Connect with us

Sport

Lakers to make long-awaited return to Killarney home

Published

4 years ago

on

Lakers captain Mark O'Shea. Photo: Grig Geniyevskiy.

National League: Division 1 South

Scotts Lakers v UCC Demons

Saturday at 7.30pm

Killarney Sports & Leisure Centre

The National League season is in full swing by this stage but from a Killarney perspective, something has been missing. With the Killarney Sports & Leisure Centre being used as a vaccination facility, the Lakers have been without a proper home for the first month of the campaign. Their two “home” fixtures to date have been staged 25km away in Castleisland. Both matches have ended in defeat.

All that will change this Saturday night as the St Paul’s senior team make their long-awaited return to the venue known locally as the Aura, or the Auracle (a nod to the Golden State Warriors’ Oracle Arena, traditionally one of the loudest venues in the NBA).

The Aura has seen some incredible nights since the Lakers returned to top-level basketball in 2017. Now, after a long layoff due to the pandemic, the club are hoping that supporters will return in their droves to see a new-look team that is packed with young, local talent.

Imports Ben Miller (Canada), Emilian Grudov (Bulgaria) and Rui Saravia (Portugal) will lead the way alongside Killarney men Mark O’Shea and Paul Clarke, but the rest of the squad is comprised of talented teenagers like Jamie O’Sullivan and Senan O’Leary.

Standing in their way this weekend are the UCC Demons, an imposing side who have won their opening four league games in convincing fashion. The Cork outfit also made light work of Ulster University in the first round of the President’s Cup with Tala Fam Thiam and American Andre Kennedy splitting 50 points in a 88-61 win.

It will certainly be a tough match-up for a Lakers team still finding their feet but head coach Jarlath Lee believes that last weekend’s 94-59 victory over WIT has given them a timely lift.

"We needed the confidence boost,” Lee admitted after the Lakers picked up their first win in four attempts. “We should have won our first game but complacency creeped in. I’m delighted that we never let that happen tonight.

“Ben Miller displayed great leadership and decision-making, especially in the second half. Senan O’Leary showed why I have him as a starter at the age of 17 by scoring 16 points, and Jamie O Sullivan, another teenager, had 20 points.

"We’re building for the future and we are taking the right steps. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen. Daniel Carroll was on the scoresheet again with four points, but I was mainly impressed with his defence. Mark Sheehan is always positive, always ready. A great kid to be a part of any team.

“But we will get back to work on Monday night and focus on Demons. It’s a home game so we'd really love a big crowd and loud fans to help us."

The club have reminded supporters that season and patron tickets are now available from any club officer.

Related Topics:
Advertisement

Sport

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

Published

2 weeks ago

on

31 May 2025

By

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.

Attachments

Continue Reading

Sport

St Paul’s sign 6ft American guard Burnham

Published

2 weeks ago

on

30 May 2025

By

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.

Attachments

Continue Reading