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‘Something had to give’ – Kerry players withdraw from district championships over burnout concerns

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1 year ago

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The Kerry senior football team before the 2024 All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park. Photo: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile.

by Adam Moynihan

Kerry senior footballers will not be lining out for their clubs in the upcoming district championships due to concerns over physical and mental burnout.

The players' decision has caused some consternation locally as club managers are set to be without their stars for this year’s Mid, East, West, North and South Kerry Championships, as well as the Tralee/St Brendan's Board Championship.

Speaking to the Killarney Advertiser, Beaufort boss Éanna O’Malley said he is “extremely disappointed” that Mike Breen and Seán O’Brien will not be playing for his side in their final competition of the season.

“The bigger picture from our point of view is that if we don’t have the players now, we’re probably not going to have them again for the Mid Kerry Championship as long as they’re Kerry players, which would mean we’re probably not going to win a Mid Kerry Championship again.

“Mike and Seán have loyalties to two groups and you want the best for them. I just think there’s plenty of scope for a bit of sense to prevail. If you look at the data, these guys aren’t overworked and they aren’t overtrained.”

In an email sent to the Kerry County Board that has been seen by the Killarney Advertiser, Beaufort argue that the “one size fits all approach which will see all members of the Kerry panel being precluded from playing for their clubs in the district championships is arbitrary and is not based on each player’s playing time throughout the season”.

They go on to point out that Mike Breen has played nine club and county matches this year while Seán O’Brien has played 15.

“We put in a huge effort and a huge amount of time into it, and it just feels like the rug has been pulled from underneath us and all our effort was in vain. It’s a competition we were really looking forward to.”

Beaufort play Milltown/Castlemaine in the opening fixture on Sunday. Milltown/Castlemaine’s only current Kerry player, Cillian Burke, has missed all of the club season so far due to injury. None of the other four teams in Mid Kerry are affected by the situation.

O’Malley also suggested that if the best players are not participating in the games then the long-term futures of the local championships are now in doubt.

Kerry GAA chairman Patrick O’Sullivan has confirmed that the decision to sit out the district championships was made by the senior squad themselves. “We’re not stopping the players from playing at all,” he told the Killarney Advertiser. “It’s not a County Board policy. It’s a decision made by the players based on burnout.”

Player burnout has been a hot button topic in recent times with both current Kerry manager Jack O’Connor and his predecessor Peter Keane stating that too much is being asked of the modern intercounty footballer.

The new split season has been greeted warmly at club level but it appears to have done little to ease the burden on county men who can still be on duty for the majority of the year, particularly in Kerry where two separate county championships and the keenly-contested district championships have often kept players busy right up until Christmas.

It is this writer’s understanding that players felt something had to give and it is hoped that a rest period and having their full panel starting pre-season on time will give them the best possible chance of winning an All-Ireland in 2025.

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Email: sport@killarneyadvertiser.ie

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Home cup tie for St Paul’s could be epic

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3 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

Published

3 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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