*Francie O’Halloran. Photograph: Burren Eye Photography
RUAN’s Francie O’Halloran has led Abbeydorney to back to back titles in the Kerry senior hurling championship.
On Sunday evening, Abbeydorney overcame Ballyduff 0-23 0-17 at Austin Stack Park in Tralee to be crowned county champions for the sixth time.
O’Halloran was at the helm when they ended a fifty year famine to win the Kerry SHC last season and they retained the title for the first time in their history when getting the better of the twenty five time champions. In the semi-final, they got the better of twenty six time champions Kilmoyley.
Defeated Ballyduff were coached by Clare’s All-Ireland winning goalkeeper of 2013, Pa Kelly who continues to line out with Inagh/Kilnamona’s second team and is part of their senior panel.
For their Munster IHC quarter-final, Francie will be back in his native county when they meet the winners of the Clare premier intermediate hurling championship on November 2nd.
Along with the two Kerry SHC, Abbeydorney under O’Halloran’s watch have won the North Kerry League, North Kerry Championship and County League this year.
Francis was in charge of the Roscommon senior hurlers from October 2021 to February 2023 and has previously been part of the backroom team of the Clare senior hurlers during Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor’s three-year tenure. He was goalkeeper coach of the Clare senior camogie side in 2021 when he also served as Bodyke intermediate hurling manager.
He had long signalled that this would be his final season with Abbeydorney. He said they brought the attitude shown in training to the final. “We coughed up a goal in the first half but we had a plan for Podge (Boyle) and it worked again this year but to a man our lads were excellent, you could see it last week in training they were bouncing and I’m delighted. I had said this was my last year so this is probably my last time on this field, we’ll see what happens in a few weeks time”.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these guys. Of course I enjoyed my time here but the driving is killing me and in fairness to work they’ve been great, we’ll finish out Munster and see what happens after that,” the Ruan man added.
Meanwhile, Cratloe’s James Hickey kicked off his tenure as Kilmallock senior hurling manager with a win in the opening round of the Limerick SHC defeating Patrickswell 0-23 0-18. He was part of the Peter Queally’s management with the team last season before stepping up to manager, their achievements to date include winning the county league.
Hickey who has been involved in the backroom team of Davy Fitzgerald managed squads in Wexford and Waterford has this year joined the management of his native Cratloe and they began their Clare SHC campaign with a 1-24 1-21 win over Scariff.
