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Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Kerry face tough group 2 opposition in Kennedy Cup schoolboy soccer tournament
Now, a decade later, the newest iteration of the squad is ready to make their own history. Last year's group lifted silverware in the Shield final, and this year's group is aiming to continue that trend. The competition will kick-off on Monday, June 9, and only last week Kerry learned their opponents as preparations for this competition really started to heat up. Ranked as the 16th seed going into the competition, Kerry entered pot 2, and were drawn against Group 2, a four-team pool that includes South Belfast, Tipperary South and North Tipperary. Of those teams, South Belfast come in as the sixth overall seed in the competition, and had a testing group stage in their Inter League, with themselves, Dundalk and NERL all ending up on six points. Belfast did contest the Shield Final, winning that game 2-0. Tipperary South and North Tipperary are very well familiar with themselves, not just in terms of geography but also the pair were in the same group during their Inter League campaign. North Tipp topped that group with a perfect performance, while their counterparts had just one win, finishing third. When it came to the knock-out stages North Tipperary made it to the cup final, which they lost 2-1 to Kildare. There is plenty of quality in group 2 with the other three teams full of confidence after winning silverware in UL earlier in the year. Results in the group will determine what pathway Kerry will end up following. First in the group will play in the Cup, with the Bowl, Shield and Trophy for the sides who finish second to fourth. Kerry finished bottom of their group last year by a narrow margin. Like every year, this year's Kennedy Cup is hard to call. It is a tough group already for Kerry, but they will have confidence ahead of their opening kick-off. Across the other groups action does look fierce, with two of the eight groups containing just three teams. Nevertheless, the competition will be a chance for a new chapter to be written, another legacy for Kerry soccer, the newest group led by Danny Diggins, Ken Cronin and Aidan O'Sullivan, have a wealth of talent and will look to show that on the big stage. ADVERTISEMENT Kennedy Cup squad Ben O'Sullivan (goalkeeper), Daniel Diggins (vice-captain), Daniel O'Leary, Kian Cronin, Shea Horan (all St Brendan's Park) Gerry Moroney, Leni Rujevcan (goalkeeper), Max Moynihan (vice-captain), Marc Cremin, Patrick O'Connor (Killarney Athletic) Connie O'Connor (goalkeeper), Seán Kerins (Castleisland AFC) Cormac O'Sullivan, Noah Brosnan (K illarney Celtic) Finn O'Sullivan, Ruairi Condon (LB Rovers) Killian O'Sullivan (Ballyhar Dynamos) Rian Foley (Killorglin FC) Joe Joy (captain) Listowel Celtic Eddie Carmody (Tralee Dynamos) Kerry's Kennedy Cup fixtures Monday, June 9 Kerry v North Tipperary at 4pm Tuesday, June 10 Kerry v South Tipperary at 10am Kerry v South Belfast at 4pm
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Kerry's Kennedy Cup captain Joe Joy confident the team can live with best of the rest
It's a huge honour for any player, and for Joy it is a proud moment as he steps into the shoes of those who have previously captained Kerry at this level. A proven goal scorer and a natural leader on the pitch, Joy's influence stretches beyond his finishing. He brings energy, voice, and determination to a group that has already enjoyed plenty of success this season. He was front and centre when Kerry lifted the U14 SFAI All-Ireland Trophy earlier this year, scoring goals and being named Man of the Match in the final. The excitement of representing Kerry in such a major competition isn't lost on Joy. From the moment the squad came together, he's been fully committed to the team and now, the focus shifts to the Kennedy Cup, and Joy is relishing the challenge ahead. 'It's great. The legacy of this will be great. And then being captain as well just tops it all off. It would be a great experience to hopefully go far in this as captain and leading on the team like we've done in other games hopefully.' 'I'm more than happy to be in this squad. Any fella would dream of it, whoever has been on the team before. It will be a great experience hopefully. Coming out with the top dogs, it would be great to give everyone a game,' he added. This year's tournament brings a slightly different set-up than last year, with Kerry placed in a four-team group alongside South Belfast, Tipperary South, and North Tipperary. They enter the competition as a second seed, having shown their quality in their Inter-League and national campaign. The draw brought some intrigue, but Joy - speaking before the draw was made - remained confident regardless of the group. 'We'll all be excited to see the draw. I can't see why you can't put any team on their behinds. We could run anyone to the ground once we just keep it up the whole game. 'And we've done this in previous games. Of course, we were unlucky in the first few inter-league games. We were missing players, key players. And it'd be great if we could give everyone a game, and see how we get on.' That belief is backed up by results. Kerry have already shown they can perform under pressure and win when it counts. The All-Ireland Trophy campaign saw them bounce back from a tough group stage to record big wins in the knock-out rounds, including a 3-0 victory in the final at the University of Limerick, the same venue that will host the Kennedy Cup. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more Training has helped the team in the build-up, with the players themselves maintaining momentum through local competitions and friendlies. But he believes the group's connection off the pitch will be just as important as anything they do on it. 