Sport
Adam Moynihan: Both ends at Fitzgerald Stadium should be named after Kerry legends
Upgrades are needed at the Fitzgerald Stadium. A cursory glance around the famous old ground makes that abundantly clear. The good news is that ‘The Park’ is apparently set for a €72 million revamp at some point in the future. Realistically, though, we could be talking years before work begins.
In the meantime, there’s one quick and easy way to improve the stadium, and it won’t cost millions to do it.
We should name both ends of the ground after legends of Kerry GAA.
At present we have a stand and a terrace, both named after prominent figures from the neighbouring Dr Crokes club.
The O’Sullivan Stand was erected in the 1970s in honour of Dr Eamonn O’Sullivan, a revolutionary trainer who guided Kerry to eight All-Irelands across five decades.
On the other side of the ground, we have the O’Connor Terrace. It was named after Michael O’Connor, a highly-regarded administrator who was appointed as chairman of the Munster Council in 1986.
In his book ‘My Beautiful Obsession’, the great Weeshie Fogarty suggests that O’Connor would have become Kerry’s first GAA president were it not for his untimely death in 1991.
The O’Connor Terrace wraps around both ends of the pitch (partially at one end and fully at the other) but, in reality, these ends are never really referred to as the O’Connor Terrace.
Everyone present on a matchday – fans, players, officials, and the media – needs another way of referring to those ends so various informal names have emerged.
If you find yourself somewhere in the middle of the terrace on Saturday when Kerry play Mayo, look to your left. This end is often referred to as the ‘Town End’. But Killarney Town, as the crow flies, is directly over the O’Sullivan Stand. You can get to town by exiting the end to the left, of course, but you can get to town by exiting the other end too.
This end to the left is also sometimes referred to as the ‘Dressing Room End’, which is logical as the dressing rooms are located beneath this part of the terrace. It is also known as the ‘Lewis Road End’, which makes sense as Lewis Road runs parallel to that particular side of the stadium.
From your vantage point on the terrace, the end to your right is most commonly known as the ‘Dalton’s Avenue End’. This is where things get confusing. Fitzgerald Stadium is surrounded on two sides by a housing estate that is subdivided into different sections. You have Dalton’s Avenue, Marian Terrace, St Brendan’s Place and Torc Terrace neighbouring The Park, with O’Kelly’s Villas and Bishop Moynihan’s Crescent a little further away.
Most of Dalton’s Avenue, to the best of my knowledge, runs parallel to the back of the O’Sullivan Stand – it’s not at the end to the right at all. The row of small houses that you can see around the back of the stadium at this end are part of Torc Terrace. So, really, it should be the ‘Torc Terrace End’ – although I’ve never heard it referred to as such.
Of course, it is alternatively, and more precisely, called the ‘Scoreboard End’.
With all that in mind, in the interest of tidying things up for everyone, surely it would be beneficial to bestow the ends with official titles?
If we were to go down the road of naming them after individuals, just as Kerry GAA did with the O’Sullivan Stand and the O’Connor Terrace, we certainly have no shortage of potential candidates.
It is definitely a nice touch to name things after individuals who are no longer with us but, personally, I think it’s even nicer when people get their recognition when they’re still around.
What about renaming the ‘Scoreboard End’ the ‘O’Dwyer End’, in honour of the great Micko who won 12 All-Irelands with Kerry as a player and manager? Waterville, his home village, is roughly that direction.
(Unfortunately, this end of the stadium isn’t much to look at right now but it would surely be a priority if and when any redevelopment does take place.)
And with three Crokes men already remembered at the stadium (O’Sullivan, O’Connor and Dick Fitzgerald), perhaps it would be appropriate to honour a Legion man too?
The ‘Culloty End’ has a nice ring to it, and it would be a fitting tribute to local man Johnny who represented Kerry with distinction in hurling and football. He won five All-Irelands with the senior footballers before going on to train the team and serve as a selector for many years.
In fact, he once lived on Lewis Road, so renaming the 'Lewis Road End' in his honour would be the perfect fit.
You can make a case for many other Kerry legends, of course. But, to my mind, few could be more deserving than Mick O’Dwyer and Johnny Culloty.
Sport
Jack O’Connor’s Kerry squad is looking deeper and stronger (but the proof will be in the eating)
As we reach the midway point of the 2025 season, Adam Moynihan takes a close look at Kerry’s strength in depth
As the Kerry players, management team and backroom staff huddled together for a photo with the Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh Cup in front of the Hogan Stand, one of the photographers raised his fist in the air, trying to illicit something resembling a celebratory scene. No joy.
