Clubs unhappy but burnout fears may hinder Kerry players' participation in district championships

Paul Murphy of Rathmore. The Kerry senior is on the committee reviewing county players' participation in district championships. Photo: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

A split season or a neverending season? The debate around burnout for inter-county players continues to rage in Kerry. And is no nearer to reaching a satisfactory conclusion.

We’ve been here before. The Kerry football structure is difficult to explain. Try describing the club championship to an outsider, quickly followed by the county senior championships that involve players from intermediate and junior clubs playing with districts and combos. By the time you get to district championships in November and December, you have lost the room.

Throw in the Munster Club Championships, in which Kerry clubs invariably survive until early December and one can understand why some intercounty players have begun to shout stop. 

On the flip side, these district championships are what the GAA are all about, are they not? Neighbour against neighbour, huge crowds, and excitement among the grassroots who want to see their intercounty man strut his stuff on the fields of North Kerry, East Kerry or Mid Kerry.

Last year Beaufort delegate Ken O’Sullivan lit the fuse when he asked County Board chairman Patrick O’Sullivan if he was aware that a letter circulating from members of the Kerry senior football squad seeking not to play in the district championships.

“Basically it is not county board policy to prevent any player for turning out to play for his club," the chairman insisted.

"I spoke to Jack O’Connor [Kerry manager] about it and he assured me that he had not issued any instructions to Kerry players not to play for their clubs.” 

He added: "I spoke to the Kerry captain [Paudie Clifford] and he told me that, yes they were hoping [the players] would not be asked to line out this year in the local championships.” 

Subsequently, the chairman set up a review committee which included coaching officer Joe Costello; Jason McGahan, Kerry's head of high performance; senior player Paul Murphy; Mike Sayers, the Mid Kerry chairperson; and Noel Kennelly, chairperson of Listowel Emmets at the time.

During last Tuesday night's County Committee meeting, Costello outlined what the review committee had found. 

“Our terms of reference were to examine the load and expectations on senior inter-county footballers and incorporate a clear end of season goal for these players. Review the involvement of such players in the district board championships and put in place appropriate guideline limits to ensure the welfare of the inter-county players are prioritised, while ensuring reasonable opportunities for district boards to run their championships.

He added: "Any such policy should have the players' well-being and welfare at its core priority, be flexible enough to allow for exceptional cases and circumstances, be overseen by a three person committee, a suggested one which will include, the county board chairperson, the county S&C or in this case, the head of high performance and a representative from the senior players."

Costello explained that the committee had considered correspondence from the Beaufort club outlining its concerns, as well as the findings of a GPA survey with the Kerry senior panel taken in January 2025.

Jason McGahan extrapolated some information from the GPA survey, some of which has been publicised already.

The most salient point was that 92% of the Kerry players believe that November should be a no-contact, no-training month for inter-county squads and players. While some 56% support reducing training and playing demands on inter-county players with the current amateur status maintained. Then 47% of players say four weeks off is not enough between seasons

As for their downtime, 67% of players revealed they had less than two weeks off after the end of their club season before returning to inter-county activity, 37% had less than one week, and 32% had two weeks. 

McGahan concluded that, based on 2024 figures, “in Kerry, 76% of players played 10 or more games for their club, over a third of the squad played 15 or more games for their club."

To add to the Kerry player load, Costello revealed there were eight in-house A versus B games during the season and a total of 70 pitch training sessions.

He revealed the committee's next move will be to meet district board chairpersons and secretaries and possibly CCCs to discuss player burnout and timing of competitions.

Frank Coffey from Beaufort was determined to state the club's view. 

“The Beaufort email was clear and was four square behind the idea that players should play in their district championships. That's number one. As far as I am concerned, the district championships are the lifeblood of local football and we would not want to see any change in the participation of county players in their local championships. If you take their intercounty player out of local championships, then you might as well get rid of district boards.

Coffey added: "I heard you say that the Kerry players had 70 pitch sessions and you talk about burnout. In the name of God, isn't that where burnout is coming from? Don't be looking at three or four Mid Kerry Championship games that Beaufort, or Milltown/Castlemaine, or Keel or Laune Rangers are playing that involve county players. 

"Get the statistics right. Only 2% of players play at county senior level in any one year. Are we going to completely clear the pitch for 2% and leave the other 98% outside playing lesser competitions that will not be economically viable without the intercounty player?”

Coffey was supported by a number of speakers, including Linus Burke from Milltown/Castlemaine.

Chairman Patrick O’Sullivan repeated that no Kerry player will be prevented from playing with his club in district championships but acknowledged the issue appears to be far from reaching a satisfactory resolution.