Irish Sports Desk Kerry-Roscommon clash tops Sunday hurling bill

By Sean Creedon

The meeting of Kerry and Roscommon in Austin Stack Park, Tralee is the big game in the Church & General National Football League on Sunday. The counties share the lead in Division 1A with six points following impressive victories when the League resumed after the Christmas break two weeks ago. Kerry were too strong for Armagh in Killarney, while Roscommon hammered Dublin in Dr. Hyde Park.

Meanwhile two Ulster teams lead the way in Division 1B. Derry, the clear leaders are home to Meath, while Fermanagh, who had a surprise away win over Kildare two weeks ago, are home to Down. Northern teams traditionally do well in the League, but Fermanagh are a bit of a surprise packet.

NFL proposals on hold

It looks like the National Football League will survive for at least another season or two. The controversial plans by the Football Development Committee to integrate the National League with the championship, will probably be rejected by GAA Congress next month. Already several County Boards have voted to reject the proposals and now the four Provincial Councils say they are not in favor. Connacht Secretary John Prunty summed up reaction to the plans when he said that it’s "akin to throwing out the baby with the bathwater."

"Why tamper with the championship if there is a perceived problem with the championship?" Prunty said. "Why not try out a losers group, round robin or quarterfinals system as in hurling to try and solve the problem?”

Other provincial Secretaries are worried about a possible loss in income if the new proposals are adopted. So I think

we are stuck with the provincial championships for a while yet.

Keane commits to Nike

Roy Keane will play for The Republic in the Nike Cup in June. Last week the Irish captain confirmed that he will travel with the Irish party for the games against Mexico, the U.S. and South Africa.

Four years ago Mick McCarthy replaced Keane as Irish captain when he pulled out of the squad for the trip to the United States. However, the Corkman is now a much more mature person, he is captain once again and obviously realizes the need for a good example from the skipper.

O’Sullivan wins in Sydney

Sonia O’Sullivan’s decision to spend some time training in Australia has obviously paid off as she won the 10,000 meters with ease in Sydney last week. O’Sullivan’s time of 31:43:04 was 47 seconds inside the Olympic qualifying standard and the Cobh runner recorded the fastest time ever for the 10,000 metres on Australian soil.

Thirty-eight-year-old Laois runner Anne Keenan-Buckely, who won the National Cross-Country Championship for the first time last month, has been selected on the Irish team for the World Cross-Country Championship in Portugal later this month. Her feat is even more amazing when you consider that she had finished second in the National final on seven occasions.

O’Sullivan, is returning from Australia to run for Ireland, while the leading runners in the men’s team are National Cross-Country winner and runner-up Seamus Power and Peter Mathews.

Carruth bout postponed

Olympic gold medalist Michael Carruth’s world title bid against Javier Castillejo, scheduled for March 3, has been postponed. Carruth was due to meet the Spaniard in Madrid on Friday for the WBC light middleweight title, but Castillejo sustained an injury while sparring and the fight had to be deferred. Carruth, who had been training in Jersey took a pragmatic approach to the postponement.

"Obviously it has left me very disappointed," Carruth said. "But I’m not going to dwell on it. I’ll take a few days off and then get back into training. We are talking about a delay of a month, so, hopefully, the fight will go ahead by the middle of April at the latest."

Lowry future in doubt

The future of Westmeath football manager Brendan Lowry is in doubt. The former Offaly star got a six month ban when he went on to the pitch and appered to shoulder a Longford player in the recent O’Byrne Cup final. The ban prevents Lowry from having any involvement with the team and that could mean the end of his tenure with Westmeath.

Woman selector for Galway

Galway woman Mary Morrissey has made GAA history by becoming the first female selector of a senior hurling club. Morrissey, a native of Athenry, has joined three men on the selection committee of the Ballina Mitchells senior hurling team. Morrissey, who works for Dunnes Stores in

Ballina, travels back to Athenry every weekend to play camogie for her home-town club.

Imperial Call out

Imperial Call, who gave Ireland its first win for 10 years when he won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1996, is out of this year’s race. The 11-year-old has suffered training problems this term and has been restricted to just one outing.

Barry to quit Cork City

Dave Barry is retiring as manager of Cork City at the end of the season. The former dual-star who has been in charge of the Cork club for the last four seasons, announced his intention to quit at this stage so that City would have plenty of time to secure a new manager for next season. Already the name of Cork-born former Irish

international Kieran O’Regan has been mentioned as a likely replacement for Barry. O’Regan’s last job was as manager of Halifax Town and he is still living in England.

Tipp’s Barrett retires

Tommy Barrett has retired as Secretary of the Tipperary GAA County Board. Barrett, who had the job for 35 years, is replaced by Michael O’Brien.

Watson captains Ballybunion

Golf legend Tom Watson was installed as captain of Ballybunion Golf Club last week. Watson, who has been coming to the picturesque North Kerry course since 1981.

"This is my favorite golf course and one I love coming back to," Watson said. "I have enjoyed bringing people like Lee Trevino and Ben Crenshaw to play here. It has now become a `must stop’ place for many people.”

But his commitment to the US Senior Open means Watson will miss out on Ballybunion’s big event of the year, the Murphys Irish Open, which will run from June 30 to July 2.

Irish v. Barbarians

Ireland will face a star-studded Barbarians side in Lansdowne Road on May 28, just before they head off on the summer tour of the Americas. New Zealand’s Jonah Lomu and Australia’s Tim Horan are expected to line out for the Ba-Bas’s, who will also play Scotland at Murrayfield on May 31 and the English champions at Twickenham on June 4.

Kelly signs with Leeds

Republic of Ireland fullback Gary Kelly has committed himself to Leeds United for another five years. The 25-year-old Drogheda-born defender, who has been at Elland Road since he was 17, will also get a testimonial game from Leeds at the end of the 2001-02 season. What a change in fortunes for the young man. Last season he couldn’t get onto the Leeds or Irish teams and now he is back in top form.