Industrious as ever and supremely accurate, Seanie O’Shea booted Kenmare Shamrock to safety and sent reigning county champions Austin Stacks packing from the senior club ranks in an absolutely thrilling club championship relegation play-off at a busy Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney this afternoon.
O’Shea was, as we have come to expect, almost faultless from placed balls – his haul included one particularly spectacular effort from distance and from the sideline – and his personal tally of eight points, two from play, gave his side the definite edge.
Veteran Kieran Donaghy, at the other end, sustained a significant shoulder injury which saw him sidelined for much of the second half but, game as ever, he returned and, even with the full use of one hand, he made his presence felt. It looked for a while that he would have to be carried from the field on a medical vehicle but he was heavily strapped by the physio team on the sideline and it allowed him to resume.
Three goals in a five-minute spell midway through the first half – courtesy of Stephen O’Brien, James McCarthy and David Hallissey – paved the way for this Kenmare victory but even with that cushion, they were tested right until the final whistle by a gritty Stacks’ side for whom corner forwards Shane O’Callaghan and Seán Quilter, Michael O’Donnell and Greg Horan at midfield and Jack O’Shea and Ronan Shanahan in defence stood out.
The three golden goals had Kenmare 3-5 to 1-8 ahead at half-time – Stacks’ goal coming from Michael O’Donnell – and as the second half resumed it really was still anybody’s game.
Both sides made their exit from the Kerry SFC at the quarter-finals stage but Stacks have been very badly impacted by injuries to key players with Kerry skipper Joe O’Connor at today’s game on crutches, big-fielding midfielder Brendan O’Sullivan wearing a protective orthopaedic boot on the sideline and Dylan Casey named as last sub though he did come on and certainly got stuck in.
Stacks rallied with a late surge and kicked five unanswered points – with substitute David Mannix really making his mark on the scoring charts – but thanks to O’Shea’s accuracy, Kenmare Shamrock hung on by their fingertips to register a 3-11 to 1-15 victory to preserve their senior status for next season.
Austin Stacks, meanwhile, exit stage left and it certainly wasn’t the high note that popular manager Wayne Quillinan wanted to finish on as he departs to become manager of the Kerry minor football team.
Kenmare Shamrocks: Kieran Fitzgibbon, Dara Crowley, Tommy O’Sullivan, Cian O’Sullivan, Dara O’Shea, James McCarthy (1-0), Shane O’Sullivan (0-1), David Hallissey (1-0), Kevin O’Sullivan, Jimmy Lehane, Seanie O’Shea (0-8), Dan McCarthy, Stephen O’Brien (1-1), Paul O’Connor (0-1), Tommy Cronin.
Subs: Pearse O’Brien for Jimmy Lehane; Jamie O’Regan for Paul O’Connor.
Austin Stacks: Wayne Guthrie, Colin Griffin, Barry Shanahan, Jack O’Shea (0-1), Paul O’Sullivan, Conor Jordan, Ronan Shanahan (0-1), Greg Horan, Michael O’Donnell (1-2), Armin Heinrich (0-1), Michael O’Gara, Conor Horan, Seán Quilter (0-4), Kieran Donaghy, Shane O’Callaghan (0-3).
Subs: Dylan Casey for Greg Horan (temporary); Gearóid Fitzgerald for Kieran Donaghy; Dylan Casey for Conor Horan, Joey Nagle for Barry Shanahan; David Mannix (0-3) for Paul O’Sullivan; Kieran Donaghy for Michael O’Gara.
Referee: Pádraig O’Sullivan (Firies).
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