The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
A place with a proud and vibrant sporting tradition…
ONE of the ways in which the foundations of an active and successful community are considered a sturdy testament to its people is through a love of sport. The latter is a great way of binding friendships and creating a deep sense of solidarity unique to a particular place. Naturally, there are a hundred-and-one ways in which a community can forge a successful identity, but few do so with the same level of ease as sport can and it’s fair to say Abbeyfeale is a destination with plenty to boast of in this regard.
The famous West Limerick parish punches far in excess of its weight when it comes to sporting clubs from GAA, soccer, rugby, golf, horse and pony racing and cycling - to name but a few. Fr Casey’s is a club founded in the same year as the GAA itself – 1884 – and ever since has enjoyed huge success in Limerick GAA circles in juvenile, senior men’s and ladies categories. The club recently held a very successful fundraising event at Limerick Greyhound Stadium to help raise funds for the development of the field and fundraising is still ongoing if anyone wishes to lend a hand.
It’s estimated that a random discussion about Limerick would last approximately 20 seconds before the word ‘rugby’ is mentioned and this is one flag Abbeyfeale Rugby Club continues to fly with pride. The seeds that were first sown back in 1959 have since produced a steady crop of players – boys and girls, men and women – who play and love the game of rugby. You’ll recall earlier that I used words like ‘solidarity’ and ‘binding friendships’ to describe sport’s place among people. A fitting example of this is Abbeyfeale RFC’s annual ‘Noelie Roche Memorial Tag Rugby Day’ at the Grove Grounds in memory of a great friend of the club. The event was cancelled recently due to poor weather but is being rescheduled to take place in the coming weeks. Check out Abbeyfeale RFC’s Facebook page for updates.
Cycling is another sport which has seen a phenomenal surge in interest in recent times and Abbeyfeale Cycling Club’s membership continues to grow. The club was set up to accommodate people wishing to get involved in the sport and it’s been a prosperous endeavour ever since. Abbeyfeale Cycling Club also arrange and participate in various charity cycles and they recently held a very successful meet to help raise funds for St Gabriel’s School and Centre.
Abbeyfeale has a long and proud sporting tradition of which I have merely skimmed the surface by way of this short introduction. Moreover, details, photos, news and lots of other additional bits of information about the clubs mentioned above can be found on their Facebook pages.