How Tralee CBS stitched back together its football identity 

After playing second fiddle to their neighbours, Marc Ó Sé says Tralee had to go back and work on their foundations.

CBS Tralee's CBS celebrate Hogan Cup semi-final victory over St Gerard's Castlebar. Pic: Dan Clohessy, Inpho

Identity recaptured. Irrespective of how the St Patrick’s Day spin to Dublin pans out, Tralee CBS is once again sure of itself and the school’s place in the local tapestry.

The strength of a classroom from one September to the next means sporting fortunes on the post-primary circuit are in constant flux. There is little permanency to either dominance or doldrum occupation.

One year, you’re not even the strongest school within a three-kilometre radius of your own front door. The next, you’re on the way to Croke Park for a crack at All-Ireland silverware.

Tralee was Mercy Mounthawk territory in recent years. Back-to-back Corn Uí Mhuirí titles in 2024 and ‘25. Back-to-back O’Sullivan Cup (Kerry Colleges SFC) titles the same two seasons.

Tralee CBS had no choice but to sit in the shadow of their neighbours' success. Mounthawk had become the 'it' school of Tralee town.

Theirs was no overnight success story. Their path to joining the Munster post-primary roll of honour began with Paddy Lane, Ben Murphy, Daniel Kirby, and Tomás Kennedy arriving into the school as unknown first-year talents at the end of the previous decade.

But while Mounthawk collected all available senior crowns over the past two seasons, Tralee went away and worked on their foundations. They had to reestablish who they were and what they were about.

Munster U15 ribbons, in late 2021, was followed by back-to-back U17 Frewen Cups in 2023 and ‘24. They hadn’t won the latter competition in 12 years.

And so here they are, heading all the way to Croker, unsure of what the day will bring, but absolutely sure of their local footprint.

“We are the one area in the whole county of Kerry where there are two feeder schools, ourselves and Mounthawk, and if you have a boy and a girl, you are more likely to send both of them to Mounthawk and have one school run,” Tralee CBS joint-manager Marc Ó Sé begins.

“In terms of ourselves, in the last few years we have probably found our identity again in terms of football. I think if you want to play football now, you are probably going to come to the Green, but it's taken time to do that.

“We have had great footballers down through the years, but if you are playing football in Killarney you are probably going to the Sem, in West Kerry you are going to Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne, in South Kerry Coláiste na Sceilge, so you will have teams that come through at various periods, like the Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne side that won two Hogan Cups.

“In that context, I think what we have done [in reaching the Hogan Cup final] is a huge achievement. We have a special group of players and they have shown great character throughout the year to do what we have done, considering that there are two big schools in Tralee.” 

Nick Lacey celebrates a goal against St Gerard's Castlebar. Pic: Dan Clohessy, Inpho

Today’s involvement represents the Green’s second-ever Hogan Cup final appearance. The team of Barry Johns - Keane and Walsh - fell comprehensively to Omagh CBS in 2007. It was the same Omagh nursery that bested Mounthawk in the 2024 decider. And it was another Ulster force, St Pat Maghera’s, who halted Mounthawk at the semi-final juncture 12 months ago.

Derry and Tyrone teams having the number of Kerry sides at minor, U20, and post-primary level needs no rehashing here. But you’d imagine there was some private delight when today’s opponents, Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar, edged Abbey CBS of Newry at the end of February to prevent the possibility of further Kingdom upset by Ulster’s hand.

For Tralee’s part, their own semi-final against St Gerald’s Castlebar, the same as the Corn Uí Mhuirí quarter-final against the Sem, forced them to come from behind and forced the collective to show more than just the absurd individual talent of Gearóid White, Mairtín McKivergan, and Ronan Carroll.

“When they have been faced with adversity in games, they have shown they have that kind of resilience you need to come through and prevail,” continued Ó Sé, who is also busy this weather with his first spin as the county’s minor boss.

“These things are very hard to win, we understand that, but we feel we have a team here of serious players, a good squad, and we have players who can come in off the bench.” 

Their footprint and their identity now include a hurl and sliotar. Last season, they ventured up into the Harty Cup. They’d have preferred to spend this year up there too. Instead, they find themselves in an All-Ireland Senior B final four days after the footballers try for their All-Ireland.

Eoin O’Flaherty, Mikey Corridon, and Ryan Hurley are starters on both.

“We have been very fair [to our dual players], and something that may have been a frustration previously, it's been very amicable. We've worked very closely with the hurlers.” 

A school that knows what it’s about.