Kennelly to start in All-Ireland decider
Former Sydney Swan Tadhg Kennelly will start at left-half forward for Kerry in this Sunday’s All-Ireland final clash with Cork after the Kingdom’s starting line-up was revealed last night.
Manager Jack O’Connor has made one change to his team for Sunday’s final, as Tommy Walsh, who is set to trial with AFL club St Kilda later this year, returning to the starting side in place of Donnacha Walsh.
Tadhg Kennelly will start in this Sunday's All-Ireland final.
That means captain Declan O’Sullivan switches from the full-forward line to centre-forward, with Kennelly moving to left half-forward as he hopes to claim the Sam Maguire at the first attempt since returning from Australia.
Meanwhile, Colm Cooper and Paul Galvin have both shaken off recent injuries to take their place as the Kingdom chase their fifth title this decade.
Kieran Donaghy has been named amongst the substitutes after returning to training following his recent foot injury.
Cork manager Conor Counihan, meanwhile, has named an unchanged side for the September showpiece.
Counihan opted to remain loyal to the Rebels outfit that disposed of defending champions Tyrone in the semi-finals despite a major doubt over the fitness of Ray Carey.
The Clyda Rovers clubman suffered a shoulder injury in training and could end up missing the showdown with the county’s provincial rivals.
Dual star Eoin Cadogan, who came on as a subsitiute against the Red Hands last time out, could deputise for an injured Carey, while Kieran O’Connor is also challenging for a starting berth in the backs.
The Cork line-up will feature eight of the side that started the 2007 All-Ireland final against Kerry, which the Kingdom won at a canter.
Kerry: Diarmuid Murphy (Dingle); Marc Ó Sé (An Ghaeltacht), Tommy Griffin (Dingle), Tom O’Sullivan (Rathmore); Tomás Ó Sé (An Ghaeltacht), Mike McCarthy (Kilcummin), Killian Young (Renard); Darragh Ó Sé (An Ghaeltacht), Seamus Scanlon (Currow); Paul Galvin (Finuge), Declan O’Sullivan (Piarsaigh Na Dromada), Tadhg Kennelly (Listowel Emmett’s); Colm Cooper (Dr Crokes), Tommy Walsh (Kerins O’Rahilly), Darran O’Sullivan (Glenbeigh/Glencar) (C).
Cork: Alan Quirke (Valley Rovers); Ray Carey (Clyda Rovers), Michael Shields (St Finbarr’s), Anthony Lynch (Naomh Aban); Noel O’Leary (Cill na Martra), Graham Canty (Bantry Blues) (C), John Miskella (Ballincollig); Alan O’Connor (St Colum’s), Nicholas Murphy (Carrigaline); Paul Kerrigan (Nemo Rangers), Pearse O’Neill (Aghada), Paddy Kelly (Ballincollig); Daniel Goulding (Éire Óg), Colm O’Neill (Ballyclough), Donnacha O’Connor (Ballydesmond).
Add comment September 18, 2009
Plenty of Aussie interest in Kennelly’s All Ireland final
Tadhg Kennelly is 70 minutes from achieving another remarkable first.
If Kerry defeat Cork to become All Ireland champions this weekend, he will become the first man to have won both an AFL Premiership and an All Ireland winner’s medal.
Kennelly’s participation in the decider is sure to focus Australian attention on the match, beyond the expat community.
The 28-year-old made a solid contribution to Kerry’s four point win over Meath in a dour semi final on Sunday at Croke Park.
The Listowel man scored two points and set up a goal for St Kilda-linked full forward Tommy Walsh in a rain-affected match that failed to showcase the scoring prowess of either side.
Cork, who slayed the dragon of Tyrone a week earlier, now await in the all-Munster decider.
The Rebels came out on top when the sides met earlier in the year but Kerry now look like a different team under Jack O’Connor.
The game will be screened live in Australia on Setanta Sports.
Add comment September 17, 2009
Clarke named in emergencies for Collingwood
Down star Marty Clarke has been named in the emergencies for Collingwood’s AFL semi-final clash with the Adelaide Crows tomorrow night at the MCG.
