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North Kerry Championship Final

December 19th, 2011
All the divisional football boards in Kerry have their own individual traditions, history, atmosphere, memorable games and legendary players. As a player, referee, spectator and Radio Kerry commentator I have over the ... more»


Tribute to Jim Brosnan

December 13th, 2011
The weekend before last in a piece in this newspaper on the Kerry influence on UCC football, an accompanying panel listed Dr Jim Brosnan as one of the great exemplars of this connection. The piece was published the day ... more»


Words of Praise for Dr. Jim Brosnan

December 12th, 2011
The recent death of Dr. Jim Brosnan has taken from our midst one of the all time great Kerry GAA stalwarts, both on and off the field. And I emphasis in the strongest possible way, "one of the all time ... more»


A story of family, pride of place, people and football

November 29th, 2011
Through my column in this paper I have befriended through the internet a remarkable lady who is a life time avid reader of The Kerryman;  she joined the nuns in 1944. Some time ago she gave me a letter her father ... more»


Liam Higgins

November 23rd, 2011
A recent contribution to the Kerry GAA Forum highlighted the fact that five years had passed since the death of Liam Higgins. This prompted me to listen to the Radio Kerry broadcast of the 2006 All-Ireland Final between ... more»


Gerard Hartmann - Born to Perform

November 22nd, 2011
Since 1991 Gerard Hartmann has worked as a physical therapist with many of the world's greatest athletes, including over 60 Olympic medal winners, plus numerous world champions and world record holders. He has served on ... more»


A Kerry Dub

November 16th, 2011
It is 2011 and the Dubs are back. The recent All-Ireland final sent me down the lane of memories, leading me to reflect upon my passion for Kerry football. Although I am a Dubliner by birth, by residence and by accent, ... more»


The way we were - The early days of Kerry GAA

November 15th, 2011
Richard McElligott is a native of Stack's Mountain, Kilflynn. He is the chairman of the Sports History Ireland society. He has just submitted his PHD thesis with the Department of History and Archives in UCD. His thesis ... more»


History of Fraher Field and Dr. Crokes progress in Munster

November 8th, 2011
Memories of another Kerry/Waterford Munster Club Championship clash came readily to mind as I travelled the road to Fraher field Dungarvan last Sunday. The objective of my journey was to report for Radio Kerry sports on ... more»


Dr. Crokes show great composure to overcome Mid Kerry in County Final

November 1st, 2011
The old adage which tells us "goals win games" was very evident last Sunday as Dr Crokes retained their county championship crown; the first time this famous club has achieved this in over one hundred years. And while ... more»


Comparing the County Hurling and Football Finals

October 25th, 2011
Before we turn to next Sunday's very attractive football county final I must refer to last Sundays week's Kerry hurling county final between Ballyduff and Crotta. In recent years mainly due to commitments to my radio ... more»


The GAA and Rugby Football in Kerry 1885-1905

October 19th, 2011
'Degenerating, from sterling Irishmen into contemptible West Britons' Kerry is the most successful county in the history of Gaelic Football. Since its inaugural victory in 1903, the county has retained the All Ireland ... more»


The Tralee GAA Sports of 1885 and the Fight for Irish Athletics

October 19th, 2011
Politics or Play? On the 17 June 1885, Kerry hosted its first ever GAA event; an athletics meeting in Tralee. Significant as this was in a local context, heralding the start of Kerry's long and historic connection with ... more»


Honouring Five Kerrymen on the Greatest London team 1960 - 2010

October 18th, 2011
Last week you read here a short account of my trip to New York in the company of Christy Riordan C/R videos and Kerry footballer Donie o Sullivan as we recorded the football and business careers of emigrants from all ... more»


Recording the History of the GAA in New York

October 11th, 2011
Last February I was in New York for the launch of the highly acclaimed DVD "Secrets of Kerry-A Captains Story". This superb four hour production was so well received there that the man behind the project Christy Riordan ... more»


Tribute to James O Sullivan

October 4th, 2011
A huge link with the wonderful Kerry football story stretching right back to 1924 was severed last week when word reached us from his family in Croydon England that James o Sullivan the oldest son of legendary Kerry ... more»


Dublin have raised the bar to a whole new level

September 27th, 2011
As expected the inquests on Kerrys defeat by Dublin have been literally raging far and wide around the county and I have no doubt where ever else Kerry supporters get together.  This is of course normal for a ... more»


