Latest news with #O'Dwyer's
Irish Daily Mirror
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Kerry men who have tried to topple the Kingdom as Keane takes Clare to Killarney
Peter Keane's tenure as Kerry manager was ultimately defined by his failure to land an All-Ireland in his three-year stint in charge. Now manager of Clare, he has guided them to a Munster final against his native county in Killarney on Sunday - and if he was to mastermind a sensational win he would become the first manager ever to win the provincial title with two different counties. Of course, he's not the first Kerry man to plot the downfall of his own and while victory has proved elusive for most that have gone before him, there's one familiar exception. Mick O'Dwyer Arguably the most famous result of the recently departed legendary manager's career came in the 1998 All-Ireland semi-final, when his Kildare side beat defending champions Kerry, managed by O'Dwyer's protege Páidí Ó Sé, by a point. The victory was all the sweeter for the fact that O'Dwyer's son, Karl, himself a former Kerry footballer, played at full-forward for Kildare and scored 0-2. Four years later, his last game in charge of Kildare was a round four qualifier defeat to Kerry in Thurles as Ó Sé exacted a measure of revenge. John O'Keeffe One of Kerry's all-time greats who played alongside O'Dwyer before becoming an outstanding full-back in the early years of his reign as manager, O'Keeffe had spells in charge of Limerick and Clare during which they ruffled Kerry's feathers. With the seeded draw system dispensed with, his Limerick side came through to reach the 1991 Munster final and gave Kerry a huge fright in Killarney in what was the closest they had come to winning the provincial title since their solitary success in 1896, losing by 0-23 to 3-12. They met again in the Munster semi-final the following year, when O'Keeffe's charges were only three points adrift but his stint in Limerick ended with a heavy loss to his native county in 1994. He then went to Clare and steered them to the 1997 Munster final with a famous win over Cork, but Kerry had just too much for them as a Pa Laide wondergoal helped them to a five-point win en route to that year's All-Ireland. Páidí Ó Sé later added him to his Kerry management team and he was involved in their 2000 All-Ireland success. Mark Fitzgerald Having been drafted in as Limerick interim manager in 2023, Tralee native Fitzgerald didn't come across Kerry but after taking the reins in Clare months later, he guided them to a Munster final against them in Ennis. His side were competitive in a seven-point defeat but the lure of his own county proved too strong as he joined Tomás Ó Sé's under-20 management team last September. Liam Kearns A peripheral player for Kerry in the '80s and early '90s, Kearns cut his coaching teeth in Limerick and graduated to managing their senior side, where his reign was defined by narrow losses to his native county. They were soundly beaten in 2001 but pushed them to four points the following year. In 2003, they lost the Munster final by five points in Páidí Ó Sé's last year at the helm but the closest shave was in 2004, when Kerry got out after a replayed Munster final having been on the ropes in both games. Kerry beat them well in Kearns's last season in 2005 but he later came across them as Tipperary manager, losing the 2016 Munster final by 10 points. John Evans The much-travelled Killorglin man had spells in charge of Tipperary, Roscommon and Wicklow, as well involvements in other counties, but it was only with Tipp that he came up against Kerry in Championship fare. They didn't trouble them too much as Kerry ran out winners by 12 and 11 points in 2010 and '11 respectively, though Evans doubled up as under-21 manager and in 2010 his Tipp side scored a historic one-point win over his native county in the Munster final. John Kennedy A three-time All-Ireland winner with Kerry in the '80s, Kennedy had a three-year stint as Clare manager, the height of which was their 2004 Tommy Murphy Cup win. Earlier that year, his side was eliminated from the Munster Championship by Kerry on a 2-10 to 0-9 scoreline. Mickey Ned O'Sullivan Mick O'Dwyer's first All-Ireland winning captain in 1975, O'Sullivan succeeded him as Kerry manager 14 years later as a difficult transitional phase ensued, although he did win the Munster title in 1991. He succeeded Kearns as Limerick manager in 2005 went agonisingly close to ending their Munster title drought, though it was Cork that proved to be their nemesis in the province more so than his native county. In his last year in charge, he finally came up against them in the 2010 Munster final though they lost by 1-17 to 1-14.
