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Con Guiney's Its Playtime wins Novice 2 525 heat in some style at Tralee greyhound track

Con Guiney's Its Playtime wins Novice 2 525 heat in some style at Tralee greyhound track

Everything might have taken second place to the televised coverage of the English Derby final at Tralee track on Saturday night - with obvious disappointment that victory didn't belong to either of the two Kerry finalists, De Lahdedah and Cheap Sandwiches - but there was plenty to entertain at the Oakview venue.
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Brawl breaks out during heated League of Ireland derby as FIVE cards are shown in fiery injury time
Brawl breaks out during heated League of Ireland derby as FIVE cards are shown in fiery injury time

The Irish Sun

time11 hours ago

  • The Irish Sun

Brawl breaks out during heated League of Ireland derby as FIVE cards are shown in fiery injury time

A win would have been huge for Treaty United to boost their promotion chances KICKS OFF Brawl breaks out during heated League of Ireland derby as FIVE cards are shown in fiery injury time A BRAWL broke out in Treaty United's first division clash with Kerry FC in the Markets Field. An overly aggressive, cynical foul from Treaty's Dean Owens on Ewan Lee sparked a large scuffle in the 92nd minute. Advertisement 2 Cian Brosnan was not pleased with Owens' challenge Credit: @emmakatedineen 2 Members of the Treaty and Kerry benches broke up the fight Credit: @emmakatedineen A Kerry counter attack had appeared to form as Lee got in behind Owens with Kennedy Amechi supporting him against a lone Treaty defender. The 22-year-old was then dragged down from behind by the shoulders from Owens to end the attack. The Kingdom's Cian Brosnan appeared to take particular offence to the challenge by Owens as he ran at the player before pushing him to the ground from behind. Darren Nwankwo responded with a shove of his own before trying to de-escalate the situation. Advertisement The heated gathering was eventually broken up after substitutes and coaching staff stepped in. Five yellow cards were dished out in injury time alone during the feisty Munster derby. Owens received a yellow card for the initial challenge while Treaty's Steven Healy and Kerry's Brosnan were booked for their involvement in the brawl. Oran Crowe and Sean McGrath were also booked for the visitors in the closing stages of the contest. Advertisement This incident comes at a tough time for Kerry as it's been just a week since the release of two first team players. The axed players were former PSG goalkeeper Mathyas Randriamamy and Shane Maroodza who they signed just FOUR days previous. The 21-year-old came through the Leicester academy before signing for Huddersfield and Barnet. Maroodza played just one game for Colin Healy's side. The fight came a short while after Lee forced Kerry's equaliser when he put pressure on Ben Lynch at the back post from a long throw in by Samuel Aladesanusi. Advertisement A second half glancing header from new signing Patrick Ferry on the end of an Evan O'Connor cross had opened the scoring, putting the Shannonsiders into the lead. Former England star Joe Hart reveals how close he came to a career in cricket The Super Blues had to make an early substitution in the first half with Limerick footballing legend Lee J Lynch being forced off with injury after just 24 minutes. Treaty United find themselves fifth in the table and just inside the promotion play-off places with a five point cushion over Wexford FC with 10 games to go. With just one win in their last eight league games, Tommy Barrett's side have fallen away from the pack leading the league table as they are now 15 points adrift from Bray Wanderers in third. Advertisement Kerry's promotion chances have taken a hit after yesterday's must win game finished level. They now sit eighth, 10 points behind their Munster rivals with just 10 games to go.

'Playing with Kerry was something I thought would never come around': The All-Ireland winning newcomer
'Playing with Kerry was something I thought would never come around': The All-Ireland winning newcomer

The 42

time12 hours ago

  • The 42

'Playing with Kerry was something I thought would never come around': The All-Ireland winning newcomer

