Kingdom GAA chiefs accused of ‘lacking common sense’
The divisional side refused to fulfil their second round fixture against Mid Kerry — scheduled for tonight— citing the non-availability of 10 players from the Gaeltacht club who are travelling to Donegal for this weekend’s Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta.
West Kerry offered four alternative dates to fulfil the fixture with all four suggestions rejected at a meeting of the Kerry CCC last Sunday night, Mr Ó Fiannachta claimed.
The West Kerry chairman said the divisional outfit are “in a state of limbo” as they have received no correspondence from the Kerry executive as to when the game is now likely to go ahead. “When the round 2 fixtures were made last weekend, we contacted the Kerry CCC straight away as we knew we wouldn’t be able to field on Friday,” explained Ó Fiannachta.
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“A meeting was held last Sunday which our delegate, Derry Murphy, attended. We offered to play the game on Wednesday, and Thursday, Friday and Saturday of next week. Mid Kerry were agreeable to play, but all four dates were shot down at the meeting.
“Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta is a national competition and the dates of the tournament are flagged from the start of the year. We certainly weren’t going to be telling the Gaeltacht lads to be staying at home. They are playing in Donegal at 12 noon on Saturday and it would have been logistically impossible for them to play both games.
“Sometimes county boards lack common sense and you’d have to wonder is the county’s senior team the only team they care about.”
The fixture is expected to go ahead on the weekend of June 20, the same weekend as Kerins O’Rahilly’s are scheduled to meet the losers of the Milltown/Castlemaine-Dingle first round replay.
Meanwhile, the second round clash involving Ardfert and Feale Rangers has been postponed due to Kerry’s involvement in tomorrow’s Christy Ring Cup semi-final. Both teams requested Sunday’s game be put back on account of Kerry’s clash with Kildare.
Ardfert Chairman Joe Wallace said they would have been unable to field given four of their first-team regulars — John Egan, Darren Dineen, Rory Horgan and Davy Collins — are members of the Kerry hurling team also.
“It would have been most unfair to ask the four lads to play two big games on the one weekend. Thankfully that has not come to pass,” he said.
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