Dingle captain Paul Geaney and teammates celebrate with the Bishop Moynihan cup after the Kerry County Senior Club Football Championship final match between Austin Stacks and Dingle at Austin Stack Park in Tralee, Kerry Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
The remains of the Dingle flag which was vandalised in Kilgarvan over the weekend.
The Dingle flag flying proudly in Kilgarvan by Tom McDonnell which was vandalised over the weekend.
It wouldn’t be a sight you would see too often – a Dingle flag hanging proudly in Kilgarvan village deep in south Kerry – but this week it was flying high ahead of the County Championships in one household at least.
Tom McDonnell, the now retired Kilgarvan garda, is originally from Dingle and was making sure he was out in full support of his home team.
He was only two years old when Dingle last won the County Championship so he was hoping he would get to see his home team triumph again, and he certainly did.
However, just hours before the big game, Tom woke to find his Dingle flag, torn down and that an attempt had been evidently made to burn it by what he believes was due to ‘youthful exuberance’.
The remains of the Dingle flag which was vandalised in Kilgarvan over the weekend.
“It isn’t a nice thing to happen,” he said.
“People are disappointed at the vandalism.”
He said he made the discovery on his way back from getting his Sunday newspaper and could see the marks on the flag
But he said he won’t let the incident mar the celebrations of the big win and in fact has already purchased a new flag to hang proudly outside his house, noting that inflation has not hit the price of a flag at least.
The Dingle flag flying proudly in Kilgarvan by Tom McDonnell which was vandalised over the weekend.
Tom – whose father was Dick Mac of the famous bar – played with Dingle in his youth and was born and bred on Green Street. He was overjoyed to see his team be crowned County Championships once again, some 77 years after their last win.
“There was a lot of emotional 80-year-olds on the pitch after the match in Tralee who shed tears of joy,” he said.
Tom travelled to Dingle for the homecoming on Sunday evening and is continuing the celebrations in this home town this week.