![\"DEBUTANT:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4986701_8_articleinlinemobile_3373166.jpg\" "\\"DEBUTANT:")
DEBUTANT: Listowel’s Eddie Healy, seen here contesting an aerial duel with Monaghan’s Karl Gallagher, impressed in his first League start for the Kingdom. Pic: Piaras \u00d3 M\u00eddheach\/Sportsfile<\/p>\nAllianz FL Division 1: Kerry 1-18 Monaghan 0-7.<\/p>\n
THE bulletins from League Sunday training sessions in Currans are awaited with the same relish in Kerry as the Kingdom\u2019s matchday team announcements. This just in: Kerry\u2019s All-Ireland final halfback line of Brian O\u2019Beaglaoich, Mike Breen and Gavin White were among those cranking it up for March and beyond at the Centre of Excellence on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Add in Shane Ryan, Paul Geaney, Tomas Kennedy, Sean O\u2019Brien and Dara Moynihan, and the sense of the All-Ireland champions group tipping along with the top down and the music blaring is easy to conjure.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say we are pulling up trees now,\u201d cautioned Jack O\u2019Connor after as routine a Division One win as Division One gets against doomed Monaghan on a pig of an afternoon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In Jack\u2019s world, the first priority every spring is not to have a relegation to Division 2 on his cv. They say it doesn\u2019t actually matter, but no Kerry manager fancies having that bit of lead around their necks. With seven League points now and Mayo to come under lights in Tralee in a fortnight, a Division One final is certainly in Kerry\u2019s wheelhouse.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell after five rounds last year we only had four points, we are three ahead of that, we ended up fighting for our lives in the last two games. In these ones, a lot depends on who\u2019s available, I\u2019m not fully sure if seven points keeps us up this year \u2013 it didn\u2019t for Tyrone last season. I thought for a lot of this game we were lethargic enough, but we are doing ok.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Marginally more than that, perhaps. To tune into the spring narrative, Kerry are presumptive champions again, free-wheeling their way through the league, going down the gears – not up – to pick up another tyro or two en route to July. Of course, back to back All-Irelands have been a bothersome puzzle for the Kingdom since they annexed their last hat-trick in 1986 \u2013 only once since in 40 years have they followed a title with a Sam Maguire sequel \u2013 2006 and 07.<\/p>\n
But what 20-odd years at the wheel has given Jack O\u2019Connor \u2013 over and above encyclopaedic knowledge of his trade \u2013 is that finessed sense on the push and pull and the temporal rhythms of the spring-summer axis. When to give Eddie Healy a start, when to reintroduce Dylan Geaney. He doesn\u2019t get that wrong often.<\/p>\n
Tony Brosnan tweaked a muscle on gluepot training pitches during the week and O\u2019Connor wasn\u2019t going to have the same happen to David Clifford on Sunday so the great one was kept in reserve. He was given a run out after 55 minutes, with Kerry leading 0-10 to 0-6. He proceeded to help himself to 1-3 with a GAA hat-trick (goal, two-pointer and point), plus a pair of assists. For the goal he gave a returning Rory Beggan the eyes and just sat him down. Clifford walked through the media room as Monaghan manager Bannigan was picking the bones of their 14-point defeat. \u201cThe best player I\u2019ve seen play the game of football,\u201d Gabriel reckoned.<\/p>\n
DEBUTANT: Listowel’s Eddie Healy, seen here contesting an aerial duel with Monaghan’s Karl Gallagher, impressed in his first League start for the Kingdom. Pic: Piaras \u00d3 M\u00eddheach\/Sportsfile<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no capital in lingering too long on the action, such as it was. A Monaghan now in transition went with the howling storm in the first period but their scoring threats were negligible, especially from outside the arc. Kerry weren\u2019t bothered with the aesthetes; they played slowly and killed the clock and it said plenty that they were the ones going to the dressing room a point in front, 0-5 to 0-4.<\/p>\n
Maybe strange then to pick out two defenders but since getting tattooed by Roscommon\u2019s Daire Cregg first day out, full back Jason Foley has been back to his imperious best. \u201cHe\u2019s a tough man to shake off,\u201d O\u2019Connor agreed.<\/p>\n
Ditto Tadhg Morley who is hungry for work on the most competitive line in the Kerry team at half back. His auditions have been consistently good and he galloped forward for a nice point to boot.<\/p>\n
Mark O\u2019Shea was notably good in midfield, and Sean O\u2019Shea is so fundamental to all that is good about the work ethic of this group that it must remain one of the manager\u2019s chief conundrums \u2013 keep playing him or rest the man O\u2019Connor calls \u2018the spiritual leader\u2019. O\u2019Shea helped himself to four second half points.<\/p>\n
For Monaghan and their manager, Cavan in seven weeks in the Ulster Championship is where it\u2019s at. \u201cThe biggest thing, to take out of it would have been the spirited performance,\u201d Bannigan reflected. \u201cWe’re very much in transition. We had seven players in that starting 15 for whom it’s their first year playing in the National League \u2013 plus Aaron Carey who didn’t play any of the league games in Division 2 last year up to the final. The only sub with any experience we had in the 11 today was Jack McCarron. So, those numbers are staggering. We’ve got hit fierce badly with injuries on top of the three retirements and a couple of boys going travelling.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maybe they will look back at the takeaways from a tough afternoon in Killarney and use it as a reference point for their summer. \u201cI knew it was going to be a step up, but coming down to places like Kerry with that type of turnover, that type of transition, is probably not the way you want to be coming. (But) those new fellas, they’re getting experience, invaluable experience. This is some stadium and some pitch to be coming to play football in. Second only to Croke Park I would say in the country. So it’s a privilege to come down here with a Monaghan team to play Kerry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n Scorers for Kerry: D Clifford (1-3, 1 free), S O\u2019Shea (0-4, 3 frees), P Clifford (0-4), J O\u2019Connor (0-2), D Geaney, T Morley, K Evans, D O\u2019Sullivan, A Heinrich (0-1 each).<\/p>\n
\n Scorers for Monaghan: C Dowd, D Ward, K Gallagher, McGorman, Woods, R Hanratty, R O\u2019Toole (0-1 each).<\/p>\n
\n KERRY: S Murphy; P Murphy, J Foley, D Casey; E Healy, T Morley, A Heinrich; J O\u2019Connor, M O\u2019Shea; C Trant, S O\u2019Shea, G O\u2019Sullivan; K Evans, P Clifford, D Geaney.<\/p>\n
\n Subs for Kerry: T. O\u2019Sullivan for Trant (half time), M Burns for P Clifford (46), D O\u2019Sullivan for Healy (53), D Clifford for G O\u2019Sullivan (55), L Smith for D Geaney (62), D Lyne for O\u2019Shea (blood, 67).<\/p>\n
\n MONAGHAN: R Beggan; D McElearney, R O\u2019Toole, R Wylie; C Dowd, D Ward, A Carey; M McCarville, S Hanratty; K Gallagher, M Bannigan, F Carolan; O McGorman, A Woods, L McDonald.<\/p>\n
\n Subs for Monaghan: J McCarron for Carolan (half time), E Walsh for McGorman, R Hanratty for McDonald (both 48), D Treanor for Ward (64), R Mohan for S Hanratty (66).<\/p>\n
\n Referee: N Mooney (Cavan).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Allianz FL Division 1: Kerry 1-18 Monaghan 0-7. THE bulletins from League Sunday training sessions in Currans are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":324397,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4365,6937,42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-324396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-gaelic-football","tag-kerry-gaa","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}