A pivotal goal from James McCarthy helped Kenmare Shamrocks claim the Kerry Intermediate Hurling Championship title with a hard-fought 1-12 to 1-10 win over a spirited Lady’s Walk side in a pulsating final at Austin Stack Park.
The decisive moment came in the 21st minute of the second half when we were trailing by a point. Having been denied earlier in the game, McCarthy kept his composure and coolly slotted past Lady’s Walk keeper PJ Gorman to put us in front at a crucial stage.
Playing against the wind in the first half, we got off to the perfect start with “Man of the Match” Tommy Cronin slotting over two points in the opening minutes. Lady’s Walk quickly responded with 1-3 of their own, the goal coming from their full forward Shane Murphy. We battled hard, playing some nice short-passing hurling, but our finishing let us down, and we went in at the break trailing by a goal:
Kenmare Shamrocks 0-5 – 1-5 Lady’s Walk
Like the first half, we came out firing in the second with five quick points from Liam Palmer, Liam O’Sullivan, Eoghan McCarthy, and Aidan Crowley. During that strong spell, we were awarded a penalty, only to see Fionán O’Sullivan’s well-struck shot brilliantly saved by PJ Gorman.
The North Kerry men weren’t done yet and responded with three fine points of their own — all in the middle of a heavy downpour.
Entering the last ten minutes and still a point down, the turning point came when James McCarthy found the back of the net with a sweet strike. Lady’s Walk, to their credit, bounced back again, drawing level at 1-10 apiece by the 26th minute.
But we finished the stronger, with points from Fionán O’Sullivan and Liam Palmer sealing a famous and hard-earned win.
Kenmare Shamrocks 1-12 – 1-10 Lady’s Walk
Captain David Crowley lifted the cup to great celebrations, while Tommy Cronin was a worthy recipient of the Man of the Match award after a standout performance.
Team – Fionan O’Sullivan (1pt), Cillian Daly, David Crowley, Ciaran Crowley, Jimmy Lehane, Jamie O’Regan, Liam O’Sullivan (2 pts), Tommy Cronin (3 pts), Dylan Wallace, Eoghan McCarthy (3 pts), Aidan Crowley (1pt), David O’Brien, Senan Sheehy, James McCarthy (1 goal), Liam Palmer (2 pts)
Subs: Dan Lucey, Jack Wiggins, Griffin Wharton, John McCarthy, John O’Sullivan, Michael Tagney, Danny O’Shea, Darragh Sweeney, Tom Murnane, Eoghan Llywelyn , Cian O’Mahony, Sean Browne, Ruairí Burns, John O’Sullivan (Brendan).
Management Team: James Rochford & Ciarán Touhy
