The 1997 Kerry Senior Football Championship was the 97th staging of the Kerry Senior Football Championship since its establishment by the Kerry County Board in 1889.[1] The draw for the opening round fixtures took place on 27 February 1997. The championship ran from 24 July to 2 November 1997.
| Dates | 24 July - 2 November 1997 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 16 | ||
| Sponsor | Allied Irish Bank | ||
| Champions |  East Kerry (5th title)John Crowley (captain) | ||
| Runners-up |  Laune RangersTommy Byrne (captain) | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Matches played | 20 | ||
| Goals scored | 27 (1.35 per match) | ||
| Points scored | 420 (21 per match) | ||
| Top scorer(s) | Paud O'Donoghue (1-32) | ||
| |||
Laune Rangers entered the championship as the defending champions.[2][3]
The final was played on 2 November 1997 at Austin Stack Park in Tralee, between East Kerry and Laune Rangers, in what was their first ever meeting in the final. East Kerry won the match by 1-11 to 0-08 to claim their fifth championship title overall and a first title in 27 years.[4][5]
East Kerry's Paud O'Donoghue was the championship's top scorer with 1-32.
Results edit
Round 1 edit
| 24 July 1997 Round 1 | St. Kieran's | 0-12 - 0-10 | John Mitchels | Austin Stack Park |
| S McElligott 0-3, D Dennehy 0-2, R O'Rahilly 0-2, G O'Keeffe 0-2, J McGlynn 0-1, P Dennehy 0-1, S O'Connor 0-1. | A Moynihan 0-3, F O'Brien 0-3, G Dennehy 0-2, N Healy 0-1, J Fitzgerald 0-1. |
| 25 July 1997 Round 1 | Kerins O'Rahilly's | 1-08 - 0-11 | South Kerry | Austin Stack Park |
| M Fitzgerald 1-1, S Wallace 0-2, V Murphy 0-2, T McCarthy 0-1, P O'Connor 0-1, G O'Brien 0-1. | J O'Shea 0-4, M Fitzgerald 0-3, B O'Connor 0-1, K Dwyer 0-1, J Quirke 0-1, D Lynch 0-1. |
| 25 July 1997 Round 1 | Austin Stacks | 0-16 - 0-06 | Feale Rangers | Austin Stack Park |
| D Aherne 0-7, E Moynihan 0-5, D McEvoy 0-2, P Laide 0-1, K Kelleher 0-1. | E Fitzmaurice 0-3, E Galvin 0-1, A O'Brien 0-1, M Kelleher 0-1. |
| 26 July 1997 Round 1 | East Kerry | 1-11 - 2-08 | St. Brendan's | FitzGerald Stadium |
| J Murphy 1-2, P O'Donoghue 0-4, J Crowley 0-2, S Óg O'Leary 0-1, M O'Donoghue 0-1, D Daly 0-1. | T O'Connell 0-5, P Healy 1-0, B Clifford 1-0, E Ferris 0-1, L Harty 0-1, J Murphy 0-1. |
| 26 July 1997 Round 1 | Shannon Rangers | 1-10 - 0-13 | Killarney Legion | FitzGerald Stadium |
| J Kennedy 1-5, M O'Connor 0-2, E Hennessy 0-1, S McGinley 0-1, T Foley 0-1. | C O'Grady 0-6, J McGillycuddy 0-2, D Culloty 0-2, D O'Donoghue 0-1, B McCullagh 0-1, S Culloty 0-1. |
| 27 July 1997 Round 1 | Kenmare | 1-11 - 2-15 | Laune Rangers | Kenmare Grounds |
| K Moriarty 0-5, C McSwiney 1-1, B O'Neill 0-4, T Harrington 0-1. | P O'Sullivan 0-7, B O'Shea 1-1, T Byrne 1-0, G Murphy 0-3, P Griffin 0-2, B Gannon 0-1, L Hassett 0-1. |
| 27 July 1997 Round 1 | Dr. Crokes | 1-07 - 2-09 | Mid Kerry | FitzGerald Stadium |
| P O'Brien 1-0, R Neher 0-3, D Cooper 0-2, P O'Shea 0-2. | G McGrath 2-0, I Twiss 0-6, Martin Burke 0-2, Mike Burke 0-1. |
