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Fleming clinches third National Matchplay title

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4 years ago

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Damien Fleming of Deerpark Pitch & Putt Club.

Killarney pitch and putt legend Damien Fleming added another All-Ireland title to his impressive honours list over the long weekend when he won the National Matchplay Championship at the Ryston Club in Newbridge, County Kildare.

The Deerpark star has now won the prestigious title three times with two of those triumphs coming in the last three years. Fleming has also claimed the Irish Open on three occasions, as well as the National Senior Strokeplay Championship in 2018.

The Killarney man’s most recent victory was made all the more noteworthy by the fact that he overcame Cork’s Ray Murphy – a player whom Fleming describes as the GOAT – in the final.

“It’s always nice to win them,” Fleming told the Killarney Advertiser. “To be honest, I don’t tend to dwell on them too much, but they are all special in their own way. Beating the greatest player of all time in the final makes it even more special from that point of view.”

After surviving a major scare against Nenagh’s Steven Shoer in the first round (1up), Fleming defeated James Foley Jr of Enniscorthy (2&1), James Cleary of Cashel (4&3), Peter O’Donovan of Bishopstown (2&1), and Ian Dillon of Kildare (2&1) to secure his place in Monday’s final. By then, after a sluggish start to the weekend, he was firing on all cylinders.

“I went a bit stale against Shoer in the first round and missed a couple of easy putts. I played myself into trouble. Fortunately enough I birdied the last three holes and got myself out of it. In reality, I probably should have been beaten. But I lived to tell the tale.

“I didn’t play great on Sunday morning against James Foley Jr but I always felt I was in control of the match. I was playing a formidable opponent from Tipperary in the next round, James Cleary, and I knew I’d have to play better if I wanted to stay in the competition.

“And then, to be honest with you, from that match on it was like I went into a different gear. I was consistently shooting double figures every round and I didn’t really feel as though I was in trouble in any game.”

The final hurdle against six-time champion Murphy promised to be Fleming’s most difficult task, and the match-up was made even more intriguing by the fact that the pair are close friends off the course.

“I know him well and we had played a few times in matchplay. Fortunately enough, he hadn’t beaten me, so I wanted to make sure that record stood! But his record speaks for itself. That was his 10th time playing in the matchplay final and he has reached 14 semi-finals, so there was no doubt that it was going to be a tough one.

“But I got off to a flyer and was -13 for the first round. I was comfortable enough from that point on really.”

Fleming is now looking forward to the National Senior Strokeplay Championship in September, a competition he has already secured qualification for on the back of his fourth-place finish at the same event last year.

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Home cup tie for St Paul’s could be epic

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2 weeks 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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2 weeks 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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