As sure as night follows day more Great Days will follow

September 20th, 2011
That infamous Seamus Darby goal might have been scored twenty nine long years ago and a lot of water has flowed under the proverbial bridge since that dramatic day in 1982 but it is still one of the most talked about ... more»


Born to star in the greatest Gaelic Football arena of all on the greatest day of all

September 13th, 2011
I attended my first All ireland hurling final two weeks and had the privilege of seeing what is accepted as the greatest hurling teams of all time bring off another magnificent victory. Kilkenny are a wonderful team and ... more»


Kerry's ability to evolve set them apart from rest

September 6th, 2011
AS is the natural order of things here in Kerry, when the team reaches the final the names of legendary players, great games, great scores and a host of memories from days of yore will surface and be the cause of great ... more»


Gaelic football was dragged deep down to a dark and dangerous place last Sunday

August 30th, 2011
Away back in 1982 Seamus Darby of Offaly scored the goal that rocked a Kingdom. His late late rocket of a shot deprived Kerry of a historic five in a row All Ireland wins. That is probably the most famous goal ever ... more»


Ambitious Cillian Walsh joins Garryowen

August 26th, 2011
Clubs in all sports hate to lose a player to an other club, especially when it has invested so much time and energy getting him/her  to a high level in the chosen sport, but Liam McGuire, chairman of Killarney ... more»


Kerry reach their 7th All Ireland Final in 8 years

August 23rd, 2011
The result was as expected, but the margin was greater than predicted. This magnificent Kerry squad of players backed up by some of the shrewdest selectors the county has seen has now qualified for their 7th All ireland ... more»


Saluting the Incomparable Mick O’Connell

August 17th, 2011
Perched in the lea of Doulas Head and facing into Dingle Bay lies the now uninhabited island of Beginish. This is Mick O'Connell's ancestral home. His father, Jeremiah, lived there up until the early 1930s when he moved ... more»


Weeshie Fogarty is a rare treasure and a delight to listen to

August 16th, 2011
The indefinable wonder and excitement, the lifeblood which rushes through the veins of every lover of Gaelic football, the rush which kicks in at the beginning of every big game which is akin to a shot of adrenalin. ... more»


Deaths of two great Killarney sportsmen

August 12th, 2011
Recently Killarney lost two very fine sportsmen, who brightened the lives of all who came in contact with them. Frank Switzer  RIP As long as I can recall the Community Games at local ,county, provincial and ... more»


Excerpts from "My Life and Music"

August 10th, 2011
Published in the Journal of Cumann Luachra, November 2006. Read by Neil O'Sullivan on Terrace Talk Special, to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Opening of Jimmy O'Brien's Famous GAA and Music Pub, in Killarney. ... more»


The one true religion

August 10th, 2011
IN 1946 Monsignor Liam Brosnan watched Kerry train for the first time and fell under a lifelong spell. He was 12 and they were training for the All-Ireland final replay against Roscommon: it was love at first sight. ... more»


A Cowardly Assault on Eamon Horan

August 9th, 2011
I as I expect like all readers of this paper were deeply shocked and saddened having read of the brutal and cowardly attack in Tralee recently on the former renowned journalist with The Kerryman the exemplary Eamon ... more»


A Comprehensive victory over Limerick - Mayo await in the All Ireland Semifinal

August 2nd, 2011
Last Sundays outing in Croke Park resulted as expected in a comprehensive thirteen point victory for Kerry over a gallant Limerick side.  While Jack o Conor will be happy to be back in the All ireland semi final ... more»


Preview of Kerry Vs Limerick in the All Ireland Quarterfinal

July 26th, 2011
The general consensus of opinion as regards being drawn against Limerick in the quarter final next weekend is to say the very leased mixed. Some are saying that a game against a county from a different province would ... more»


Game plans for Championship matches

July 19th, 2011
The dust has finally more or les settled on Kerry's superb and generally unexpected victory over Cork in the recent Munster final. And it must be emphasized that while the majority of the media were going for a Cork win ... more»


Dr. Eamonn's story has found a new home in Croke Park

July 12th, 2011
Four years ago my book on the life of Dr Eamon O Sullivan the legendary Kerry trainer/psychiatrist was published and was very well received as a historical record of his amazing life's work in so many areas. The ... more»