Irish Daily Mirror
24-04-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
Wicklow man eventually finds car weeks after misplacing it on Cork stag do
One Wicklow man had a 'nightmare' of a few weeks after he misplaced his car in a Cork estate after heading on a stag do. On Wednesday, Neil Prendeville spoke with Kieran on his Cork's Red FM show, who had headed to the Rebel County on April 4 for a stag. He parked his 2010 Skoda Superb in a housing estate in Cork before heading into the stag, parking it within a 30-minute walk of the city centre, but he subsequently couldn't remember where he left it. The Wicklow man had been visiting the city every weekend since that fateful Friday night but hadn't been able to find it. He even checked with the pound and was also in regular contact with Gardaí. True to their nature, the people of Cork came up trumps and the car was found within minutes of the plea going out on air on the Neil Prendeville Show, with eagle-eyed listener Susan Maguire spotting Kieran's car on Tory Top Road. 'I had a stag party in Cork,' Kieran said, speaking to Neil. 'Shout out to Spud, it was his stag. And look, I got into the city late at night and I couldn't find anywhere to park in the city. 'I got fed up of it, and I drove way out of the city, towards the south of the city. I'm not too sure how far I drove out, but I parked up in an estate. 'And since then, I haven't laid an eye on the car since. I just can't find the estate where I left the car.' The stag took the group to some great pubs in Cork City, and down in Kinsale the next day during the glorious mini-heatwave earlier in April. 'We were in O'Dwyer's and Reardon's. We were in Kinsale as well, actually, on the Saturday, and that was phenomenal; it was really good weather back then as well. And look, there was music, ah it was ideal.' While everyone else headed home after the weekend, one of Kieran's friends stayed with him to drive around and search for the Skoda. 'One of the boys stayed back with me and we drove around Cork. We were the guts of five hours driving around two estates looking for this car. 'I put so much hours into finding this car. It's actually the stupidest thing I've ever done. It's just been a nightmare.' 'I actually went back the Sunday and I've been down the weekends ever since. I'm actually from Wicklow myself, so I can't just rock on down to Cork every day'.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Yahoo
River Cleddau: Families pay tribute to paddleboarding tragedy victims at sentencing hearing
The families of four people who died during a stand-up paddleboard tour have paid tribute to their loved ones at the sentencing hearing of a woman convicted over their deaths. Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40, died after their paddleboards went over a weir in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, on 30 October 2021. Paul O'Dwyer, 42, one of the tour's instructors, also died after he re-entered the water in an attempt to rescue the others. The sentencing hearing of Nerys Lloyd, 39, began on Tuesday at Swansea Crown Court. She to four counts of gross negligence manslaughter and one offence under the Health and Safety At Work Act. There were "extremely hazardous conditions" on the River Cleddau on the day of the tour, which had been organised by Lloyd, owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd, the court heard. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said in a statement that an expert had concluded the tour "should not have taken place". Andrea Powell's husband Mark was the first to address the court and said the three-year wait for a sentence was "caused by Nerys Lloyd , only thinking about number one". Mr Powell added that the couple had only moved to in 2018. "Little were we to know that three years later the move would culminate in Andrea's tragic death," he said. John Taylor, Ms Powell's father, said she was a "lovely, joyous person and loved by all who knew her". Theresa Hall, Ms Rogers's mother, said she was her "only daughter, [her] precious girl". Addressing Lloyd, she said: "You and your arrogance have stopped me being able to fully grieve for my daughter." "She was the glue, she had a great zest for life. She had ambition," she added. Ms Rogers's father, Robert Rogers, added that she was a "peacemaker who kept her family together, without her now, we are a ship without its rudder". Reading a victim personal statement from the witness box, Darren Wheatley, husband of Ms Wheatley, addressed the defendant and said: "You have hidden behind your carefully orchestrated, charitable smokescreen." "I was once a patient, extremely tolerant and forgiving man, but you have changed that forever," he added. "I so wish that you and your sham of a tour company had never crossed paths with my family." Sue Dyke, Ms Wheatley's mother, added in her statement that she was "the centre of [their] family and now she's gone forever". Ceri O'Dwyer, Mr O'Dwyer's wife and a survivor of the tragedy, said she had "shrunk [her] life to avoid [the defendant]" and had "become an outsider in [her] own community". "Paul made a devastating mistake... but he died trying to save others," she added. In a statement read on his behalf, Mr O'Dwyer's son said: "My dad wasn't just my dad, he was my best friend and biggest inspiration, and now he's gone." Mr O'Dwyer's father John O'Dwyer said he was a "true friend, not just a fair-weather friend", while his sister Leanne added that she had lost her "little brother, [her] oldest friend and [her] hero". The court also heard a personal statement from Gemma Cox, another survivor of the tragedy and the best friend of the defendant, who said the incident had "turned [her] world upside down". She said Lloyd had "shown remorse to [her] every single day" and she had seen the defendant "suffering day after day". The defendant sat in the dock wearing a blue shirt and appeared unmoved throughout most of the victim personal statements. The hearing continues.
