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Tuason flies high as Lakers crush Vikings

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Scotts Lakers 99
Waterford Vikings 80

Adam Moynihan
Killarney Sports Centre

Before this game had even tipped off, the Waterford Vikings had the look of a team who weren’t expecting much from their trip to Killarney. Basketball warm-ups seem fairly laid back to me anyway (it’s hard to imagine a footballer, for example, doing a pre-match drill with a pair of headphones on) but the visitors looked especially relaxed as they loosened out ahead of Saturday evening’s encounter.

To be fair to the Vikings, it must be hard to get fired up for a difficult road game considering the start they’ve had. Prior to Saturday they had lost all nine of their league fixtures, including a 73-102 home defeat to the Lakers in September. In short, the Vikings had little cause for optimism.

As it panned out, things went pretty much to script for the Lakers at the Auracle, despite the best efforts of Vikings centre Daniel Noe who was the game’s top scorer with 29 points. Unfortunately for the Virginia native, he had little or “Noe” help from his teammates (lol).

Between them the Vikings shot three air balls in the opening four minutes alone and defensively they struggled to cope with Lakers big men Andy Fitzgerald and Papito Hersisia. When a beautiful pass from Seán O’Brien teed up Dailian Mason for a corner three at the end of the first, the hosts led 33-23.

The Lakers had doubled their advantage by the half-time horn and, realistically, the game was already over as a contest. All in all, there was very little to shout about in that first half. In fact, the real entertainment came at the interval.

There were smiles all around as MC Botty went into the crowd and pulled two special guests onto the floor: Neil O’Brien and Gerry Tuason, the proud fathers of American stars Seán and Justin. Neil and his wife Terry made the long journey from Pennsylvania to see their son play, while Gerry came all the way from San Francisco.

Neil and Gerry went head-to-head in a highly-entertaining shooting comp and the latter just about completed the challenge first, much to the delight of Justin who rushed onto the court to congratulate his old man. (My favourite part was when Tuason Sr flamboyantly dribbled the ball behind his back, which wasn’t very practical considering that it was supposed to be a race. Now we know where Justin gets his sense of showmanship from.)

Speaking after the game, Justin joked that he was concerned for his dad’s safety.

“I was scared he was gonna get hurt,” he said. “The dude is old, man. I thought he was gonna pull a muscle or something. Luckily we shot the day before. That was the first time he had picked up a ball in years.”

Later, in the fourth quarter, the younger Tuason was responsible for the other highlight of the night when he stole the ball at half court, attacked the basket and elevated for the two-handed slam. We don’t see too many in-game dunks around these parts and it was certainly a bright spark in an otherwise unremarkable game.

“I had all the motivation I needed with dad in the crowd,” Tuason said. “That was my first one in Killarney too. I was due one – I can’t just be dunking in lay-up lines!”

Dutchman Papito Hersisia impressed for the Lakers, finishing up with 28 points in a strong overall performance. Papito’s girlfriend was also in town to see him play. The Lakers might want to fly her over on a weekly basis if he’s going to be putting up numbers like that.

The result means that the Lakers remain joint second in the Southern Conference, level with the Limerick Celtics (8-2) but with a game in hand. Cormac O’Donoghue’s team have their sights set on leaders Ballincollig (11-0) and Tuason, never short on confidence, thinks that this Lakers outfit have a real chance of winning silverware this season.

“We can go far,” he said. “The sky’s the limit for us.”

Scotts Lakers: Papito Hersisia (28), Seán O'Brien (24), Dailian Mason (15), Mark Greene (10), Justin Tuason (9), Séamus Brosnan (4), Andrew Fitzgerald (4), Cian Clernon (3), James Murphy (2), Pádraig Lucey and Shane McCarthy.

Waterford Vikings: Daniel Noe (29), Ryan Pepper (10), Jack Murphy (9), Emmanuel Anaba (8), James Robinson (8), Dale Kavanagh (8), Daniel Sheehan (4), Cian O'Rourke (2) and Scott Dunphy (2).

