Three Kerry minors axed from panel

Three players have been dropped from the Kerry minor football team for the remainder of the season following their alleged involvement in two separate incidents of public disorder on the night of the Munster final in Killarney earlier this month.

Their removal was disclosed to county delegates at this week's meeting of the Kerry County Board, where county chairman Seán Walsh read a brief statement outlining their alleged involvement and as a result their exclusion from the minor football panel.

"As a result of information received concerning an affray on the night/morning of July 1st/2nd 2007, three members have been excluded from the Kerry minor football panel," said Walsh.

"These incidents were not concerned with team matters or functions. They are civil matters for civil authorities and therefore no further statements will be issued by county board or team management until the matters has been concluded by the appropriate authorities."

Walsh confirmed yesterday that the three players had all played in the defeat to Cork on the afternoon of Sunday, July 1st, but wouldn't be commenting any further - nor disclosing the identity of the players - while the legal matters were still proceeding.

Killarney Garda station also confirmed they are investigating two separate incidents that took place in Plunkett Street and Muckross Road in the town late on Sunday night, July 1st and in the early hours of the morning on July 2nd.

It has been reported that in the incident on Plunkett Street resulted in one man in his early 20s being taken to Cork University Hospital for treatment. The second incident resulted in two injuries, one of which also required medical treatment.

The removal of three players comes at a bad time for manager John Kennedy as he attempts to get Kerry's minor championship campaign back on track following the defeat to Cork, which saw them take Kerry's Munster championship crown.

Yet, Kerry come back into the championship at the quarter-final stage, and on August 4th will play the winners of this Sunday's Ulster minor final between Derry and Tyrone.

All 24 members of the panel had been advised to leave Killarney on the night in question following a team meal and a recovery session involving ice baths, and it is understood that all but the three players allegedly involved took that advice.

In his weekly GAA column yesterday, Jack O'Connor paid tribute to the Armagh football team of the last 10 years. A sentence in his article should have read: "they weren't a running-passing team like Tyrone. They were a kicking team."