Latest news with #Fossa
Irish Times
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Tariffs and higher input costs hit Killarney Brewing and Distilling
The impact of 'high tariffs' and the Covid-19 pandemic caused 'significant and sustained challenges' for Killarney Brewing and Distilling (KBD), the company said after entering liquidation on Monday. In a statement, KBD said that 'despite the best efforts of all involved' the examinership process which was in place over the company since mid-April was unsuccessful. The company said that, as with many other drinks manufacturers, KBD faced 'significant and sustained challenges' over the past few years as a result of the 'lasting effects of the Covid-19 pandemic'. Founded by local businessmen Tim O'Donoghue and Paul Sheahan in 2013, the company had 64 employees in 2022. Mr Justice Michael Quinn of the High Court appointed James Anderson of Deloitte as liquidator at a hearing on Monday. READ MORE [ Liquidator appointed over Killarney Brewing and Distilling Opens in new window ] KBD said the pandemic led to delays in opening its distillery in Fossa and also caused 'global supply chain disruptions, rising input costs, and ongoing geopolitical and trading pressures.' 'More recently, high tariffs on Irish whiskey exports to the US and wider economic uncertainty have further impacted the business.' As reported previously, the company had reached a preliminary agreement to merge with a US-based entity but the company pulled out of the deal. 'In response, KBD entered the examinership process in the hope of securing new investment to protect jobs and stabilise operations for the long term,' the statement reads, noting that despite the 'tireless efforts' under examinership, an investor was unable to be secured in time. 'We remain proud of what we've built together and the craft, care, and creativity that defined our journey.'
Irish Daily Mirror
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
'More under the bonnet' for renewed David Clifford says Kerry legend Colm Cooper
Colm Cooper believes that the best is yet to come from a 'revitalised' David Clifford, who he says is only beginning to mature as a footballer. Clifford is the Championship's top scorer, 21 points clear of his teammate Sean O'Shea, with 7-44 from his seven games so far, including 0-7 in the demolition of reigning champions Armagh in the All-Ireland quarter-final having recorded 3-7 against Cavan the previous weekend. If he maintains something close to that form for the remainder of the Championship, he'll be in line to win the Footballer of the Year award for the third time at the age of just 26, leaving him just one short of fellow countyman Jack O'Shea's record of four. Former Kerry star Cooper says that the Fossa man is now starting to elevate his game to a new level as his innate ability and experience merges. 'To me he seems revitalised this year,' said 'The Gooch'. 'He seems hungry. Mentally I think he's in a stronger place. 'I think he got a little drained, he had a season [2023] there where Fossa went to Croke Park and dealing with the passing of his mam, it was a difficult time for him but he looks to be really enjoying his football again. He's hungry and seems to be in excellent shape. 'The odd off-day is thrown in as well, which shows he's human, the same as every other player in the country. We're just lucky he's in Kerry and he's performing at such a high level. 'He's beginning to mature as a footballer I think, he's making other players better around him. His ability has never been in question, he can do anything, but he's making the team a better team as well and that comes with maturity. 'He's living up to the hype, living up to the expectations and I think there's more under the bonnet too.' That's a sentiment that Maurice Fitzgerald, another prince of Kerry forwards, expressed earlier this year too, with Cooper feeling that Clifford still has his best years ahead of him. 'Potentially yes. I think you get better with maturity and experience. You learn more about yourself and your game and your team-mates. 'Maybe he's midway through his career at the moment, if he stays healthy, yeah. Staying healthy is probably the most important thing. There's potentially more there.' With Tyrone next up in Saturday's All-Ireland semi-final, Cooper feels Padraig Hampsey is the man most likely to be handed the job of keeping tabs on him. 'I'd expect Hampsey to pick up David Clifford and probably a little bit of help to come from somewhere else, given that David's form is very, very strong this year. 'Given that it's likely to be a dry ball in Croke Park the next day, it's probably going to be a big task for Hampsey for the 70 minutes to keep him out on his own.' One of the big conundrums around Saturday's game is whether the elder Clifford, Paudie, will start having only been fit to come off the bench against Armagh as he returned from injury. 