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TWO Tralee GAA clubs are in with a great shout of winning a prestigious national sports club of the year awards run by The Irish Times.
Austin Stacks GAA and Tralee Parnells Hurling and Camogie Club are two of 20 shortlisted in the Best Sports Club in Ireland competition which received over 3,000 entries.
Killarney Celtic FC are the only other Kerry club in the shortlist of 20.
Nominations were made with written pitches that were not to be over 500 words and presented to judges, Grand Slam-winning rugby player Fiona Coghlan, the Irish Times online sports editor, Noel O’Reilly, and GAA journalist Jerome Quinn.
Here is an extract from Austin Stacks pitch which was presented by clubman, Stephen Fernane;
“I’ve given up two tickets to Alison Moyet for this, lads,” our manager shouted at half-time. It’s June 1987, and I’m 13 years old and playing for the club my father, and his father before him, loved with a passion. We stick together. My club is always there, always a place to go and understand why it is we love our own patch. No one gets cocky around here. Loving a club is a life’s journey, with highs and lows – a journey where many are called but few are chosen. I’d do anything for my club. Even give up two tickets to see Alison Moyet”
Continued below…
Rockies fans (seen here making their way through the streets of Portlaoise before the 2015/14 All-Ireland Club Semi-Final in 2015) are known for their passion of the club. Photo by Dermot Crean
For Tralee Parnells, underage trainer Carmel O’Shea-Maloney gives us a taste of the welcoming arms of the club.
“A young family moved to Tralee town from New York city. Summers had been spent playing baseball. It seemed natural to get involved in another stick-and-ball sport, even if our new home was in the heartland of football. Tralee Parnells Hurling and Camogie Club welcomed us, as it does anyone who wants to ‘come and try it’. Fast-forward four years: not many under-six teams can claim that their manager is from the hurling stronghold of Brooklyn!”
An underage Tralee Parnells team get some last minute instruction before they take the field.
Clubs will be whittled down to five and published on June 11. The Irish Times will announce the Best Sports Club in Ireland on Saturday, June 18th.
The winning club will receive €5,000, with a further €1,000 for another deserving entrant. Both awards are courtesy of the contest’s sponsor, the National Dairy Council.
The shortlisted 20
AUSTIN STACKS GAA, Kerry
CITY OF DERRY SWIMMING CLUB, Derry
CLL INIS MÓR, Co Galway
COMERAGH CYCLING CLUB, Waterford
CUALA GAA CLUB, Dalkey, Co Dublin
FALLS PARK COOLERS, Belfast,
KILLARNEY CELTIC FC, Co Kerry
FR SHIELDS CAMOGIE CLUB7, Co Tyrone
KILLINARDEN ANGLING INITIATIVE, Dublin
LARKSPUR PARK, Co Tipperary
LARRY’S KICKBOXING CLUB, Carlow
O’HANLON PARK BOXING CLUB, Dundalk, Louth
PLURABELLE PADDLERS, Ringsend, Dublin
SHERIFF YOUTH CLUB, North Wall, Dublin
SKIBBEREEN ROWING CLUB, Co Cork
TEMPLEOGUE BASKETBALL CLUB, Dublin
TERENURE COLLEGE RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB, Dublin
TOURLESTRANE GAA CLUB, Co Sligo
TRALEE PARNELLS HURLING & CAMOGIE CLUB, Co Kerry
VIRGINIA RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB, Co Cavan