A Match in Caherciveen

July 11th, 2011
I travelled south-west from Tralee on a sunny summer Sunday in July. Over the mountain to Killorglin, through picturesque Glenbeigh, along the majestic coastline to Cahersiveen. I drove into the town, saw the black and ... more»


Rebels ambushed as Kerry keep Munster Title

July 5th, 2011
As we approached injury time in last Sundays absorbing Munster Football final Kerry' desperate second half defending reminded one  of Muhammad Ali's great "rope-a –dope" trick when he fought George ... more»


Kerry and Tyrone - An Intense Rivalry

June 29th, 2011
Two counties dominated gaelic football in the first decade of the 21st century. For seven years in a row, the All-Ireland was won by either Kerry or Tyrone---4 to Kerry, 3 to Tyrone. Kerry are ahead in terms of titles ... more»


Kerry's Defeat by Waterford in 1957

June 22nd, 2011
There was no "Sunday Game" then, there were no on-the-spot radio reports from around the country. So, when GAA scores were announced on Radio Eireann in the evening of June 2, 1957, many people felt it was a ... more»


Killarney and the Munster Football Final

June 21st, 2011
I believe there is something special about the coming Munster final. Already and unlike some previous years the talk and discussion has been going on apace and the Kerry football faithful are fairly unanimous in their ... more»


The Life and Times of the late Frank Hennessy

June 17th, 2011
The late Frank Hennessy was an outstanding and a beautiful person.  He lived his entire life full of everything so meaningful and brought joy to so many people over the decades. He was never in bad form, always ... more»


Location of the Kerry GAA Museum

June 14th, 2011
The debate has already begun as to where a Kerry GAA museum should be situated. Killarney and Tralee have signaled their intentions to pitch for funding and permission to begin work on the project. And let's get one ... more»


Tracing the football career of Denis O Sullivan

June 7th, 2011
When the 1962 Kerry under 21 Munster winning team was honored in Cork recently, (they were the first ever winners of Munster) Denis o Sullivan was present to take his bow. He had been mid field with Mick Fleming that ... more»


Forget Limerick, Cork will be the True Test

June 6th, 2011
ALL the talk before last Saturday's game against Limerick was the non availability of their great midfielder John Galvin and the huge gap left by his absence in his county's starting fifteen. And of course he was a huge ... more»


John Barry's Tribute to Teddy O Dowd

June 5th, 2011
Tralee in particular and Kerry in general is a much poorer place this week because of the death of Teddy O'Dowd. Through his years of service with The Kerryman, which took him to just about every corner of this county, ... more»


Preview of Kerry Vs Limerick in the Munster Championship

May 31st, 2011
When Kerry and Limerick race on to the Gaelic Grounds next Saturday to do battle in the Munster semi-final one man will be very conspicuous by his absence. And that man is the magnificent Limerick mid fielder John ... more»


Captain Colm Cooper - Gooch simply the best, better than all the rest

May 20th, 2011
"All comparisons are odious", a quote attributed to some 14th century unknown author. I read that somewhere, sometime. I'm updating it to 'all comparisons are odious, including this one'. But, still we judge ... more»


Preview of the 2011 Championship

May 17th, 2011
And so begins another year of championship football and all eyes in my opinion will be on Cork, Kerry and Dublin and you don't have to be a so expert to declare unless we have a major upset the All ireland winners will ... more»


Savage Road Men of Kerry

May 10th, 2011
There's something special about the bike men of Kerry. Some thing that separate them from all other sports men and women in the county.  They are a breed apart and need to be to participate in this grueling, ... more»


Sectarianism in Scotland

May 3rd, 2011
Bombs, bullets, love and hate. Violence, loathing, bigotry, beatings, stabbings, fights. Catholic and Protestant.  Hard to believe but I refer to a "sporting" occasion. All of this and much more is incorporated in ... more»


Tribute to Teddy O Dowd

May 2nd, 2011
The John Mitchels club were shocked and saddened to hear of the sudden and untimely death of former Mitchels footballer and Friend Teddy O'Dowd. Teddy had a distinguished football career winning many titles on the field ... more»


Snooker Memories

April 26th, 2011
I know I am probably one of a small minority here in Kerry as a follower of snooker but I have always been fascinated and thrilled by this age old game played on the green baize. And age old is the right description as ... more»


The Development of Young Footballers

April 12th, 2011
Let me first of all preface the opinions that follow in case readers will think I am just being wise after the event. And the event I refer to is the Munster under twenty one final in Cork last Wednesday evening in ... more»


