SIDELINES

County Board Chairman Patrick O’Sullivan came out in favour of new proposals for a revamped All Ireland football championship. The proposals by Director General of the GAA, Padraic Duffy, would see the introduction of a group phase round robin of three games and groups of four in place of the traditional All Ireland quarter-finals. Semi-finals would also take place over the same weekend facilitating an earlier date for the All Ireland final, which would benefit the club game. A star studded Under 21 hurling team reached the All Ireland Under 21 B championship semi-final by comfor tably seeing off C champions Donegal in Semple Stadium. Ian Brick’s men saw off the northerners 7-22 to 1-4. In that semi-final, however, Kerry were outfought by a hungrier Meath team for a place in the final. Kerry went down to a hefty 1-21 to 1-12 defeat. Causeway, with John Mike Dooley in top form, claimed the County Intermediate Hurling Championship title by seeing off Kilmoyley in the final by three points – 1-11 to 1-8. Killarney Golf Club’s Luke Walsh claimed an impressive Munster Under 15 crown in Carrick-on-Suir with a three over par round of 75. The Castleisland native birdied the eighteenth to win by one shot from Mallow’s Daniel O’Sullivan. The final of the Tommy Healy Cup finished all square as AC Athletic and Strand Road played out a two-all draw in Mounthawk Park. In the replay a week later AC made it a famous treble with a two-nil victory. The Jimmy Falvey Memorial Youth Cup final, meanwhile, was claimed by Fenit Samphires who simply had too much for Killarney Celtic. Fenit ran out 5-1 winners over their rivals from the south. A senior footballer from the Legion club accepted a 96 week ban arising from an incident with the match referee during a county league match. Under the GAA rules the infraction carried a minimum 48 week ban, but in this instance the County Board’s Competitions Control Committee proposed a 96 week suspension. The County Senior Hurling Championship reached the penultimate stage this month with a semi-final double header pencilled in for Austin Stack Park. In the first of the two semi-finals Ballyduff showed their enduring championship class by comfortably seeing off a fancied Abbeydorney side 1-20 to 0-11. The second semi-final was a much more enter taining affair. In the first half St Brendans dominated but didn’t do enough to kill the game as a contest, something they’d long rue. Kilmoyley were a different kettle of fish in the second half and struck back powerfully to run out one point winners, 1-13 to 0-15, after a somewhat topsy turvy and tense final ten minutes. In the All Ireland Minor B championship the Kingdom continued on the path to the five in-a-row with a victory over Down in the semi-final. John Hennessy’s men saw off the Mournement 2-19 to 1-15 in Newbridge. South Kerry claimed the County Under 21 football championship by seeing off a hotly fancied Dingle side in the final by a three goal margin – 3-12 to 0-12. Tralee Golf Club claimed the Munster Junior Cup title by seeing off Fermoy in the semi-final and County Tipperary in the final at Cork Golf Club. Ballyheighue, meanwhile, saw off Castleisland to claim the JB O’Shea trophy in Killarney’s Kileen course. Ballybunion’s ladies claimed a famous Munster title by seeing off Ballykisteen in the final of the Challenge Cup at Dungarvan Golf Club. Kerry legend John O’Keeffe was inducted into the GAA Hall of Fame. It was a famous day for Killarney crew Rob Duggan and Ger Conway as they claimed the DMACK Junior title in the prestigious British Rally Championship. Their prize for their victory included funding for the pair to compete in five rounds of the World Rally Championship. Shane Brick shocked the Kerry hurling scene when it emerged that he was to return to play for his native Kilmoyley in the County Senior Hurling final with Ballyduff. Brick had been playing with Cork club Tracton. In a warm up to that final Kimoyley saw off Causeway to claim the 2016 county hurling league title. They ran out 0-20 to 1-8 winners in Austin Stack Park.