Sky News
22-04-2025
- Sky News
River Cleddau: Families pay tribute to paddleboarding tragedy victims at sentencing hearing
The families of four people who died during a stand-up paddleboard tour have paid tribute to their loved ones at the sentencing hearing of a woman convicted over their deaths. Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40, died after their paddleboards went over a weir in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, on 30 October 2021. Paul O'Dwyer, 42, one of the tour's instructors, also died after he re-entered the water in an attempt to rescue the others. The sentencing hearing of Nerys Lloyd, 39, began on Tuesday at Swansea Crown Court. She previously pleaded guilty to four counts of gross negligence manslaughter and one offence under the Health and Safety At Work Act. There were "extremely hazardous conditions" on the River Cleddau on the day of the tour, which had been organised by Lloyd, owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd, the court heard. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said in a statement that an expert had concluded the tour "should not have taken place". Andrea Powell's husband Mark was the first to address the court and said the three-year wait for a sentence was "caused by Nerys Lloyd not admitting to her failings until recently, only thinking about number one". Mr Powell added that the couple had only moved to Wales in 2018. "Little were we to know that three years later the move would culminate in Andrea's tragic death," he said. John Taylor, Ms Powell's father, said she was a "lovely, joyous person and loved by all who knew her". Theresa Hall, Ms Rogers's mother, said she was her "only daughter, [her] precious girl". Addressing Lloyd, she said: "You and your arrogance have stopped me being able to fully grieve for my daughter." "She was the glue, she had a great zest for life. She had ambition," she added. Ms Rogers's father, Robert Rogers, added that she was a "peacemaker who kept her family together, without her now, we are a ship without its rudder". Reading a victim personal statement from the witness box, Darren Wheatley, husband of Ms Wheatley, addressed the defendant and said: "You have hidden behind your carefully orchestrated, charitable smokescreen." "I was once a patient, extremely tolerant and forgiving man, but you have changed that forever," he added. "I so wish that you and your sham of a tour company had never crossed paths with my family." Sue Dyke, Ms Wheatley's mother, added in her statement that she was "the centre of [their] family and now she's gone forever". Ceri O'Dwyer, Mr O'Dwyer's wife and a survivor of the tragedy, said she had "shrunk [her] life to avoid [the defendant]" and had "become an outsider in [her] own community". "Paul made a devastating mistake... but he died trying to save others," she added. In a statement read on his behalf, Mr O'Dwyer's son said: "My dad wasn't just my dad, he was my best friend and biggest inspiration, and now he's gone." Mr O'Dwyer's father John O'Dwyer said he was a "true friend, not just a fair-weather friend", while his sister Leanne added that she had lost her "little brother, [her] oldest friend and [her] hero". The court also heard a personal statement from Gemma Cox, another survivor of the tragedy and the best friend of the defendant, who said the incident had "turned [her] world upside down". She said Lloyd had "shown remorse to [her] every single day" and she had seen the defendant "suffering day after day". The defendant sat in the dock wearing a blue shirt and appeared unmoved throughout most of the victim personal statements. The hearing continues.