Kerry beat Monaghan in Inniskeen

April 5th, 2011
It was certainly another very productive trip up North last Sunday as Kerry proved far too good for a very disappointing Monaghan side and now with Down visiting the Kingdom next Sunday it's a rare opportunity to make ... more»


Young Captains Fantastic

March 29th, 2011
It's unbelievably really to recall that only a few years ago a motion was before GAA congress to get rid of the under 21 competition. It got a quick shift and rightly so as this is for me is one of the glamour ... more»


Comprehensive defeat of Armagh in the League

March 22nd, 2011
Following the defeat by Dublin three weeks ago in the league I remarked  in this column that in my opinion Kerry were the classier more skilful side in relation to passing, kicking and in particular being ... more»


Half of GAA players are regular binge drinkers

March 18th, 2011
More than half of GAA players admit to binge drinking at least once a week, almost one-third reveal that they consumed more than the recommended limit of 21 units of alcoholic drink a week and 90%  described ... more»


Kerry and Colm Cooper easily dispense with Galway in Killarney

March 15th, 2011
Leaving Fitzgerald's Stadium last Sunday afternoon I kept my ears peeled as I mingled with some Galway supporters fully expecting to hear a comment such as  "give us Colm Cooper and we will play ye all over ... more»


A Man of the People - Weeshie at 70

March 14th, 2011
As Kerry's premier broadcaster, Weeshie Fogarty, reaches a significant birthday, it is time to salute a man who is a household name in the county and beyond. For 2 hours on a Monday - Terrace Talk; for 1 hour on a ... more»


Ballymartle snatch All Ireland victory from the jaws of defeat

March 8th, 2011
With just twenty seconds remaining in this year's dramatic All Ireland Intermediate hurling final in Croke Park Cork and Munster champions Ballymartle were trailing that great Kilkennys club Dicksboro by two points. The ... more»


Dublin edge Kerry in Croke Park

March 1st, 2011
As this latest thrilling Kerry/Dublin affair entered stoppage time last Saturday under the glare of the Croke Park lights Dublin's Bernard Brogan one of the best forwards in the game secured possession well out on the ... more»


Kerry overcome Mayo in Castlebar

February 22nd, 2011
I was positioned high up at the very back of the superb new ten thousand seated stands at the magnificent Pairc Mhi Eile last Sunday in Castlebar as this disappointing Alliance National League tie between Mayo and Kerry ... more»


Tribute to Paddy Batt Shanahan

February 15th, 2011
As one would expect a huge crowd turned out for the burial of a great Currow and Kerry GAA stalwart the well known and much admired Paddy Batt Shanahan who answered that final whistle on February 2nd last. Paddy Batt ... more»


Cork's first League win in Tralee since 1982

February 8th, 2011
Last Sundays meeting of age old rivals Kerry and Cork was as good a National League fixture between the sides as I have seen for many a long year. The first half in particular was wonderful stuff as the play swung from ... more»


Kerry start the National League against Cork in Tralee

February 2nd, 2011
Next Sunday's opening round of the National League between Kerry and Cork will certainly bring the faithful from both counties flocking to the Austin Stack Park for what is a mouth watering kick off in this ... more»


Tribute to Michaela Harte

January 25th, 2011
Never before have I seen the death of a lady so steeped in the Gaelic Athletic Association having such a massive reaction through the country as did the shocking murder of Michaela McAreavey daughter of Tyrone manager ... more»


Tribute to Dr. Michael Brosnan

January 18th, 2011
Kerry lost one of its great sporting sons with the death on Christmas eve, 2010 of Dr Michael Brosnan, late of Moyvane, Ballybunion and London. Dr. Mick or "Bros" as he was affectionately known, had a life ... more»


Frank Conway - A glittering career on the running tracks of America and Europe

January 11th, 2011
Maybe it's just myself but I find it quite remarkable that a Kerryman who must be rated as one of the greatest sportsmen this county has ever produced has been for all sense and purposes more or less forgotten ... more»


Niamh O Sullivan - Kerry's Golden Girl of Swimming

January 4th, 2011
St Stephens Day last week and I am sitting before a beautiful glowing coal fire in the home of Niamh o Sullivan Kerrys golden girl of swimming.  Niamh lives with her parents Cliona, Michael and family in ... more»



 
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