THE senior county championship win was rightly celebrated, but there was also a tinge of sadness to Lixnaw’s Victory Social in Ballyroe Heights Hotel on Saturday night.

Around 170 of the club faithful enjoyed a night of great food and music as they looked back on a year when they brought the Neilus Flynn Cup back to the parish.

The social was rescheduled from an earlier date in January, as a mark of respect to the late Eamonn Fitzmaurice Snr who passed away last month.

The club also paid a special tribute on the night to the late Paul Wallace, the club’s chairman who died unexpectedly in early October. He was also inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame, which was certainly a poignant moment for all present.

Continued below…

On the field, it was a great year for the seniors and an unexpected title for many as Chairman Mike Kelliher explained.

“At the start of the summer, nobody thought we would win the county championship as we had a number of players out and then two players were injured playing football. We then lost the opening game against Causeway. But we met them again later in the semi-final and beat them. It was an exciting final then, with a very exciting finish!”

“We have a new executive in the club and a lot of plans for the future so we’d be hoping to drive on from here,” added Mike.

The senior players received their county championship medals on the night and Shane Conway was honoured for his Man of the Match performance in the final for Lixnaw and his All-Ireland U21B Player of the Year award.

Three other clubmen who represented Kerry at that grade were also recognised — David Silles, Shane McElligott and Colin Sheehy. The Clubman of the Year award was presented to Patrick McCarthy. Scroll down for photos…