Returning Kilcummin crew leading the charge as Cliffords and Fossa await

Kilcummin face the spectacular on Sunday. They face again the Clifford brothers and Fossa.

Kilcummin's Paul O'Shea breaks away from Ballymacelligott players Daire Keane (left) and Jack Joy.

James Foley and his Kilcummin management team decided last November they’d have one more go.

Impossible to walk away when the season not long concluded contained such visible progress. Impossible to walk away when they’d come so close.

Kilcummin were relegated from Kerry's senior ranks in 2020 after a short, two-season stay. They never went beyond the intermediate quarters over the following three years. 

In 2024, they didn’t even reach the quarters, failing to emerge from the group phase.

2025 was different. 2025 went further. They topped their group. The quarter-final did not trip them up on this occasion. 

The semi-final fence was very nearly cleared too, a pair of late Fossa goals the vital scores in a 3-14 to 0-20 victory for the club of the Clifford brothers.

What that scoreline doesn’t show is the three equalising goal opportunities Kilcummin engineered in the very dying embers. 

Fossa defender Eoin Talbot threw his body at the foot of the first. Shane O’Sullivan delivered point-black heroics for the second. The post kept out the third.

Close, close, and oh so close.

That defeat brought the curtain cruelly down on Foley’s third year in charge. He and his sideline crew could not walk away in such circumstances. 

They signed up for one final pony.

“The objective from the outset was clear. It was not that we wanted to get to the final. It was that we wanted to win the intermediate in 2026,” Foley begins.

“The management team decided last November that we would have one more go off it. One last effort to get across the line.

“Last year showed us how close we were. We lost the semi-final by a kick of the ball to Fossa. On the day we conceded three goals, and they cost us dearly.

“But it showed that the group was well capable of winning what is an incredibly difficult competition to win. We were also hopeful of getting a few players back this year, and that has happened, and that probably added to the belief in the management team and in the group as well, I would say.” 

Those returning were headline acts. 

Kieran Murphy is a former Kerry minor and U21. He was midfield on the 2018 All-Ireland junior-winning team that also housed a still-undiscovered Paudie Clifford.

Another returnee, Kevin McCarthy, played senior championship for the green and gold that same 2018 summer.

Any intermediate club outfit would be considerably stronger for the pair's return, not least one that had already gone close in their absence. The pair now command the centre and full-forward roles.

“Kieran was in New York and returned earlier this year. Kevin was in London, and he returned home with his partner and baby there in the middle of the year,” Foley continued.

“James Nagle was out injured last year, and he is back with us. At the time, we didn't know that Mikey Casey would transfer from Dr Crokes. As well as that, players who had been injured the last few years and had other commitments like Gary O'Leary and Noel Duggan [returned], Ian Devane transferred back from Dublin to work locally as well.

“We were also bringing other young players along. So, the feeling was that the group would be stronger. That's why we're more hopeful and more confident in 2026.” 

In a competition that is run off at breakneck speed - 36 days separate the opening and concluding afternoons of action - responsibility for keeping fit, fresh, and injury-free all those emerging and returning is the job of Podge Murphy.

The Kilcummin coach carries status far outside local borders. He is currently serving as Kerry GAA’s head of athletic development.

“Podge has been with us for the four years. His commitment to the group and the preparation he puts into the sessions is second to none. He strikes a wonderful balance between training and having a bit of fun. And the fitness of the group, it stood up well in the grueling battle with Glenflesk last weekend, especially in extra-time.

“Now, there were plenty of wobbles along the way to Sunday. We found ourselves down at half-time against Ballydonoghue in the opener. We found ourselves a point down heading into injury-time against Firies. We were a point down five minutes into injury-time against John Mitchels, where Brendan Kealy kicked a wonderful two-pointer to win it with literally the last kick of the game.

“We have been rambling away without being spectacular since then.” 

They face the spectacular on Sunday. They face again the Clifford brothers and Fossa.

“I believe in the group of players that we have and that's where our focus will be on for Sunday.”