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.

Killarney’s award-winning photographer, Valerie O’Sullivan, has released a striking new photographic book, On the Edge of Europe – Kerry, published by Currach Press.

The beautifully illustrated collection captures the people, places, and wild beauty of County Kerry, from the peaks of MacGillycuddy’s Reeks to the shores of the Atlantic.

Local landscapes within Killarney National Park feature strongly throughout the publication.

Among the stories highlighted is that of Tommy Mullach O’Sullivan of Ballyledder, who painstakingly dragged water from Lough Coimín Piast to build the highest grotto in Ireland on Cruach Mhór in 1975.

He was posthumously honoured at a ceremony in Cronin’s Yard in July 2025, exactly 50 years later.

Defined by the Atlantic Ocean, Kerry’s people and cultural heritage have shaped its landscape for thousands of years.

The book charts through words and images the richness of ‘The Kingdom of Kerry’ from ancient rock art and monastic sites to its golden age of saints, scholars, and pilgrims who ventured across the world.

In his foreword, Niall Ó Donnchú, Director General of the National Parks and Wildlife Service and a native of Gneeveguilla, writes: “Valerie O’Sullivan has long understood that to portray Kerry is not only to frame its grandeur, but to honour the relationship between people and place. Her lens finds the drama of ocean cliffs and mountain passes, but also the intimacy of a face, the glow of a cottage window, the fleeting play of light across stone.”

The UNESCO Biosphere Reserve that is Killarney National Park is given centre stage in the book, highlighting major conservation work including the regeneration of the ancient oak woodlands at Derrycunnihy, one of the oldest and most extensive native forests in Ireland and Northern Europe.

Other features include the park’s famous red deer, including ‘The Monarch of Mangerton’, the success of the white-tailed eagle project, and the park’s rich flora and fauna.

The book also shines a light on local traditions and characters from the world’s oldest regatta and the first four lady jarveys in Killarney, to the work of volunteers, boatmen, rangers, and educators who continue to protect and promote Kerry’s natural heritage.

On the Edge of Europe – Kerry is a vivid celebration of the county’s beauty, history, and community from the highest farm in Ireland to the highest grotto, and everything in between.

Valerie will be doing a book signing in Killarney House on November 15 at 2pm.