Connect with us

Sport

Historic Munster double on the cards for Killarney RFC girls

Published

on

The trailblazing Killarney RFC U16 girls team are bidding for more silverware on Sunday when they play Limerick giants Shannon RFC in the Munster Cup final. The match kicks off in Musgrave Park in Cork at 11am.

The Killarney side made history in January when they defeated Ennis in the final of the Munster League. Kerry teams rarely prosper against teams from Munster’s traditional rugby strongholds. Victory this weekend would seal a remarkable double.

“The girls have had a fantastic season to date and they beat a very good Ennis side in the cup semi-final in Clare three weeks ago,” coach Diarmuid O’Malley told the Killarney Advertiser. “The girls have been playing very expansively but it was their defensive performance in the semi-final that got them over the line. They literally didn’t let their opponents play and we will be looking for more of the same when we take on Shannon on Sunday.

“Shannon will be doing everything in their power to deny the Kerry girls a unique double. It should be a fascinating encounter and the girls would welcome all the support they can get from the Kingdom.”

The Limerick outfit have been impressive so far in the cup, defeating the likes of Kilrush/Scariff, Clonakilty, and Ballincollig en route to the final.

Killarney will be looking to captain Fia Whelan for inspiration, while the skilful Niamh Dorrian will also be a key player. Dorrian scored a hat-trick in that Munster League final earlier in the year.

Sport

Kerry’s All-Ireland heroes launch new football camp for girls

Published

on

Legendary Kerry ladies’ player Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh will be inspiring the next generation of superstars at the new Laochra football camp, which takes place in Killarney in August.

Aimed at girls aged 12 to 16, the camp is being run by three leaders who were central to Kerry’s magnificent All-Ireland triumph in 2024: Darragh Long (joint manager), Declan Quill (joint manager) and Anna Maria O’Donoghue (selector).

Camp ambassador Louise will be on hand to offer guidance in a coaching capacity, as will some members of the current Kerry team.

“We want you to train with your heroes so you can be the next hero,” explains Darragh Long.

“We feel very strongly about ladies’ football. It has been brilliant to myself and Declan over the last five or six years, and it has been brilliant to Anna Maria and Louise over their full careers, so we just see it as an opportunity to give something back to a sport that gave an awful lot to us.

“We’re aiming at an age group of 12 to 16, girls who will hopefully be starting on their intercounty journey. We will be able to give them a skillset they will be able to use as their steps to success. To try and be the next Louise or the next Síofra O’Shea.

“We have three workshops planned. One with Eric McDonnell, who was our strength and conditioning coach when we won the All-Ireland. One with Michelle O’Connor, an All-Ireland winning performance coach. And one with Claire O’Sullivan, our nutritionist when we won the All-Ireland.

“It’s all about giving the girls the skills and the bits and pieces they’ll need if they want to make it to the top. We really think we can give them a good grounding. We’ll also be providing a huge amount of coaching throughout the week.”

Many teenage girls give up on sport around the ages of 15 or 16. Long and his fellow camp founders are hopeful that attending Laochra might encourage girls to stick with it that bit longer.

“We would see it as a huge success if 10, 15, or 20 of the girls who come to the camp continue to play football after the camp because they got a bit of a buzz or a bit of energy from us during the week.”

The Laochra camp will run from August 12-15 at Dr Crokes GAA grounds in Killarney. You can register here.

Continue Reading

Sport

St Paul’s sign 6ft American guard Burnham

Published

on

Having really found their feet in the Women’s Super League in the second half of the season, culminating in a drive to the final, Utility Trust St Paul’s have signalled their intent to push on for the 2025/26 season by announcing the signing of American guard Maisie Burnham.

Burnham (24) comes to Killarney following an honour-laden time in the Liberty High School where she also excelled at volleyball. She went to the Eastern Washington University where she led the team in scoring in the 2020/21 season with over 14 points per game – the highest PPG ever for an EWU freshman.

She moved onto the University of Portland where she really found her feet with the team and as her time progressed with the Pilots her stats went north, peaking in the 2024/2025 season when she averaged 16.3 points per game.

Maisie, a guard and standing at 6ft, is a native of Spangle City in Washington and the club will welcome her to the Kingdom in plenty of time ahead of the new season.

Continue Reading