Irish Examiner view: Kerry’s claim

 Mounthawk Park in Tralee, Kerry. 

Last Friday, the nascent Kerry FC successfully completed the documentation required in their quest for the FAI’s Club Licencing Process.

This was another landmark in the club’s journey to League of Ireland status and the hope within Kerry FC and the county at large is that their application will be successful and that the Kingdom, a soccer outpost in national terms, will finally bring its fruits to the top table of Irish football.

Of course, another brand of football has long been a near religion in Kerry and its denizens are used to — and expect — success at the highest level. But soccer is a horse of a completely different colour in the Kingdom and while there have been modest successes down the years at various junior grades, top-class soccer in Kerry has remained a pipe dream.

But, led by Tralee native and LoI stalwart Billy Dennehy and with backing from American investors, the bid to bring League of Ireland soccer to Mounthawk Park is gathering momentum. It is impossible at this stage of the proceedings to predict how all this will work out for Kerry FC, but the ambition and determination of the club is to be lauded.

It is impossible, too, to predict how Kerry may perform in the League of Ireland but, given the county’s history of sporting success, it would be very brave to envisage anything other than ongoing success.