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Celtic ready for FAI quarter-final despite ‘huge loss’ of Kerry FC trio

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3 years ago

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Winger Wayne Sparling will be an important player for Celtic on Saturday. Photo: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile.

by Adam Moynihan

FAI Junior Cup Quarter-Final

Killarney Celtic v Ballynanty Rovers

Saturday at 5pm

Celtic Park

Killarney Celtic will have their sights set on another famous FAI Junior Cup victory when they welcome Limerick side Ballynanty Rovers to Celtic Park on Saturday.

Celtic are no strangers to the latter stages of this competition; they have frequently reached the last eight in the past number of years, advancing as far as the semi-final stage in 2017 when they narrowly missed out at home to Sheriff YC.

Reaching and winning the final has been the ultimate dream for quite some time but, for now, the focus is on Ballynanty.

Losing the attacking trio of Trpimir Vrljicak, Ryan Kelliher and Stephen McCarthy to Kerry FC has naturally weakened their hand but speaking to the Killarney Advertiser this week, manager Neilus Hayes wished his former players well.

“I knew Kerry would be looking at these players,” Hayes said. “I knew it was going to happen. Look, Celtic have been winning leagues so you’d expect there to be interest in some players. And it’s not just Celtic obviously, I know that Kerry FC have been looking at every club in the county for players. I think that’s fabulous.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’d love if the three boys were with me on Saturday. They’re a huge loss. But I’m not going to stop anybody. I’m thrilled for the three boys and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.

“I was actually talking to people involved with Kerry and I told them I’d recommend another three or four of our players to them. I’ve no problem with that.”

As a person who has a long-standing involvement in local soccer, Hayes is enthusiastic about the potentially transformative impact the Kerry FC project can have on the game in this part of the world.

“There was always serious talent around. I think it’s fantastic now that young fellas can see that there’s a League of Ireland club in the county and it might give them a different outlook on the game.

“We know how big Gaelic football is in Kerry - I take my hat off to GAA clubs and how they’re run – and traditionally a lot of guys might have chosen Gaelic football, trying to be a Kerry minor or a Kerry U21. Every fella wants to play at the highest level and Kerry FC will give local soccer players the chance to do that.”

Hayes is expecting to have all his remaining players available for selection ahead of Saturday’s crunch tie.

“Preparations are going well in fairness,” the manager said. “The players have been great this week and we’re just enjoying the build-up. We’ve had a couple of training sessions to get ready for it.

“The lads have been going to Reboot Recovery to mind all these niggles. They’re really coming through strongly. When I first got involved we had a couple of issues but fellas are looking after themselves in their downtime. They’ve really bought into it. All is looking good as of now and I don’t think that will change to be honest about it.”

Celtic have played Ballynanty twice in recent seasons, winning on one occasion and losing the other on penalties. Hayes knows that they will be no pushovers, but he is hopeful that home advantage will work in his team’s favour.

“Limerick sides are always going to be very tough opposition. Limerick is only up the road so they’ll be coming with a bit of a crowd as well. We know what’s ahead of us. It’s about lads stepping up another level, which I know they’re capable of doing. We proved that in the last two games away to Tallaght and Peake Villa. We’re ready for it.

“It was nice to get the home draw and hopefully we’ll get a good following to drive us on.”

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Home cup tie for St Paul’s could be epic

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1 month ago

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7 November 2025

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Paudie O’Connor National Cup (Round 1)

Utility Trust St Paul’s v GCU Brunell

Saturday 7.30pm

Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre

The St Paul’s women’s team will be hoping to get their National Cup adventure off the ground on Saturday when they welcome 2024 champions Brunell to Killarney. Tip-off in the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre is at 7.30pm.

Paul’s have displayed some fine early season form, although their unbeaten start in the Super League came to an abrupt end last weekend when they lost to the Trinity Meteors in Dublin. James Fleming’s side weren’t at their best on the day but they were well in contention heading into the final quarter with the scores at 47-45 in favour of the hosts. The Meteors pushed on in the fourth, however, eventually running out 63-53 winners.

St Paul’s scorers on the night were Maisie Burnham (13), Tara Cousins (12), Lorraine Scanlon (12), Lovisa Hevinder (9), Denise Dunlea (5) and Leah McMahon (2).

The Killarney club are now joint second in the table alongside the Meteors with both teams holding a 4-1 record. Killester are top having won each of their first five games.

Paul’s opponents on Saturday, Brunell, have won three out of five league matches so far.

LAKERS

The Utility Trust St Paul’s Lakers have now won three of their last four games in Division 1 of the Men’s National League following an impressive home victory over Moycullen in Killarney.

Eoin Carroll and Jack O’Sullivan made significant contributions of the Boys in Black; Carroll hit 17 points and collected 13 rebounds while O’Sullivan had 14 points, 12 rebounds and some spectacular blocks.

Steve Kelly posted 30 points and the durable Sam Grant played every second, adding 21 points along the way.

The Lakers started well before the visitors found their footing and the sides went in level at the half-time break after scores by home captain Carroll. There was still nothing to separate the teams entering the fourth quarter (68-65) but buckets by Carroll, Pablo Murcia and Grant opened up a nine-point lead. Moycullen fought back admirably, however, cutting the deficit to just four, but Luke O’Hea’s charges held firm to prevail by eight (88-80).

Next up is a cup tie against the Tipperary Talons, a side they defeated by 30 points just a couple of weeks ago. The cup can be very different to the league, though, and they will need another solid performance to advance to the next round. Tip-off in in Killenaule is at 6.30pm on Saturday.

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Chances of Kerry v Cork Munster final in 2026 decrease as Munster GAA delay seeding plan

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1 month ago

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7 November 2025

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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.

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