'If you asked me at the start of the year I probably would have said I couldn't see them winning an All-Ireland if Paudie Clifford wasn't starting,' Cooper admitted. 'My understanding is that he's got minutes under the belt and he's in good shape. There's no doubt about it, Kerry are a better team with Paudie Clifford on the team and starting. 'I would be shocked if Tyrone didn't have a big plan in terms of having Paudie tied down in some shape or form because he's that important to Kerry. Most of the best stuff goes through him so I would expect him to start at the weekend.' With Tyrone having already seen off Kerry at minor and under-20 level en route to All-Ireland titles, there is the prospect of completing a clean sweep over them this weekend, something only Cork have managed before. Cooper added: 'It is on everyone's radar what they've done this year in terms of the college teams and beating the Kerry teams at underage. We certainly don't want it to happen again on Saturday. 'Certainly for the general public and supporters like myself, it is a concern if we're driving down the road to Kerry on Saturday night if Tyrone have beat you again and have beat you at every grade. 'You would have to have a review of everything that's going on but I don't think the margins are that big for it to take over completely. We'll wait on Saturday and hopefully, with my Kerry hat on, we won't see utter domination from Tyrone.'
Irish Independent
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
East Kerry appoint Adrian Sheehan to manager their senior football team
The Ballyheigue native managed Fossa to an All-Ireland Club junior football championship title two years ago Kerryman Adrian Sheehan will manage the East Kerry senior football team in this year's county senior football championship, with the former Fossa manager appointed as Jerry O'Sullivan's successor. Sheehan has been involved with the Kerry minor team management this year – working as a coach with manager Wayne Quillinan's – and the East Kerry Board wanted to wait until Kerry's involvement in the minor championship concluded before announcing Sheehan as the manager of the district team.
Irish Daily Mirror
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
David Clifford relationship with girlfriend Shauna, son Oigi and day job
It was the year 2018 when David Clifford burst onto the inter-county scene, and since making his debut for Kerry, he's been hailed as "a once in a generation" talent, with comparisons drawn to international icons like Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan. These accolades, coupled with his on-field success, including an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, five Munster titles, and three National Leagues, hold immense value for the 26-year-old. Yet, he remains humble and grounded. His list of individual honors includes the Young Footballer of the Year award in 2018 and the Footballer of the Year award in both 2022 and 2023. In an interview with RSVP Live. the Fossa clubman delved into the highs and lows of his sporting career, life beyond GAA with his girlfriend Shauna O'Connor and their three-and-a-half year old son Óigí, and the importance of finding balance. There was a viral picture of you with Kerry performance coach Tony Griffin after losing the All-Ireland Football Final against Dublin. Can you recall how you felt in that moment? There was a lot of disappointment and regret, I suppose. Croke Park is the best place to be when you win and the worst place to be when you lose. To have somebody like Tony and to have such close friends on the team shows how lucky you are. You survive through the bad days together. You must move on from it too, your life can't revolve around whether you win or lose a game. It would make for a long career for you, because you're going to have more losses than wins. Is it hard not to overthink things? We're all guilty of that. You need to be well settled off the field and have plenty going on away from sport. It's very easy to think about football all the time, but then there would be no enjoyment in it anymore. Off the field, for you, is it hard to get the balance right? It can be at times. The people around us make a lot of sacrifices so we can go out and train so many evenings a week. I try to be settled and relaxed, and I try to enjoy my life as much as I can. That allows me to put everything into the game. Does your son Óigí recognise you on TV and know what the green and gold jersey means? Yeah, he's gone mad for sport at the moment. He's wearing jerseys and he loves it. But he's not too happy with me going out training because I'm going to be gone for a couple of hours. He loves coming along with me to watch the Fossa games at the weekend. He's great craic. Does that add an extra level of enjoyment for you, seeing him loving it as well? I hadn't thought about it like that until you