Second Annual South Kerry Hurling Awards
"A Season of South Kerry Hurling Success"
By Michael O'Keeffe, PRO of the South Kerry Juvenile Hurling Board
(As seen in the Kerryman newspaper, 19th December 2012)
Following another successful year for hurling in the region, the South Kerry Juvenile
Hurling Board held its second annual Hurling Awards Night in the Killarney Plaza Hotel
on Friday last. This year, the attendance was unprecedented, with a wealth of coaches, parents and juveniles present from all clubs in the region.
Firstly, we would like to extend our gratitude to the main sponsor of the event, the O’Donoghue-Ring Hotel Group for the fantastic venue, to Dave Keating in Killarney
Golf Club for his support of the event and to the many other sponsors.
Our special guest for the evening’s proceedings was the one and only Davy Fitzgerald, former Clare Hurling Goalkeeper and current Clare Senior Hurling Manager. Davy gave
an appropriate speech on the subject of hurling and importance of sport in our lives. He spoke about the issues facing young players today, how to overcome these and become a better person and sportsman. His take on the importance of dreams and setting goals had
a noticeable effect on all the guests present. He recognised the enormous work being put
in by the various clubs in the area and encouraged parents and anyone with an interest in hurling to help out in any way they can. Following his words of wisdom, he received a huge round of applause and standing ovation.
On the evening, we were also joined by Ger Galvin, Vice-Chairman of the County Board, Tadgh O’Donoghue, Chairman of the South Kerry Senior Hurling Board and Ger McCarthy, the newly appointed Hurling Officer.
Davy Fitzgerald made presentations to the successful South Kerry teams on the night;
Dr. Bill Mangan U10 Tournament Cup: Dr. Crokes
Dr. Bill Mangan U10 Tournament Shield: Kilgarvan
Denis Nagle U10 Ground Hurling Tournament: Dr. Crokes
Killarney Summerfest U11 Hurling Blitz: Dr. Crokes
Special acknowledgements were made to both the Dr. Crokes & Rathmore teams for
winning the U12 County Leagues in their respective divisions. The Dr. Crokes U13 team
also received recognition for winning the North Kerry U13 Hurling League Division 2.
Furthermore, present on the night were the 2009 South Kerry U16 Team who won the Duhallow League. They did not receive their medals that year and so were presented with them by our special guest also.
The South Kerry Juvenile Hurling Board also made a special presentation to Seanie
O'Shea for successfully guiding the Kerry Minor Hurlers to All-Ireland 'B' glory on his
first term as manager.
It was then time to recognise the accomplishments of our juveniles who represented
Kerry at various age groups in 2012;
U14 Kerry: Daniel O’Brien (Dr. Crokes/Glenflesk), Mark O’Shea (Dr. Crokes), Ciaran Kennedy (Dr. Crokes), Eodhan De Brun (Dr. Crokes), Gearoid Fennessy (Kilgarvan), Richard O’Sullivan (Kilgarvan).
U15 Kerry: Jack Lenihan (Dr. Crokes), Gavin White (Dr. Crokes), John Mark Foley (Kilgarvan), Brian O’Sullivan (Kenmare).
U16 Kerry: Micheal Burns (Dr. Crokes), Aaron Murphy (Dr. Crokes), Shane Lyne (Dr. Crokes), Chris Doncel (Dr. Crokes), Patrick O’Shea (Kilgarvan), David Crowley (Kenmare), Fionan O’Sullivan (Kenmare).
Congratulations to all teams and players concerned.
John Griffin, South Kerry Hurling Administrator, made a presentation to the Chairman, John Lenihan, for all the time and effort he has put into promoting and developing hurling
in the South Kerry region over the past number of years.
On the night, we held a raffle for a number of spot prizes which turned out to be a great success. Thanks to the ticket sellers and to all who contributed.
Finally, earlier in the year, we featured a competition on our website – www.southkerryhurling.com – following its launch. We drew the winners of the
competition on the night and presented them with their prize; 1st Prize – Dylan Dermody,
a South Kerry Hurling Jersey; 2nd & 3rd Prize – Darragh O’Callaghan & Daniel Horgan, a hurley and sliotar signed by Davy Fitzgerald and Ben O’Connor.
Once again, this was a fantastic night to close another successful year for South Kerry Hurling. Following the close of proceedings, guests were treated to some light refreshments.
