early Days of the Irish Nation’, sharing stories of being kept in school in Killarney during an attack on the RIC barracks down the road.
In 1924 she started a degree in science and a diploma in education at University College Cork, before working in the pathology lab in University College Cork’s Department of Medicine for 16 years.
last year she recalled her story on the podcast: ‘Living History – Irish Life and Lore’.
During the broadcast she talked about her parents’ membership of the Gaelic League in 1910; the Spanish Flu in Ireland in 1918; The Black and Tans in Killarney in 1921; the early days of the new Free State; Eucharistic Congress in Dublin in 1932, visiting the Basket Islands in 1929; and working in the UCC medical laboratory from 1932 until 1948.
This week President Michael D. Higgins hosted an afternoon tea event to celebrate the important role that a variety of people have and can play in different communities and Máirín was among the guests of honour.
News
Philip is running over 100kms for Cancer charity
Local runner and charity fundraiser Philip Kissane is set for the biggest challenge of his career as he lines up for the Cork City Marathon on Sunday. Phillip has already […]
Local runner and charity fundraiser Philip Kissane is set for the biggest challenge of his career as he lines up for the Cork City Marathon on Sunday.
Phillip has already completed four half marathons at various locations around Killarney – all in aid of Kerry Cancer Support Group – or the Cancer Bus as it popularly called.
This is the second time that Phillip has run four half marathon and an official race for the charity.
Back in 2021 he finished with 5km Run Killarney event but his finishing race this time around is over eight times the distance at 42kms.
“We are delighted with Philip’s continued fundraising support but also with his awareness raising for the charity,” Breda Dyland, Service Manager Kerry Cancer Support Trust.
“We are getting busier all the time and still get no statutory funding so are dependent on fundraisers like Philip’s to keep us on the road. We have just put our new wheelchair accessible bus on the Cork route so Philip’s funding will be going towards the operation of this vehicle.”
Ireland’s oldest citizen has Killarney connections
Ireland’s oldest woman met with President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin this week. Máirín Hughes, who turned 109...
Philip is running over 100kms for Cancer charity
Local runner and charity fundraiser Philip Kissane is set for the biggest challenge of his career as he lines up...
Game changer as Black Valley connects to 5G network
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