AS MARK O'SHEA savoured the sensation of Kerry senior football glory with Dr Crokes last October, their first in six years, one career-defining moment jumped out amidst the celebrations in the following days. Jack O'Connor got in touch. 'I'd say, on a Tuesday. I'd say (I was) in some pub somewhere he gave me a text and just said, 'Look, when you get the chance later in the week, will you be able to give me a call?' 'It was nice to get that text after.' The Kerry manager was in recruitment mode. O'Shea's presence and power in dominating the middle third for Dr Crokes could not go unnoticed. Nine months to the day from that Kerry final success, he was in Croke Park and was crowned an All-Ireland winning midfielder on the biggest stage of the game. With no underage county career to speak of and just one Kerry appearance to his name, a McGrath Cup game in 2020 when an experimental squad was assembled as the main stars were on a post All-Ireland final team holiday, O'Shea naturally assumed such recognition was beyond him. 'I was 26, going on 27. I was like the boat is probably gone here as well. But, look, Kerry is such a good championship. You're playing against the Barry Dans, Diarmaid (O'Connor), David Moran and these fellas down through the years. So, it's a good kind of place to be putting yourself up and you can get a bit of confidence from it too. '(I) never played underage. I got a massive growth spurt there when I was about, I'd say, 17, 18. I went from about 5 nothing to about 6 foot 2 or 3'. My parents, they always kind of taught me, look, just keep at it. I tried to master the skills when I was smaller. Advertisement 'When the height came, things kind of started to progress a bit fast and you're kind of thrown into playing with Crokes. Obviously, playing with Kerry was something I thought probably would never come around and just very, very glad that it did.' His father Seanie, a former Kerry hurler and Dr Crokes player of renown, was one sounding board for advice, while his uncle Pat has had a decorated coaching career at club and county level. 'Minor was when I got a bit of belief in myself. Edmund O'Sullivan he was an unbelievable coach, an unbelievable mentor to me and still I can always pick up the phone and just have a chat about anything, to be fair. 'And from him to Brian Mc(Mahon) in the Crokes and then to Pat, like, I've had Pat now for two stints and the quality of what he does, he's a serious man.' When he was brought in to solve Kerry's midfield problem this summer as injuries ruined the plans of first-team regulars, O'Shea found his county boss excellent at tuning his mindset. 'There was no pressure at all. I suppose there wasn't many midfielders left! He gave us an extended break after the Crokes period and he just told us to come back in fresh. Towards the end of the year then, that freshness I felt it in the legs. 'Jack was saying, 'you've nothing to lose,' and I suppose after the Meath game I may as well have never put on boots again! That was the first time I'd seen inter-county, if you're not at it….look, you can probably get the criticism, and rightly so, we weren't at it and I wasn't at it. 'After then, Jack was just kind of saying to me, 'look, there's no pressure.' Fellas around me were giving me massive advice. Fellas behind me were driving me, Cillian Trant, Darragh Lyne, Cathal Begley on the extended panel. These fellas, they are unsung heroes. I know it's probably a bit cliche, but they really do put in a serious shift to get us to the level. 'The one thing Jack said to me a few times, 'Look you've played a lot of big size games with Crokes. It's no different to them games.' 'At the end of the day it's a game of football. And once you take out the emotion, that's all it is. Going out he gave full confidence to both me and Seán. Barry and Diarmaid, the boys injured, they were a huge help too. 'They had marked a lot of players that we were coming up against, little nuggets going out before games and stuff, they were unreal to me.' Related Reads The top 10 moments of the 2025 All-Ireland football championship Where to now for Donegal after a final where they were thoroughly outplayed and outthought? A day of days for Kerry as they complete the Ulster clean sweep When Kerry's jersey colour before the All-Ireland final was revealed, O'Shea wondered was it an unlucky omen. 'When we were wearing the blue jersey, I was like, 'Feck's sake' because I wore it when I made my debut against Mayo up in Castlebar and we were beaten. And I made my starting debut against Meath in the championship with the blue jersey. So I was like, 'Jeez, I don't know about these blue jerseys!' ' He didn't need to be concerned. Kerry's supreme start paved the way for a dominant triumph. With Gavin White captaining the team and forward Micheal Burns enjoying a career renaissance after being cut from the panel last year, O'Shea had plenty company in striking Dr Crokes storylines. 'Anyone that knows him (Gavin) knows just how meticulous he is with everything. The captaincy there, there's a lot of weight on the shoulders and when you've your captain kicking three points, (and) won about ten breaking balls, it's easy to row in behind someone like that. Just absolutely phenomenal. Couldn't happen to a nicer fella. '(Mícheál), another fella I'm delighted for. Serious mentor to me coming up the last two years. Always good for advice and to lean on 'The Armagh game there, you seen the ability. And look, he came back with a bit of freshness too. 'The summer away in Chicago served him unbelievable, because when he came back with Crokes, he was just a refreshed player and obviously, carried through to this year.' *****

