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Hard-working Killarney girls are champions of Munster

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2 years ago

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Killarney RFC joint captains Lily Morris and Fia Whelan accept the Munster League trophy.

On Saturday the Killarney RFC U18.5 girls travelled to Old Crescent RFC in Limerick and defeated last year’s winners Ennis by eight point to six to be crowned Munster League champions.

The U18.5 match was the grand finale after the U14 and U16 league finals and so it was played in front of a big crowd on a terrific day for girls’ rugby in the province.

The clash of Ennis and Killarney was always going to be battle and that’s exactly how it transpired. Ennis started the game and kicked deep and Killarney didn’t deal with it, which led to a scrum in a very favourable position on the 22. After a series of good carries by the Ennis forwards, they scored a try in the corner which wasn’t converted.

The Clare side led 5-0 in inside the first minute; the perfect start for the reigning champions.

What was very notable that Killarney took this early setback in their stride and straight away they were on the attack, but credit to Ennis their defence held firm after some good carries by the Killarney forwards Lily Morris, Ava O’Malley and Clodagh Foley.

On 18 minutes Killarney had a scrum just inside their own half and their number eight made a super run and linked up with scrum half Bronagh Dorrian, who passed to Cara Reilly. The referee then blew for an Ennis offside infringement and a penalty to Killarney.

Knowing it was going to be a tight game and conscious of getting the Kerry girls points on the scoreboard, co-captain Fia Whelan consulted with her fellow co-captain Morris and together they elected to take the penalty kick. Whelan slotted over the penalty to make it Ennis 5-3 Killarney.

Killarney’s back three of Marina Eagar, Holly O’Sullivan and Mary-Ellen Mc Donald dealt very well with Ennis’ kicks and they counterattacked on most occasions. Then, with 24 minutes on the clock, O’Malley picked from the base of a scrum on the right and out stripped their defence to make a brilliant run. She found the onrushing second row Joanne O’Keefe who made further ground. Her teammates finished a fine move off in style, going through the hands of Dorrian, Whelan, Eagar, Ali O’Donoghue and eventually Mary Ellen McDonald to finish off a super team try in the corner. It proved to be the match-winning score.

The Kerry girls continued to work hard in the second half and they finished the game in the ascendancy. In the end, they failed to extend their lead but it mattered little as they held on for a historic win.

“This win means an awful lot to us,” Killarney coach Diarmuid O’Malley said. “We can now bring this trophy back home and hopefully inspire the next generation of young Kerry players.”

KILLARNEY: 1. Annie O’Reilly, 2. Emma Dunican, 3. Emer O’Keefe, 4. Joanne O’Keefe, 5. Ella Guerin-Crowley, 6. Clodagh Foley, 7. Lily Morris (joint captain), 8. Ava O’Malley, 9. Bronagh Dorian, 10. Fia Whelan (joint captain), 11. Holly O’Sullivan, 12. Cara Reilly, 13. Ali O’Donoghue, 14. Mary Ellen McDonald, 15. Marina Eagar, 16. Molly Gabbett, 17. Melissa McCarthy, 18. Sarah O’Connor, 19. Isabella O’Leary, 20. Nell Crowley, 21. Jess O’Sullivan, 22. Jasmine Dwyer. Coaches: Josh Whelan, Diarmuid O’Malley. Manager: Elaine Clifford.

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Home cup tie for St Paul’s could be epic

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2 months 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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3 months 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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