| 27 July 1997 Round 1 | Castleisland Desmonds | 0-08 - 1-11 | West Kerry | Castleisland Grounds |
| K Lynch 0-4, J Brennan 0-3, S Curtin 0-1. | D Ó Cinnéide 0-6, A Mac Gearailt 1-2, C Geaney 0-1, S Geaney 0-1, M Moynihan 0-1. |
| 1 August 1997 Round 1 replay | East Kerry | 0-15 - 0-09 | St. Brendan's | Austin Stack Park |
| Donoghue 0-10, D Daly 0-1, S Óg O'Leary 0-1, J Crowley 0-1, S Moynihan 0-1, T O'Sullivan 0-1. | T O'Connell 0-5, L Harty 0-1, A Murphy 0-1, E Ferris 0-1, B Clifford 0-1. |
| 1 August 1997 Round 1 replay | Shannon Rangers | 1-14 - 0-07 | Killarney Legion | Stack Park |
| T Foley 1-2, J Kennedy 0-5, L Weir 0-4, O Horgan 0-1, D O'Connor 0-1, K Boyle 0-1. | C O'Grady 0-3, S Culloty 0-2, D Culloty 0-1, J Cronin 0-1. |
| 1 August 1997 Round 1 replay | South Kerry | 0-08 - 1-09 | Kerins O'Rahilly's | Con Keating Park |
| M Fitzgerald 0-4, K O'Dwyer 0-2, D Dwyer 0-1, J O'Shea 0-1. | O Molloy 1-1, M Fitzgerald 0-3, V Murphy 0-3, M O'Shea 0-1, C Sheehy 0-1. |
Quarter-finals edit
| 30 August 1997 Quarter-final | Laune Rangers | 1-17 - 2-12 | St. Kieran's | FitzGerald Stadium |
| P O'Sullivan 0-7, MF Russell 1-1, T Fleming 0-3, B O'Shea 0-2, L Hassett 0-2, B Gannon 0-1, J Sheehan 0-1, | L Brosnan 1-2, S McElligott 0-4, R O'Rahilly 0-4, P Dennehy 1-0, G O'Keeffe 0-2. |
| 31 August 1997 Quarter-final | West Kerry | 1-08 - 0-11 | Mid Kerry | FitzGerald Stadium |
| S Geaney 1-2, D Ó Cinnéide 0-3, A Mac Gearailt 0-1, JJ Corduff 0-1, B O'Driscoll 0-1. | I Twiss 0-6, K Foley 0-2, G McGrath 0-2, G O'Connor 0-1. |
| 31 August 1997 Quarter-final | East Kerry | 0-13 - 1-03 | Shannon Rangers | Austin Stack Park |
| P O'Donoghue 0-4, MD Cahill 0-3, J Murphy 0-2, J Crowley 0-2, S Moynihan 0-1, D Daly 0-1. | J O'Connell 1-1, T Foley 0-1, K Boyle 0-1. |
| 7 September 1997 Quarter-final | Austin Stacks | 0-15 - 2-05 | Kerisn O'Rahilly's | Austin Stack Park |
| D McEvoy 0-4, D Aherne 0-3, E Moynihan 0-3, P Laide 0-2, C Kennedy 0-2, W Kirby 0-1. | V Murphy 1-2, S Wallace 1-1, G O'Brien 0-2. |
| 7 September 1997 Quarter-final replay | West Kerry | 2-11 - 0-08 | Mid Kerry | FitzGerald Stadium |
| D Ó Cinnéide 1-2, R Mac Gearailt 1-0, B O'Driscoll 0-3, JJ Corduff 0-3, A Mac Gearailt 0-2, F Ashe 0-1. | I Twiss 0-2, G McGrath 0-2, Martin Burke 0-1, Mike Burke 0-1, C O'Shea 0-1, J Daly 0-1. |
Semi-finals edit
| 5 October 1997 Semi-final | Laune Rangers | 0-17 - 2-09 | West Kerry | FitzGerald Stadium |
| P O'Sullivan 0-6, G Murphy 0-4, T Fleming 0-3, S O'Sullivan 0-1, P Prendeville 0-1, P Griffin 0-1, M O'Connor 0-1. | S Geaney 2-0, D Ó Cinnéide 0-4, A Mac Gearailt 0-1, JJ Corduff 0-1, D Ó Sé 0-1, G O'Driscoll 0-1, R Mac Gearailt 0-1. |
| 5 October 1997 Semi-final | East Kerry | 0-12 - 0-11 | Austin Stacks | FitzGerald Stadium |
| MD Cahill 0-4, P O'Donoghue 0-4, J O'Sullivan 0-1, C O'Connor 0-1, M O'Donoghue 0-1, S Moynihan 0-1,. | E Moynihan 0-7, D Aherne 0-2, P Laide 0-1, C Kennedy 0-1. |
Final edit