Clarke has been out of favour at the club in recent weeks, and has been playing with the Magpies’ VFL affiliate, but some good recent form in the VFL and a host of injuries at Collingwood have seen him elevated back into senior contention.
However, he is unlikely to play any part in the game which kicks off at the MCG at 7.30pm, barring a late injury.
Only one other Irish player – St Kilda’s Colm Begley – remains in contention to pick up an AFL winner’s medal after Michael Quinn’s Essendon and Setanta Ó hAilpín’s Carlton were both knocked out of the playoffs last weekend.
There has, as yet, been no announcement on the future of Ó hAilpín whose contract runs out at the end of the season.
Add comment September 11, 2009
Swans sign Derry star McKaigue
The Sydney Swans have clearly not been daunted by the defections of Tadhg Kennelly and rookies Brendan Murphy and Kyle Coney, announcing last week the signing of another young Irish GAA star.
Derry senior star Chris McKaigue has just signed a new deal with the club, and will arrive in Australia in November.
NEW RECRUIT: Derry senior star Chris McKaigue has signed for the Sydney Swans.
Swans football operations manager Andrew Ireland said he would be delighted if he could be as good as Tadhg Kennelly, but acknowledged that Kennelly had set the bar ridiculously high.
“Tadhg set a high benchmark and if we’re lucky enough to get another Tadhg, we will be enraptured by it,” he said.
“It was not easy to do what Tadhg did. Not only do you have to be a good player, you have to have a strong will to be away from your family and focus on your new life.
“But Chris is hugely dedicated and really keen to join us,” Ireland said.
Swans football development manager Stuart Maxfield said 19-year-old McKaigue, who will be added to the rookie list, had great leadership qualities.
During a visit to the Swans 12 months ago, McKaigue showed brilliant athleticism, said Maxfield, who hoped that the Irishman would make a defender.
Add comment September 9, 2009
Speculation continues over Clarke’s AFL future
Rumours of Down star Marty Clarke’s imminent departure from Collingwood have continued in the Irish press in recent weeks, while the Magpies themselves have refused to talk about the possibility that Clarke intends to return to Ireland at the end of the season.
The 21-year-old refused an opportunity to dispel the rumours when he knocked back an interview request from the Irish Echo in the lead up to Collingwood’s finals defeat against St Kilda last week.
Officially, the club stated that they would not comment on rumour, but that the reports in the Irish press were “mythical” and “not based on anything anyone has said”.
However, the omission of Clarke from the Magpies’ finals opener against the Saints, and the fact that he has been a notable absentee from the entire senior squad in recent weeks since returning to Australia from his sister’s wedding, seem to indicate that something is amiss.
A spokesperson for the club told the Echo that it was merely a drop in form that had cost the 21-year-old his place in the senior side, but that the club remained optimistic on his progress off the back of recent performances for Collingwood’s VFL equivalent.
“He’s just had a drop in form there and that’s cost him his place in the squad. But he’s been going well with the VFL side and he’s on the cusp of maybe getting back into the senior side.
“He was in the squad of 25 a few weeks back so he’s right there, and he’s eligible for selection at any time.”
The Magpies sustained a couple of injuries last weekend which may open the door for Clarke.
by Aaron Dunne
Add comment September 9, 2009
No luck for Irish players in AFL finals selections
No Irish players will feature in this weekend’s opening round of the AFL finals after the teams were announced last night.
Essendon rookie Michael Quinn is the only Irish player to have even made the overall squad of a finals team after he was named in the emergencies list for the depleted Bombers, but the biggest disappointment came with the omission of Setanta Ó hAilpín.
The Corkman has been in top form this season and will consider himself highly unlucky not to have made the team for the Blues’ clash with Brisbane in the Gabba on Saturday night.
It was conceivable at one point that there may have been two Irish players featuring in that game, but Mayo starlet Pearce Hanley has also failed to make the Lions’ team despite recovering from a hamstring injury.
