The 1997 Kerry Senior Hurling Championship was the 96th staging of the Kerry Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Kerry County Board in 1889. The draw for the opening round fixtures took place on 27 February 1997. The championship ran from 18 July to 21 September 1997.
| Dates | 18 July – 21 September 1997 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 11 | ||
| Sponsor | AIB | ||
| Champions |  Ballyheigue (4th title)Nicholas Roche (captain) John Sheehan (manager) | ||
| Runners-up |  CausewayMaurice Carroll (captain) Francie Dineen (manager) | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Matches played | 11 | ||
| Goals scored | 32 (2.91 per match) | ||
| Points scored | 241 (21.91 per match) | ||
| Top scorer(s) |  Maurcie Murnane (2-28) | ||
| |||
Ballyheigue were the defending champions.[1]
The final was played on 21 September 1997 at Austin Stack Park in Tralee, between Ballyheigue and Causeway, in what was their first ever meeting in the final. Ballyheigue won the match by 0–13 to 0–05 to claim their fourth championship title overall and a second title in succession.[2][3]
Kilmoyley's Maurice Murnane was the championship's top scorer with 2-28.
Results
editPreliminary round
edit| 18 July 1997 Preliminary round | St Pat's | 1-05 - 6-19 | Abbeydorney | Austin Stack Park |
| C Mannix 1-1, T Hourigan 0-1, K McNamara 0-1, J Kennedy 0-1, J O'Sullivan 0-1. | P McElligott 3-3, I Maunsell 1-4, T Maunsell 0-5, T O'Connell 1-1, D Nolan 1-1, L O'Sullivan 0-3, B Sheehan 0-2. |
| 19 July 1997 Preliminary round | Causeway | 2-10 - 0-08 | Kenmare | FitzGerald Stadium |
| DJ Leahy 1-2, C Fealy 0-4, JM Dooley 1-0, D Harty 0-2, JJ Canty 0-2. | S McIntyre 0-3, J O'Leary 0-2, TP O'Connell 0-1, W Creedon 0-1, P Murphy 0-1. |
| 23 July 1997 Preliminary round | Lixnaw | 1-16 - 2-13 | Kilmoyley | Austin Stack Park |
| J O'Connell 1-8, J Maher 0-3, P Galvin 0-2, D McCarthy 0-1, T McKenna 0-1, P Cronin 0-1. | M Murnane 2-8, I Brick 0-2, J Walsh 0-2, C Walsh 0-1. |
| 31 July 1997 Preliminary round replay | Lixnaw | 0-09 - 1-16 | Kilmoyley | Austin Stack Park |
| J O'Connell 0-5, PJ McElligott 0-1, P Cronin 0-1, J McCarthy 0-1, D McCarthy 0-1. | M Murnane 0-9, O Diggins 1-0, C Walsh 0-3, M Regan 0-2, R Gentleman 0-2. |
Quarter-finals
edit| 8 August 1997 Quarter-final | Abbeydorney | 2-08 - 2-16 | Kilmoyley | Austin Stack Park |
| T Maunsell 1-1, L O'Sullivan 1-1, I Maunsell 0-2, T O'Connell 0-2, B Sheehan 0-1, L McCarthy 0-1. | C Walsh 1-4, M Murnane 0-5, R Gentleman 1-1, M Regan 0-4, O Diggins 0-2. |
| 8 August 1997 Quarter-final | Ballyduff | declared void | Austin Stacks | Causeway Grounds |
| 9 August 1997 Quarter-final | Ballyheigue | 2-16 - 0-12 | Crotta O'Neill's | Austin Stack Park |
| M Slattery 2-5, K O'Sullivan 0-3, N Flahive 0-2, G Frehill 0-1, G Lucid 0-1, B O'Sullivan 0-1, N Roche 0-1, WJ Leen 0-1, J Healy 0-1. | M Carlton 0-6, B O'Mahony 0-4, P Cronin 0-1, P O'Donoghue 0-1. |
