Kingdom clubs rocked by emigration

KERRY’s senior football championships, which kick off tonight, has been hit by a massive player drain, with up to 100 footballers set to miss this year’s championship.

With emigration the chief reason, nearly every team competing will be missing players, including holders Dr Crokes, who will be without six players.

With Mike Moloney and Shane Doolan both in London, Ambrose O’Donovan in New York, Fionn Fitzgerald in New Zealand, and Shane O’Neill and Niall O’Connell spending the summer in America, Dr Crokes’ plight is one that is echoed across the county by various clubs and divisional teams.