Laois’s Colm Begley will also watch on from the sidelines after not making the Saints’ final squad ahead of their clash with Collingwood on Sunday, while Down’s Marty Clarke has continued his absence from the Magpies’ team.
The first round of the finals kicks off tonight in Adeliade as the Crows host the Bombers at AAMI Stadium from 8pm.
Add comment September 4, 2009
No television coverage of Ireland v Cyprus
The Republic of Ireland’s crucial World Cup qualifying clash with Cyprus this Saturday night will not be shown on television in Australia.
Irish soccer fans Down Under will instead be forced to listen to RTÉ Radio’s live coverage of the game on the internet if they want up-to-date reports on the game.
In better news for Irish soccer fans, however, the biggest game in Ireland’s qualifying campaign will be shown live in Australia with confirmation that ESPN plan to show the Ireland v Italy game live from 2am late on October 10.
1 comment September 2, 2009
Carlow star Murphy quits Sydney Swans
Carlow star Brendan Murphy has today announced his decision to quit on his fledgling AFL career with the Sydney Swans and return to Ireland permanently.
Murphy was yet to make his AFL debut but played 25 games for the Swans Reserves. He was hindered by a number of injuries this season, including a shoulder reconstruction, and today finally revealed his decision not to take up a new contract offered his way in recent weeks.
“I have enjoyed my two years at the Swans and I thank the club for the opportunity to play AFL,” Murphy said. “It wasn’t an easy decision to make but it has been a frustrating year with injuries and I feel as a consequence I’ve lost the drive and passion to play AFL.
“I will miss the Club and all the friends I have made.”
The Swans have said that they remain open to the prospect that he may still reconsider a return to the club in the future, saying the Carlow man had been highly respected by the playing group and the coaching staff.
“Murph made a big sacrifice to come to Australia to be an AFL player and we are disappointed to see him go,” Swans coach Paul Roos said.
“Equally we understand the difficulty of relocating to Australia, and once you lose that passion to play the best decision is to return home. We certainly wish Murph all the best in whatever he chooses to do.”
Add comment August 26, 2009
Camogie exhibition set to light up State Games
It’s been a regular site on the Gaelic fields at Auburn in Sydney for many years now, but thanks to a nationwide effort by some very committed GAA people, camogie looks set to make an appearance at this year’s Australasian State Games in Melbourne in October.
The GAA in Victoria, who will host this year’s event, have been co-ordinating with Brisbane, Sydney and Perth to get a team together to play an exhibition game at the festival – the first camogie exhibition game at the festival since 2007.
The plan is to try and recruit as many camogie players as possible to travel to melbourne to play in the special game which is set for 10am on October 4 at Gaelic Park.
And according to Andrea Keane from the Victorian GAA things have been going pretty well thus far.
“We’ve been in touch with the lads in Brisbane and Perth and it seems to be coming together,” Keane explained.
“We’re trying to get the girls we have here in Victoria together at the moment, but we’re finding it a bit tricky to find a ground to train on with a bit of light.
“But we’ve certainly had plenty of interest and we’re trying to drum up a bit more.
“We’re hopeful that we’ll at least have a 12-a-side exhibition game on the day. We’d be hopeful of getting more than that, but whatever we can get we’ll be happy with.”
One of the problems is that no female GAA players will be travelling to the State Games from NSW – where camogie is at it strongest – at all this year.
The rules for the State Games stipulate that each squad must have a minimum number of permanent Australian residents in their side, and because NSW GAA is so dominated by backpackers and those on 457 sponsorship visas, the state will not be sending a team for either the Gaelic football or women’s football events.
The Blues will be represented by a hurling team only.
“We’re not sure what sort of numbers we’ll be able to get from NSW for the camogie because of the visa rule and the fact that they don’t have any women travelling as it is,” Andrea added.
“But hopefully now we can let people know that this is happening and maybe even players who aren’t involved in the GAA scene on a regular basis might like to get involved just for this.”
Meanwhile, Donie Whelan in Brisbane confirmed they’ve already built a strong core of players in Queensland.
