There were a few flags flying at half mast in the town over the weekend following the early departure of Kerry from this year’s Munster senior football championship.

Cork proved way too strong for Kerry in the re-play, and the Kingdom has now retired to lick its wounds and plot for All Ireland glory later in the year. Ignore them at your peril!

Meanwhile, the unlikely pairing of Cork and Limerick will now contest the final on July 5^th.

Limerick suffered the ignominy of demotion down to the bargain basement of division four a few weeks ago, and the prospects of winning out in Munster seemed remote, with many (including this writer) predicting that Micky Ned O’Sullivan would soon be receiving his p.45.

However, they have picked themselves up magnificently, and victories over Tipperary and Clare have propelled them into the final and a shot at immortality.

Limerick have won two Munster titles (1887 & 1896) and clearly they are long overdue another one.

Cork looked impressive in their two games against Kerry and will start hot favourites.

Paddy Power prices them at 1/8, with Limerick 11/2. Clearly from these odds it would appear that Limerick have no chance whatsoever. However, Paddy mustn’t be reading his bible. Remember David and Goliath. The bookies took a bit of a caning on that one!

Limerick hurlers resume hostilities against Waterford on Saturday evening. And the Lions play the first test against South Africa also on Saturday, who are 1/3 to make a winning start to the series.

The US Open starts on Thursday with Tiger Woods favourite at 7/4, and few would bet against him. Rory Mcilroy is 35/1 and Padraig Harrington can be backed at 40/1.

And Ireland Cricketers were also very much in the news during the week and were shown live on Sky Sports as they performed heroics at The Oval, one of the historic bastions of British Empirical Sport.

Revenge for Croke Park, perhaps?

RACES; Abbeyfeale Horse and Pony Races take place on Sunday 28^th June at Relihan’s Inch, Kilcara. Over the past three years the committee has donated €20,000 to various local charities. The main beneficiaries this year will be the local youth clubs, and tickets are currently on sale at €5 each with a first prize of €1,000.

PARISH OUTING; This year the annual parish outing will be to Dingle on Wednesday, July 1^st. For further details contact Peg on 31232.
PILGRIMAGE; Those travelling to Shannon to join the Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes on Sunday, June 21 should contact Peg on 31232 to arrange transport.

GOLF; The latest outing of Abbeyfeale Golfing Society was to Kanturk Golf Club on Sat.13^th June. Winners on the day were: 1^st Rory Flannery 41pts. 2^nd Geoffery Fitzgerald 38pts. 3^rd Bill Blair 33pts.  After 5 rounds of Golfer of the Year competition the top three are: Declan Fitzgerald-162pts.,Paddy Fitzgerald-154pts.,Mossie Kelly-154pts. Our next outing is to Limerick County Golf Club, Ballyneety on Sat.25^th July. The weekend away to Dromoland Castle requires a €60 deposit by Aug.15^th to secure a place.

RUGBY; The Munster Branch will be holding a summer camp in Abbeyfeale Rugby Club, from the 13th of July to 17th of July. Boys and Girls from ages 6-13 are welcome to come to what should be an enjoyable week of fun. For any details you can contact the club on 068-30665 or our President JD Harnett on 068-31918. Win a signed British and Irish Lions jersey, which will be presented to your school by a Munster Lions Player . The winner will be the school which provides the most applicants to our Munster Rugby Summer Camps. Ask you teacher for an application form or download from www.munsterrugby.ie, and hand completed form back to your teacher.

ATHLETICS; Shane O Connell a member of St Ita’s A.C won gold in the long jump U/12 at the recent Munster athletic finals in Tipperary with a jump of 4.47m. He also finished 2nd in the 60m dash with a time of 8.82sec. Tomas Sexton competed with distinction in the U/13 section at the same championships