| 12 October 1997 Final | East Kerry | 0-12 - 1-09 | Laune Rangers | Austin Stack Park |
| P O'Donoghue 0-6, D Daly 0-2, MD Cahill 0-1, C O'Connor 0-1, J Crowley 0-1, D Moynihan 0-1. | L Hassett 1-2, P O'Sullivan 0-3, T Fleming 0-2, M Hassett 0-1, MF Russell 0-1. |
| 2 November 1997 Final replay | East Kerry | 1-11 - 0-08 | Laune Rangers | Austin Stack Park |
| P O'Donoghue 1-4, J Murphy 0-4, D Moynihan 0-1, MD Cahill 0-1, J Crowley 0-1. | P O'Sullivan 0-3, MF Russell 0-2, P Griffin 0-1, A Hassett 0-1, M O'Connor 0-1. |
Championship statistics edit
Top scorers edit
- Overall
| Rank | Player | Club | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paud O'Donoghue | East Kerry | 1-32 | 35 | 6 | 5.83 |
| 2 | Pa O'Sullivan | Laune Rangers | 0-26 | 26 | 5 | 5.20 |
| 3 | Dara Ó Cinnéide | West Kerry | 1-15 | 18 | 4 | 4.50 |
| 4 | Eoin Moynihan | Austin Stacks | 0-15 | 15 | 3 | 5.00 |
| 5 | Ian Twiss | Mid Kerry | 0-14 | 14 | 3 | 4.66 |
| 6 | John Kennedy | Shannon Rangers | 1-10 | 13 | 3 | 4.33 |
| 7 | Seán Geaney | West Kerry | 3-03 | 12 | 4 | 3.00 |
| Darren Aherne | Austin Stacks | 0-12 | 12 | 3 | 4.00 | |
| 9 | Jerry Murphy | East Kerry | 1-08 | 11 | 6 | 1.83 |
| 10 | Gary McGrath | Mid Kerry | 2-04 | 10 | 3 | 3.33 |
| Tom O'Connell | Mid Kerry | 0-10 | 10 | 2 | 5.00 |
- In a single game
| Rank | Player | Club | Tally | Total | Opposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paud O'Donoghue | East Kerry | 0-10 | 10 | St. Brendan's |
| 2 | John Kennedy | Shannon Rangers | 1-05 | 8 | Killarney Legion |
| 3 | Paud O'Donoghue | East Kerry | 1-04 | 7 | Laune Rangers |
| Eoin Moynihan | Austin Stacks | 0-07 | 7 | East Kerry | |
| Darren Aherne | Austin Stacks | 0-07 | 7 | Feale Rangers | |
| Pa O'Sullivan | Laune Rangers | 0-07 | 7 | Kenmare | |
| Pa O'Sullivan | Laune Rangers | 0-07 | 7 | St. Kieran's | |
| 8 | Gary McGrath | Mid Kerry | 2-00 | 6 | Dr. Crokes |
| Seán Geaney | West Kerry | 2-00 | 6 | Laune Rangers | |
| Cathal O'Grady | Killarney Legion | 0-06 | 6 | Shannon Rangers | |
| Ian Twiss | Mid Kerry | 0-06 | 6 | Dr. Crokes | |
| Dara Ó Cinnéide | West Kerry | 0-06 | 6 | Castleisland Desmonds | |
| Ian Twiss | Mid Kerry | 0-06 | 6 | West Kerry | |
| Pa O'Sullivan | Laune Rangers | 0-06 | 6 | West Kerry | |
| Paud O'Donoghue | East Kerry | 0-06 | 6 | Laune Rangers |
Miscellaneous edit
- East Kerry win the title for the first time in 27 years.
- The final goes to a replay for the first time since 1994.
References edit
- ^ "The beginning". Laune Rangers GAA website. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- ^ "1996". Laune Rangers GAA website. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- ^ "Laune Rangers '96 victory undoubtedly fed into Kerry ending All-Ireland famine in '97". The Kerryman. 17 March 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- ^ "1997". Laune Rangers GAA website. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- ^ "Four finals to remember". The Kerryman. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2022.