“We got the girls out for the first time there recently, and I think we had eight there in all, but they were all very good players.
“We didn’t even trawl all that far and wide with phone calls and the likes to get those few together, and we’ve got another session planned for Wednesday night (August 26).
“So hopefully there’ll be a few more again that’ll come along to that and we’ll continue to build from there”
Whelan has also been working on getting a hurling team off the ground in Brisbane ahead of the State Games, and he says things have been going brilliantly thus far with that too.
“We’re picking the panel this week to represent Queensland at the games, and we have a squad of over 60 lads there at the moment which is obviously great.
“We have a bit of a mini-championship going with three teams at the moment, and it’s going very well. There’s at least 20 decent hurlers in there too so I really think we’ll have a good chance when we get down to Melbourne.
“We’ve already got three sponsors involved with the state team and there are four or five others looking to get involved as well.
“We’ve made a good few bob and we had a fundraiser in Mick O’Malley’s recently as well so it’s all going great.”
Outside of just the immediate prospect of the State Games, however, the success of this maiden voyage into hurling in Queensland looks to have built something solid that will last into next year, with a hurling competiton likely to take place in Brisbane in 2010 for the very first time.
Elsewhere, Ailish Kenneally in Perth says things have been going well with their efforts on the west coast as they continue to train on Tuesday nights ahead of the games.
If you would like to get involved you can contact Donal Whelan in Brisbane on 0410 550 325, Ailish Kenneally in Perth on 0415 290 137 or Andrea Keane on 0450 922 445
by Aaron Dunne
Add comment August 26, 2009
Queensland GAA title for John Mitchels
A spectacularly hot day greeted Brisbane’s GAA championship finalists, with the mercury nudging the thirties and things heating up even more on the field.
The money was on John Mitchels to take home at least one trophy in this year’s championships, with the club represented in all three grand finals.
And in the end that was all they would manage as their reserve grade men’s and women’s teams came off second best against Souths and Harps respectively.
However, the club’s senior men put in a strong show to take back the trophy from defending champions Souths.
Souths started the day well with a strong 3-11 to 1-5 win in the reserve grade, with Fintan McGrath putting in a big performance at centre-forward to contribute 1-5 for Souths.
Captain Diarmuid Devereux also made a strong showing at full forward, scoring the first goal within the first five minutes and contributing four more points for the game.
Other key performers for Souths were father-and-son duo Brent and Liam Nolan, Keelan Troy, Declan Beirne and Ronan MacAnarney.
John Mitchels managed a goal from Chris Bradley in the second half but couldn’t pull the game back into John Mitchels’ favour.
The women’s final was a hot contest between John Mitchels and Harps, with both sides fairly evenly matched in the first half.
A raft of free kicks to Mitchels which saw Galway’s Una Ní Mhainín score a blitz of points put them in the lead early but Harps managed to come back to lead by just two points at half time.
A string of quick goals midway through the second half by Stephanie Hancock and Mel Cowie as well as a penalty goal by Jess Harvey cemented the Harps’ lead to give them the 6-9 1-11 win.
The final match of the day, the senior men’s final, saw John Mitchels walk out against Souths in a repeat of last year’s final.
Defending champions Souths were also hoping for a repeat of last year’s result, but John Mitchels were looking strong coming off wins in the Queensland Shield and Queensland League.
John Mitchels had the edge in the first half but whenever Souths got going they were dangerous, capitalising on their advantages with points.
However, Mitchels led by 1-7 to 1-3 at the break and from there they were not to be denied.
Souths coach Diarmuid Devereux said his team had trained well all year and was feeling positive coming into the match but couldn’t pull off the repeat win.
“We lost three guys to injury in the first half and we struggled after that,” he said. “We came up short on the day and were beaten by a better team.”
Lenny Freeman and Keith Kearney of John Mitchels were delighted with their side’s win, which adds to an impressive résumé from the last five years, including four leagues, five shields and three championships.
by Jenny Munro
Add comment August 26, 2009