'Staying the nights there will be great, getting to know people better,' Joy said of the week-long tournament in UL. 'We'd be hoping to do well in it, and coming off the back of doing well in the final, it'd be great to that pressure from the start. And a few early goals in the games, I can't see why any team will keep up with us. 'Playing the games would be the main thing, and just getting to know everyone better before the season's out. We've been here a long time together. We train, and we've just bonded together as a team as well. So it'd be great if we could just bond the extra way and do very well again.' With leadership from the sideline and a talented squad on the pitch, Joy will look to inspire Kerry as they aim to write the next chapter in the county's Kennedy Cup history, and perhaps create more memories to match that unforgettable triumph in 2015.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Cllr Tracy Kelly to become DUP's first female Belfast lord mayor
South Belfast councillor Tracy Kelly is set to become the city's first female lord mayor from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). She is expected to be voted into the top position in Belfast at a council meeting on Monday night. It will make her the second female unionist to become the city's lord mayor. The late Grace Bannister held the position in 1981, and there is a footbridge in east Belfast named in her honour. The next deputy lord mayor is set to be west Belfast councillor Paul Doherty of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). Kelly, 47, is from the Donegall Road area of south Belfast and used to work in community development, which sparked her interest in politics. She is currently office manager at the DUP constituency office of MLA Edwin Poots, who is the speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly. She previously worked for MLA Christopher Stalford, who died suddenly three years ago, aged 39. He had encouraged her to become involved in politics, and she was first elected to the council in 2019. "He asked me to run in that election," she told BBC News NI. "Him and constituents pressurised me into running in the 2019 election. I never thought I would ever sit in city council - never mind be lord mayor." The DUP has held the position of lord mayor in Belfast nine times, and among those to wear the chain of office were Nigel Dodds, Sammy Wilson and current party leader Gavin Robinson. Asked about being the first female from the party in the role, Kelly said: "I feel very privileged to be the first female. Women are now taking more and more leadership roles." She pointed out that the DUP has already had a female leader, Arlene Foster, who became first minister, and Emma Little-Pengelly is the current deputy first minister. Looking ahead to her year in office, she said: "My aim as lord mayor is to ensure that nobody is left behind. "Over the years Belfast has evolved and changed dramatically, since the Troubles especially. "But there's communities out there that are disengaged from the city centre, they don't feel part of this change. "And there's also young people who are disengaged from education, employment and training. I want to reach out to them." Away from politics, Kelly is a football fan and supports Linfield and Liverpool. The outgoing lord mayor is Micky Murray of the Alliance Party, who described himself as the first "openly gay" first citizen in Belfast.
BBC News
01-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Cllr Tracy Kelly to become DUP's first female lord mayor of Belfast
South Belfast councillor Tracy Kelly is set to become the city's first female lord mayor from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).She is expected to be voted into the top position in Belfast at a council meeting on Monday will make her the second female unionist to become the city's lord mayor. The late Grace Bannister held the position in 1981, and there is a footbridge in east Belfast named in her next deputy lord mayor is set to be west Belfast councillor Paul Doherty of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). 'I never thought I would be lord mayor' Kelly, 47, is from the Donegall Road area of south Belfast and used to work in community development, which sparked her interest in is currently office manager at the DUP constituency office of MLA Edwin Poots, who is the speaker of the Northern Ireland previously worked for MLA Christopher Stalford, who died suddenly three years ago, aged had encouraged her to become involved in politics, and she was first elected to the council in 2019."He asked me to run in that election," she told BBC News NI."Him and constituents pressurised me into running in the 2019 election. I never thought I would ever sit in city council - never mind be lord mayor." The DUP has held the position of lord mayor in Belfast nine times, and among those to wear the chain of office were Nigel Dodds, Sammy Wilson and current party leader Gavin about being the first female from the party in the role, Kelly said: "I feel very privileged to be the first female. Women are now taking more and more leadership roles."She pointed out that the DUP has already had a female leader, Arlene Foster, who became first minister, and Emma Little-Pengelly is the current deputy first ahead to her year in office, she said: "My aim as lord mayor is to ensure that nobody is left behind."Over the years Belfast has evolved and changed dramatically, since the Troubles especially."But there's communities out there that are disengaged from the city centre, they don't feel part of this change."And there's also young people who are disengaged from education, employment and training. I want to reach out to them."Away from politics, Kelly is a football fan and supports Linfield and outgoing lord mayor is Micky Murray of the Alliance Party, who described himself as the first "openly gay" first citizen in Belfast.
