Drama in the district finals

OUTSIDE of the Kingdom they don’t really get the appeal of our district championships.

In the other counties where something similar exists – Cork and Tipperary, for instance – they’ve traditionally mattered because they secured passage to the latter stages of county championships.

Here they’re means in and of themselves. They matter because they matter. It’s pride of place and local rivalries and all of that. They come at a time of the year where people are crying out for something to do and something to talk about.

Even in the age of provincial and All Ireland club championships at junior and intermediate level, the district championship means a lot, especially to the supporters who turn out in the depths of winter to watch their clubs (or even their neighbouring clubs) do battle in close fought competition.

December this year saw four of the big district championships – arguably the four biggest – come to fruition. First up was the East Kerry Championship Final for the famous O’Donoghue Cup.

In it Rathmore were bidding for their fourth title in-a-row against a Legion side who were – rather bizarrely – playing their first game in the competition and even with James O’Donoghue on form they were unable to halt Rathmore’s march to immortality – 0-11 to 0-10.

In West Kerry there was a titanic battle for supremacy between the two major powers out there – Dingle and An Ghaeltacht. Dingle, inspired by Paul Geaney, were determined to do what they could to halt the Gaeltacht’s rising, but on this occasion couldn’t. An Ghaeltacht 2-4 to Dingle’s 0-9.

The North Kerry Championship final saw another title retained with Ballydonoghue seeing off Ballyduff. They did so rather comfortably in the end – they were 1-13 to 1-4 winners after Ballyduff secured a late consolation goal – but not without being made to work for their success in difficult conditions. The last big game was the battle for the Jack Murphy Cup down south. Here you had another team bidding for four titles in-a-row and again they achieved it. St Marys saw off Dromid Pearses in a pulsating final in Portmagree, 0-13 to 1-9.

It was another tough pill to swallow for Dromid as they lost out their second final of the month and again by a narrow margin.