said it. He's also copying the celebrations of the soccer players he sees. He's getting to that age now where I've an extra reason to go out there and play. Óigí is clearly gearing up for the All-Ireland! The structure of the championship has changed. The national league, provincial championship, round robin series and knock-out games are condensed into the first seven months of the year. How are you finding it? When you're stuck in the middle of it and you're going to work, training and matches, you don't think about that kind of stuff. It's great to have games and the structure at the moment is great because you've got a game, then a week off and then another game. You're recovering for a week and then preparing for a week. The four or five week gaps in the old system used to be long. I like that element of it. We're getting a lot of good competitive games, and there's very few negatives to that. Kildare legend Johnny Doyle won a club championship at 45 years old last year. Would you like to do something similar? It's hard to know. I want to play for as long as I can anyway. The day you're inside in the full-forward line and some young fella beats you out to the first couple of balls, that's probably when it's time to move on [laughs]. There has been talk of a return to September All-Ireland finals again. What do you think of that? I'm very happy with the split season. From a selfish point of view, as a teacher anyway. Nobody wants to hear about teachers and their holidays, but we get to have a month of summer holidays after the All-Ireland. That's very enjoyable, being able to go away. On the other side of it, when I was in primary school the build-up to an All-Ireland final in September was brilliant. There are pros and cons. What's your own schedule like? Much has been made about how busy you are with Fossa, East Kerry and Kerry. We're very lucky with our three managers, there's no problem if we need breaks here and there. We're conscious that winning doesn't last forever. East Kerry hadn't won the county championship for 20 years and Fossa has never won the junior. We have to milk it while we have it. It's important to get the breaks as well. It's not just tough physically, it's mentally draining as well. You have to deal with the highs and lows and the build-up to games. How do you deal with the pressure of being David Clifford in a football-mad county? The main thing is trying not to think about it like that. I have different targets for myself or different targets for the team. You always hear [Manchester City manager] Pep Guardiola saying that having targets takes the emotion out of the game. As boring as it sounds, that tends to work a lot of the time. You're big into other sports and you're a Celtic fan. How important is that, having interests away from GAA? That's my approach anyway, I try to have interests in other things. For other people, their interests may not be sports. At the moment, it's impossible to keep up with all the sports. You'd nearly want two or three TVs on the go [laughs]. You've been compared to Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan and been called a 'once in a generation' talent. What's that like? There's an uncomfortable nature to it. I learned from my parents to be humble and not to appear arrogant. You don't want to be talking about yourself in that light, you want to let it brush off you. The Pittsburgh Steelers were in Dublin last April. Would you ever try your hand at playing in the NFL? It hasn't really crossed my mind. I'm a relatively safe person in that I'm settled in a job and settled in life. To turn that upside down to try something new isn't something that would appeal to me too much. It's class to see the Irish players that have joined the NFL. We're looking forward to seeing if some of them can get on the pitch. How does it feel to be settled so young? You've made your career in football at an early age, you've a child and a good job. Maybe it will all turn upside down at some stage [jokes]. It's fine, that's just the way things have happened for me. Things fell into place nicely. I'm far from perfect, let that be known. I enjoy life and I feel like I've a great life. I'm very lucky with the people I have around me. You were one of the youngest players when you joined the Kerry panel in 2018 and now you're one of the most experienced in the dressing room. It's hard to believe. A lot of us came into the panel together in 2018 and 2019, so we've gone through the years together. Without even noticing it, we've had some incredible life experiences with trips away and big wins and defeats. Every year before you commit to another season you have to make sure you're still enjoying it – thankfully, I still am. If you finished your career with one All-Ireland win, how would you accept that? You'd like to win the All-Ireland every year, but that's not the reality of it. If I was to retire I wouldn't be going around telling people that I've an All-Ireland medal or don't have an All-Ireland medal. While they're great to win and you do everything in your power to win them, you just have to get over it. Hopefully, that won't be the case! This interview appeared in the July 2024 issue of RSVP Magazine