Mark O'Shea the oldest first-time All-Ireland SFC winner as a starter since Tadhg Kennelly
Mark O'Shea the oldest first-time All-Ireland SFC winner as a starter since Tadhg Kennelly

Irish Examiner

time16 hours ago

  • Irish Examiner

Mark O'Shea the oldest first-time All-Ireland SFC winner as a starter since Tadhg Kennelly

Up to March this year, the only time Mark O'Shea had worn the Kerry jersey on the field of play was to virtually make up the numbers. In 2020, and with Kerry away on a team holiday following their All-Ireland final replay loss to Dublin the previous September, then U20 manager John Sugrue was charged with putting together a team for the McGrath Cup. After a hosing against Cork, Sugrue wanted to beef up the team largely comprising U20s so made contact with 'over-age' players like O'Shea who, despite having no minor or U20 experience with Kerry, had impressed breaking into the Dr Crokes midfield the previous season. I lár na pairce wouldn't have been considered an option for him until his late teens. 'I got a massive growth spurt there when I was about, I'd say, 17, 18. I went from about five nothing to about 6ft 2in or 3'. So, yeah, Crokes, my parents, they always kind of taught me, 'Look, just keep at it'. 'I tried to master the skills when I was smaller. When obviously the height came, things kind of started to progress a bit fast and you're kind of thrown into playing with Crokes. Obviously, playing with Kerry was something I thought probably would never come around and just very glad that it did.' It was a couple of days after Crokes went goal crazy against Dingle in last October's county final that Jack O'Connor sent O'Shea a message. ''Look, when you get the chance later in the week, will you be able to give me a call?'' The 27-year-old O'Shea was unsure what it entailed. 'I was like, 'The boat is probably gone here as well.' But, look, Kerry is such a good championship. You're playing against the Barry Dans [O'Sullivan], Diarmaid [O'Connor], David Moran and these fellas down through the years. So, it's a good kind of place to be putting yourself up and you can get a bit of confidence from it too.' A nephew of Pat O'Shea, Mark has his own blood to thank for his progression as well as Edmund O'Sullivan and Brian McMahon in the Lewis Road institute. O'Connor was vital in making him feel as comfortable as possible in the Kerry set-up, even when things went awry mid-championship. 'Jack was saying, 'You've nothing to lose,' and after the Meath game I may as well have never put on boots again, and that was the first time I'd seen at inter-county, if you're not at it… look, you can probably get the criticism, and rightly so, we weren't at it and I wasn't at it. Jack was just kind of saying to me, 'Look, there's no pressure.'' O'Shea is amusingly philosophical about his elevation this year to become the oldest first-time All-Ireland SFC winner as a starter since Tadhg Kennelly who was 28 in 2009 (Donnchadh Walsh was 30 in 2014 but had been part of '09 panel). 'I suppose there wasn't many midfielders left,' he smiles. When it was announced Kerry were to wear blue for the All-Ireland final, superstition got the better of him. 'I was like, 'Feck's sake' because I wore it when I made my debut against Mayo up in Castlebar and we were beaten. And I made my starting debut against Meath in the championship with the blue jersey. So I was like, 'Jeez, I don't know about these blue jerseys.'' Coming into a dressing room with five other Crokes men as well as Kerry masseuse and former club manager Harry O'Neill and videographer John C O'Shea made the transition easier for O'Shea. To see his clubman Gavin White excel last Sunday week before lifting the Sam Maguire Cup after his difficulties in the 2023 All-Ireland final and this year's All-Ireland club semi-final was thrilling for O'Shea. 'Anyone that knows him knows just how meticulous he is with everything. And obviously, look, no-one in Kerry or Crokes ever even put any bit of blame on Gavin for either. 'But the reaction this year, and I'd say the captaincy there, there's a lot of weight on the shoulders and when you've your captain kicking three points, I'd say won about 10 breaking balls, it's easy to row in behind someone like that. And yeah, just absolutely phenomenal. Couldn't happen to a nicer fella.' There was redemption for Micheál Burns too after he was dropped off the panel last season before he was recalled following a stunning run with Crokes. 'The Armagh game there, you saw the ability. And look, he came back with a bit of freshness too. 'The summer away in Chicago served him unbelievable, because when he came back with Crokes, he was just a refreshed player and obviously, carried through to this year. He's another fella I'm delighted for. Serious mentor to me coming up the last two years.'

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