Pádraig O’Connor jets in from America to answer Killarney’s call

Had his life taken a different path then Pádraig O’Connor might have been preparing with the Kerry squad for Sunday’s Allianz Football League Division 1 final against Dublin.

Instead, O’Connor arrived in Ireland on Wednesday from San Diego and will complete the 16,000km return trip next week, hopefully having played his part on the pitch in getting Killarney Celtic to the final of the Aviva- and Umbro-sponsored FAI Junior Cup.

If that happens - and while Celtic will have home advantage in tomorrow’s semi-final, they face the might of defending champions Sheriff YC at 5pm – O’Connor will be making his third transatlantic voyage, and will have clocked up a staggering 48,000km for the cause.