Irish Daily Mirror
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Clifford and O'Callaghan two modern legends.. The tale of the tape
It was Coretta Clay, an aunt to Cassius, who first labelled the prize fighting supernova who, as Muhammad Ali, would go on to shake the world, 'the Alpha and the Omega.' The beginning and the end. Those whose knees have trembled before stepping onto a rectangle of grass to spar with David Clifford or Con O'Callaghan would hardly protest the laying of Coretta's sweeping claim onto the shoulders of Kerry and Dublin's respective polestars. For both teams, the sense this weekend is of their world starting and finishing with the fitness and form of their leading men, a photo-finish required to determine which of the pair is, at this moment in time, more critical to their side's fortunes. Charlie Redmond, the former Dublin forward who is one of the game's shrewder observers, offers an interesting take as Tyrone and Armagh loom into focus for football's Old Firm. 'Right now, I would say Con is more important to Dublin than Clifford is to Kerry. Because, with Paul Geaney, Seanie O'Shea and Paudie Clifford, I think Kerry have better supporting forwards. 'Look at Dublin's two-pointer total. It's terrible and that's down to a lack of confidence in their forwards. Without Con, the attack can lose all cohesion.' With Clifford, the Fossa master who seems to deliver a Mona Lisa almost every time he steps behind the easel, the Alpha and Omega argument is not one that can easily be trampled underfoot. He glided into our world as a wunderkind, a teenage divinity, scorer of 4-4 in an All-Ireland minor final, his reputation dwarfing even Carrauntoohil. Somehow, even the ear-splitting drumroll that accompanied the Chosen One onto the stage, understated his ability to cause our eyeballs, as one observer of Roger Federer famously commented, to protrude like novelty-shop eyeballs. The sense of irresistible menace that accompanied his latest eruption – a 3-7 avalanche that swiftly interred Cavan even as he squandered three further goal chances - offered just the latest illustration of how the Kingdom's fortunes remain so inextricably wedded to their generational supe talent, an avatar of the impossible-made-flesh. Many are the days he walks in a special light, unmarkable, unstoppable, a force of nature, a trick of the light, a killing machine. On the days he falls a little short of his impossibly high standards (2024) or when injury diminishes him (extra time v Tyrone in 2021, after an otherworldly 70 minutes) Kerry tend to crash and burn, Many have to come to regard Clifford and Kerry as one and the same, his supporting cast, to borrow Hugh McIlvanney's memorable depiction of Ali's heavyweight predecessors, no more than 'blurred figures dancing behind frosted glass.' If that does an enormous injustice to the profound influence asserted by his exceptional playmaking sibling, Paudie, to Seanie O'Shea's ball striking or the growing authority of Joe O'Connor, still one truth remains cast in bronze. It is the one that says it is impossible to imagine Kerry winning an All-Ireland without their pilot light fully aflame. You might as well ask a 747 to soar across the Atlantic's mighty expanse having just clipped away the mighty beast's wings. As a point of reference, perhaps Diego Maradona carrying a moderate Argentine team to the World Cup through the sheer breadth of his genius (and the bypassing the game's handball laws) might come closest to explaining Clifford's task. Joe Brolly, never a man to run from an inflammatory soundbite, is unequivocal as Kieran McGeeney's All-Ireland kingpins ready themselves for battle: '[Kerry's] problem is that they only have one forward. If you could call David Clifford a problem.' Tomorrow, as Kerry's summer arrives at a point of no return and they seek to unseat Armagh's increasingly impressive champions, their superstar, as he does each time he dons that storied uniform, will shoulder the burden of an entire tribe's hopes. Imagine the psychological weight he carries on his back, immense even for a player apart, one who long ago (his first 20 championship outings yielded 5-58 from play) made the suspension of disbelief among his audience a defining calling card. O'Callaghan has had to learn to bench press similarly substantial dumbbells of expectation. In Dublin's post-Fenton, post-McCarthy time of need, the old sheen of invincibility a distant memory, facing Tyrone without Con would represent the pulping of confidence. If, as many have feared all week, O'Callaghan's ongoing hamstring issues – he sat out last week's workman like victory over Cork - sideline or restrict him tonight, many of Sky Blue disposition would be inclined to saddle up the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and have them gallop across Hill 16 just ahead of throw-in. It is that stark. Even while clearly hobbled, Con contributed five invaluable points, a game-altering spearhead as Dessie Farrell's side kept their season alive in a tense taking down of Derry a fortnight ago. James McCarthy, for the first time in 15 summers of absurdly high achievement looking on from outside the white lines, spoke for a county under siege from its misgivings: 'Every Dublin fan is praying Con is going to be fit.' Aaron Kernan, the Armagh player turned pundit went further, believing the result hinges on whether O'Callaghan can handle 70 minutes against opponents who number Donegal among their summer of 2025 victims. 'He makes that big of a difference to Dublin. Not just his skillset. It's his presence, calmness, the composure and then the ability to put scores on the board whenever he's under pressure.' Among the little known facts about Dublin's paramount power is that he is a serious student of the game of cricket. Con, then, would appreciate the American writer Wright Thompson's evocative portrayal of the celebrated Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar towards the end of his innings as a titan of the game. 'His artistry he now holds as a part of himself, like a chamber of his heart.' In truth, it is Clifford, as balletic and elegant and beautifully balanced as he is cold-eyed and predatory, who is immediately summoned to mind as the Tendulkar of an Irish summer. O'Callaghan is more about explosive power (though Clifford, too, is a physical beast comfortable seeking his own ball), razor-edged conviction and carnivorous intent, qualities which elevate the three-time All-Star to the highest rank of forwards to have played the game. One verbal-portrait tracing Erling Haaland's assault on the Premier League single season scoring record fits O'Callaghan as snugly as Dublin's Sky Blue number 14 shirt. 'A footballer who expresses power, edge and certainty more clearly than any at being lethal.' Scarcely out of his teens in 2017 yet already equipped with the precise GPS coordinates of Tyrone and Mayo's jugular vein, he devoured both those opponents, his early goals the launchpad from which Dublin and his own career blasted into orbit. There was the two-goal 2019 afternoon when he did everything bar place a crown of thorns on Mayo's tormented leader, Lee Keegan; later, the conjuring from nowhere of a devastating 2020 All-Ireland final goal. Lethal at being lethal. The heavyweight ordnance of King Con's artillery fire can be weighed by the statistic which announces him as the only player in 130 years of competition to have scored a hat-trick of goals against Kerry. That 3-4 in a 2024 league game an illustration of why he has become so vital to the big city psyche. Remembering his freshman years of unforgettable alchemy, it is sobering to think that if Dublin lose tonight, Con - to many still a youthful figure, a boy prince of Croke Park – will not play another championship match before celebrating his 30th birthday. O'Callaghan (29) and Clifford (26) are often compared and contrasted. Much as Messi and Ronaldo, like Federer and Nadal, pushed each other to even wilder feats of jaw-dropping achievement, so these GAA bluebloods have, perhaps, propelled each other to high-water marks of invention and flair and murderous intent. Because Dublin under Jim Gavin and in Farrell's early years enjoyed perhaps the greatest accumulation of talent the game has known, their reliance on the Cuala forward was not as acute as Kerry's dependency on Clifford. How could it be when they had gamechangers and generals in such glorious abundance? Fenton, McCarthy, Mannion, Connolly, Brogan, Rock, Macauley, Flynn, McCaffrey, McManamon, McMahon and his own indestructible clubmate (and Clifford's 2023 All-Ireland final nemesis), Mick Fitzsimons, amounted to virtually a dressing-room packed with alpha males. From the cast of towering attacking talents from those days of plenty, only the inestimable Ciaran Kilkenny, who turns 32 in nine days time but who gave one of the performances of the summer in Galway, remains alongside Con. O'Callaghan's presence has become as soothing and settling and vital for Dublin as Clifford's has long been for Kerry. His absence – as in the five point group stage loss to Armagh, when the Sky Blues fired 18 wides – sets off a shrill chorus of alarm bells. This weekend – assuming O'Callaghan plays, perhaps even more so if he doesn't – might illustrate which of the two is the weapon that brings summer sovereignty more sharply into focus. Who is the more expert at turning a key in the lock of hope? Who, in the high summer of 2025, is football's Alpha and Omega.
