Kennelly back in time to give Listowel a lift
The International Rules star, who retired from Sydney Swans at the end of last season after 10 years, jets back into Ireland this morning and is expected to line out for Listowel Emmets in their massive North Kerry football championship semi-final against Paul Galvin’s Finuge in Tarbert on Sunday.
Kennelly, 30, is returning home for a commemorative ceremony tomorrow to honour his late father Tim, who died in 2005. In honour of Tim’s sporting legacy, in which the Emmets great won five All-Ireland titles with Kerry, the roundabout located at the top of the Cahirdown in Listowel town will be renamed the Tim Kennelly Roundabout at a plaque-unveiling ceremony at 3pm.
Kennelly is then expected to line out for Emmets in their district championship semi-final.
“It was never planned that Tadhg would be home for the North Kerry semi-final but that’s the way it has worked out,” said Emmets chairman Mike Kennelly. “I am hopeful that he will tog out with us. It would be a great boost to the club and the lads if he was to play some part.
“He has played in nearly all the North Kerry championships over the last 10 years and it would be a great benefit if he could take part because we are going in as underdogs. We need any boost that we can get and Tadhg will be welcomed into that dressing room on Sunday.”
With former All Star footballer Kennelly set to play some part, it will only increase speculation that he may return to re-ignite his inter-county career with the Kingdom, having hinted during the International Rules series that he is considering a return to Kerry football.
Kennelly, who will be joined on this trip home by his fiancé Nicole Noonan, made a huge impression for Kerry when he returned to play a starring role in the Kingdom’s victorious 2009 championship campaign before he then returned to continue his AFL career for a further two years with the Sydney Swans.
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