Fixtures
UL Eagles (a) Saturday, Nov 17 at 7pm
Portlaoise Panthers (h) Saturday, Nov 24 at 7.30pm
Fr Mathews (a) Tuesday, Nov 27 at 8pm
Limerick Celtics (h) Saturday, Dec 1 at 7pm

Southern Conference

P W L F A PD Pts
Ballincollig 11 11 0 969 761 +208 33
Scotts Lakers 10 8 2 896 778 +118 24
Limerick Celtics 11 8 3 873 850 +23 24
IT Carlow 10 7 3 785 711 +74 21
Portlaoise 11 6 5 857 905 -48 18
Fr Mathews 10 4 6 798 838 -40 12
UL Eagles 10 2 8 749 801 -52 6
LIT 10 1 9 763 860 -97 3
Waterford 11 0 11 770 956 -186 0

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Free composting workshop in Fossa on Saturday

The Fossa Climate Action Group is inviting the public to a free composting workshop this Saturday at Fossa Community Hall. Taking place from 11am to 1pm, the workshop will be […]

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The Fossa Climate Action Group is inviting the public to a free composting workshop this Saturday at Fossa Community Hall.

Taking place from 11am to 1pm, the workshop will be led by Donal O’ Leary of Waste Down, who will share his 25 years of expertise on turning household and garden waste into valuable compost for gardens. The session is aimed at anyone with an interest in gardening, improving soil health, and reducing food waste.
Diarmaid Griffin, PRO of Fossa Climate Action Group, said: “It is a great to start off our series of workshops with Donal O’ Leary of Waste Down. He has a vast knowledge on the fundamentals of soil health and explains it in simple and understandable language. Everyone can compost whether you have a big garden or none at all. Each method will be explained in detail.”
The Fossa Climate Action Group thanked the Department of the Environment and Community Foundation Ireland for their support in making this informative workshop available to the community free of charge.

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Radio Kerry to feature National Park’s dawn chorus

The spectacular dawn chorus in Killarney National Park will be the focus of the Saturday Supplement on Radio Kerry this Saturday morning. Presenter Frank Lewis will highlight the natural spectacle. […]

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The spectacular dawn chorus in Killarney National Park will be the focus of the Saturday Supplement on Radio Kerry this Saturday morning.

Presenter Frank Lewis will highlight the natural spectacle.
“The chorus of birds singing together, from about 45 minutes before to 45 minutes after sunrise, our most spectacular phenomenon in nature, is at its best during these weeks.” He said.
The programme, recorded in Knockreer at dawn on April 13, will also capture the early morning floral displays.
The programme will also include insights from 88-year-old former Park Superintendent Dan Kelliher, who describes “the amazing experience of seeing a full moon sitting on top of Torc mountain – and hearing bagpipes being played in Muckross Abbey around midnight.”
Conservation ranger Padruig O’Sullivan will discuss the Park’s ongoing development.
Walks guide Richie Clancy will share a historical anecdote: “In 1969 this tall stranger asked if I could take him to where he could get a photograph of Dairy Cottage where General de Gaulle was staying. I told him we would be a long way away but he said that was no problem that he had a long lens. Over the years there had been 33 attempts to assassinate de Gaulle. I learned afterwards that the stranger was Padraig Kennelly who started Kerry’s Eye.”
The programme will also touch on the blossoming wild garlic woods, the view from Deenagh Lodge, improvements at Knockreer Gardens, the story of Coda the monk, the bluebells, King’s Bridge, the changing path at Gamewood Bridge, and stories from Teahouse Point.
Tune in to Radio Kerry this Saturday to hear Frank Lewis in conversation with Dan Kelliher, Padruig O’Sullivan, Richie Clancy, and Ed Carty, who began their recording walk at 5.30 am in Knockreer.

Field ornithologist Ed Carty has revealed that the Great Spotted Woodpecker is breeding in Killarney National Park.

Carty will be a guest on Radio Kerry’s Saturday Supplement. The programme, recorded on April 13, (see main story) will focus the dawn chorus,
During the recording of the programme, Carty said: “During the past few weeks the Great Spotted Woodpecker has been heard here in the Gamewood in Knockreer. We expect to find it breeding here in the coming weeks – for the first time in hundreds of years or maybe much longer.”
Since the recording, it has been confirmed that the Great Spotted Woodpecker is now breeding in this area of Killarney National Park.
Great Spotted Woodpeckers appear to have gone extinct in Ireland following deforestation in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The first recorded sighting of a Great Spotted Woodpecker for Killarney National Park was in 2013, where it was observed in the Tomies Wood area. This new development is significant as it is one of the first recorded breeding activity within the Park.

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