| 10 August 1997 Quarter-final | Causeway | 3-05 - 1-11 | St Brendan's | Austin Stack Park |
| JM Dooley 1-5, P Spillane 1-0, JJ Canty 1-0. | D Leen 1-3, P Healy 0-4, M Casey 0-3, L O'Connor 0-1. |
| 16 August 1997 Quarter-final replay | Causeway | 2-08 - 1-10 | St Brendan's | Austin Stack Park |
| P Spillane 1-1, JM Dooley 0-4, D Harty 1-0, S Sheehan 0-1, C Harty 0-1, H McEnery 0-1. | S O'Loughlin 1-2, P Healy 0-3, M Casey 0-2, D Leen 0-2, N Clifford 0-1. |
Semi-finals
edit| 23 August 1997 Semi-final | Ballyheigue | 2-08 - 0-10 | Ballyduff | Austin Stack Park |
| B O'Sullivan 1-2, G Lucid 1-0, G Frehill 0-3, K O'Sullivan 0-2, S Higgins 0-1. | B O'Sullivan 0-4, P O'Rourke 0-3, L Boyle 0-1, K Boyle 0-1, M Hennessy 0-1. |
| 30 August 1997 Semi-final | Causeway | 3-11 - 1-12 | Kilmoyley | Austin Stack Park |
| JM Dooley 3-5, JJ Canty 0-2, DJ Leahy 0-1, H McEnery 0-1, S Sheehan 0-1, T Burke 0-1. | M Murnane 0-6, J McCarthy 1-1, O Diggins 0-2, M Regan 0-1, C Walsh 0-1, R Gentleman 0-1. |
Final
edit| 21 September 1997 Final | Ballyheigue | 0-13 - 0-05 | Causeway | Tralee |
| B O'Sullivan 0-8, M Slattery 0-3, G Frehill 0-1, E Flahive 0-1. | JM Dooley 0-4, C Harty 0-1. | Stadium: Austin Stack Park Referee: Kevin Leen (Crotta O'Neills) |
Championship statistics
editTop scorers
edit- Overall
| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maurice Murnane | Kilmoyley | 2-28 | 34 | 4 | 8.50 |
| 2 | John Mike Dooley | Causeway | 5-18 | 33 | 5 | 6.60 |
| 3 | Johnny O'Connell | Lixnaw | 1-13 | 16 | 2 | 8.00 |
| 4 | Mike Slattery | Ballyheigue | 2-08 | 14 | 3 | 4.66 |
| Brendan O'Sullivan | Ballyheigue | 1-11 | 14 | 3 | 4.66 |
- Single game
| Rank | Player | Club | Tally | Total | Opposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Mike Dooley | Causeway | 3-05 | 14 | Kilmoyley |
| Maurice Murnane | Kilmoyley | 2-08 | 14 | Lixnaw | |
| 3 | Paul McElligott | Abbeydorney | 3-03 | 12 | St Pat's |
| 4 | Mike Slattery | Ballyheigue | 2-05 | 11 | Crotta O'Neill's |
| Johnny O'Connell | Lixnaw | 1-08 | 11 | Kilmoyley | |
| 6 | Maurice Murnane | Kilmoyley | 0-09 | 9 | Lixnaw |
| 7 | John Mike Dooley | Causeway | 1-05 | 8 | St Brendan's |
| Brendan O'Sullivan | Ballyheigue | 0-08 | 8 | Causeway | |
| 9 | Ian Maunsell | Abbeydorney | 1-04 | 7 | St Pat's |
| Tony Maunsell | Abbeydorney | 1-04 | 7 | St Pat's |
Miscellaneous
edit- Austin Stacks were thrown out of the championship after objecting to the venue choice for their quarter-final game against Ballyduff.
- Ballyheigue retain the title for the first, and to date only, time.
- * Ballyheigue and Causeway face each other in the final for the first time.
References
edit- ^ "Club Titles - Kerry". Hogan Stand. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ "The 1997 County Senior Hurling Final". Radio Kerry. 21 March 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ "Ballyheigue can deliver". The Kerryman. 27 September 2001. Retrieved 7 August 2023.