Victory over Mayo had been secured in convincing enough fashion but winning the league has never been grounds for buoyant celebrations as far as Kerry are concerned. Retaining Division 1 status and unearthing some new talent is generally enough to tick the springtime box ahead of the serious business of the championship. Once that has been achieved, anything else is gravy.
Going by the disappointing loss to Armagh in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final, the need for new blood was especially great heading into the 2025 season. The team faded badly down the stretch and into extra time against the Orchard County with overdependence on core players glaringly obvious. It wasn’t the only reason they lost but Kerry simply didn’t get enough from their supporting cast on the day.
With that in mind, Jack O’Connor knew he had to work on the depth of his squad during this league campaign, and you’d have to say he made a pretty good fist of it.
Starting in goal, the situation here is clear with Shane Murphy providing back-up to Shane Ryan.
Moving out the field, in recent years Kerry have generally gone with Jason Foley at full back, Tom O’Sullivan at left corner back, and one of Paul Murphy or Graham O’Sullivan at right corner back.
After making his debut in the league in 2024, Damien Bourke has emerged as a genuine right corner back alternative with some strong performances that have vastly enhanced his reputation. Not many Kerry players came out of the Dublin defeat with extra credit to their name but Bourke was brave and tenacious, bursting out of defence and using the ball wisely. He was replaced as a starter by the experienced Murphy in later rounds but the Tralee man capped his league with a goal off the bench against Galway in Salthill.
Dylan Casey also got extended game time in the absence of Tom O’Sullivan and he acquitted himself professionally. He has a solid head on his shoulders and you get the impression that Jack O’Connor would now be comfortable throwing him into any given situation without hesitation.
The versatile Graham O’Sullivan is also an option at corner back and it looks like he’ll need to slot in somewhere other than his natural position of half back as Brian Ó Beaglaoich and Gavin White are nailed on starters at 5 and 7. O’Sullivan lined out at half forward against Galway and Mayo, underlining his flexibility and importance to the team.
There could be a changing of the guard taking place at centre back with Mike Breen seemingly shaking off the injury woes that have held back his progress with Kerry to date. With regular number 6 Tadhg Morley unavailable for selection for most of the league, Breen slotted seamlessly into that crucial central role, and he looked really confident against Mayo on Sunday. As things stand, Morley will be doing well to displace Breen but either way Kerry should have two good centre back options heading into the summer months.
Midfield has been a head scratcher for Kerry for a number of years but in Diarmuid O’Connor and Joe O’Connor they appear to have found a winning combination. Diarmuid was playing the best football of his career up to his injury against Armagh in Round 6 so getting his shoulder right for championship is of paramount importance to Kerry’s chances.
Joe is a guaranteed starter too but his assured display at wing forward against Armagh was interesting in that it opens the door for a third midfielder to start. Seán O’Brien and Barry Dan O’Sullivan both applied themselves admirably when called upon in the league and the manager should feel like he can trust them more now than he did 12 months ago.
Joe O’Connor’s arrival as a half forward candidate has improved Kerry’s options to the extent that it’s difficult to predict how they will line out from 10 to 12 in the Munster Championship. Micheál Burns has done quite well upon his reintroduction to the team after being dropped from the panel in 2024, and Paudie Clifford is looking sharp at centre forward. Tony Brosnan and Dylan Geaney are options along this line too, although Dylan has been operating as a withdrawn inside forward to date – a role Tony is also capable of playing.
Of course, Seánie O’Shea will have to fit in somewhere in this department when he fully recuperates from his knee ligament injury, so it will be interesting to see how Jack O’Connor works this conundrum out. File under ‘good problems’.
Dara Moynihan is still recovering from a hip injury and has not yet featured in 2025. He would naturally be an option at 10 if he can get back up to speed. Meanwhile, Darragh Lyne, Ruairí Murphy and Cathal Ó Beaglaoich all featured at half forward in the league.
David Clifford and Paul Geaney will play at 13 and 14 with Dylan Geaney in pole position to start at 15 on the back of a really good run of form, perhaps excepting the league final in which he was relatively quiet. Tony Brosnan is a prime candidate to challenge Dylan for that spot; the Dr Crokes player has kicked some fantastic scores in each of his last three appearances as a substitute.
As for out-and-out inside forwards, Conor Geaney and Killian Spillane are likely to be used as impact subs.
All told Kerry do appear to have better depth than they had last year, particularly with the emergence of second season players like Bourke, O’Brien and Dylan Geaney as legitimate options, and with Breen beginning to fulfil his potential. Burns’ comeback and Joe O’Connor’s newfound ability to play the 12 position also help.
As always, though, the proof will be in the eating. We will have to wait for the suffocating heat of do-or-die championship matches to find out if this squad is as deep and dependable as it looks on paper.
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