Introduction:
Every year the Schoolboys Football Association of Ireland (S.F.A.I.) organises an Under 13 competition known as the Kennedy Cup. The competition is an opportunity for each of the various leagues affiliated with the S.F.A.I. to display their talent at youth level. Thirty two Leagues will be represented this year and it promises to be another tremendous tournament with the cream of young Irish football talent on display.

The West Cork Schoolboys League has been competing in the Kennedy Cup for the past seven years and represents one of the smallest leagues in the tournament. Some of the most talented players from this season’s Schoolboys leagues have been selected by a panel of coaches to represent West Cork in the 2007 / 2008 year's tournament.

Please select from the following links for more information on the West Cok Schoolboys League involvement in the Kennedy Cup:

Ger McCarthy

• Every year the Schoolboys Football Association of Ireland (S.F.A.I.) organises an Under 13 competition known as the Kennedy Cup. The competition is an opportunity for each of the various leagues affiliated with the S.F.A.I. to display their talent at youth level. Thirty two Leagues will be represented this year and it promises to be another tremendous tournament with the cream of young Irish football talent on display.
  
  

• The UMBRO Kennedy Cup is played between Leagues in Limerick University each June when under-13 year old teams representing all 32 Leagues compete over an entire week with additional competitions for those teams which do not advance in the Kennedy Cup itself.
  
  

• The competition is an opportunity for the best young Irish footballers to display their talents in a competitive environment. Organised by the Schoolboys Football Association of Ireland and sponsored by UMBRO, the Kennedy Cup is now recognised as one of the premier Youth football tournaments in Europe. A host of scouts from Premiership Clubs will be in attendance to run the rule over some of the country's most gifted young footballers.
  
  

• The Schoolboys Football Association is the governing body for under-age football in the Republic of Ireland and affiliated to the Football Association of Ireland. The SFAI has been in existence for over 60 years and currently has 32 Leagues affiliated from 1,000 clubs throughout the country under the control of a National Council and an Executive Committee with an Officer Board.
  
  

• The cup is named after Jim Kennedy who put in years of Trojan work at schoolboy level and commemorates the huge effort put in by Mr. Kennedy and the positive effect he had on schoolboy’s soccer in Ireland. Roy Keane took part in the Kennedy Cup back in 1984 and captained the Cork Schoolboys League side that eventually went on to win the competition that year. Other international players who have graced the Kennedy Cup in the past include Damien Duff of Newcastle and John O'Shea of Manchester United.

This year’s (2007) competition marks the West Cork Schoolboys League seventh consecutive year taking part in the Kennedy Cup. The West Cork selection represents one of the smallest leagues out of the 32 competing representative sides. James Walsh, Conor Uhl and Martin White make up the coaching staff for this year's event. Martin Henwood (Registrar) and Paddy McCarthy (Chairman) of the West Cork Schoolboys League are also heavily involved and will be travelling to Limerick with the squad. Declan Croke of Dolphin Transport in Skibbereen has been a tremendous support over the past couple of years and is transporting the squad to and from Limerick again this year. UMBRO are providing the kit (all navy blue) and tops for the West Cork side for this year’s tournament.

Three years ago, the West Cork selection reached the semi finals of the Kennedy Cup, their best performance in the competition to date. Steady improvement in recent years has seen the West Cork League remain unbeaten in the group stages of the competition. The West Cork Schoolboys have been drawn to face Mayo, North East Counties and the Midlands Schoolboys League. Each team will face each other once in a round robin league (Group 3). Winners of the group go forward to the quarter finals of the Kennedy Cup while the runners up qualify for the quarter finals of the Kennedy Bowl competition with all the other group runners-up. Finishing third qualifies a team to compete in the Kennedy Shield and finishing fourth enters a team in the Kennedy Shield Two competition.

Mayo Schoolboys League is the highest ranked team in Group 3 and according to the SFAI is the 5th strongest league in the country at the moment. West Cork are currently ranked 16th, Midlands 24th and the North East Counties 27th. Mayo are traditionally one of the strongest leagues represented at the Kennedy Cup and will be formidable opponents for West Cork. Coach, James Walsh, is happy with the West Cork side’s preparation: “I am delighted with the squad we have assembled this year and training has gone very well for us. The team has certainly gelled in the past couple of weeks”. James emphasises the quality of the squad rather than individual talent: “We are playing superbly as a unit without any individual players standing out. We are genuinely not looking beyond our opening match though and are just hoping the players perform to their best abilities.” James is under no illusions about the tough challenge facing his squad in an effort to qualify from Group 3: “Realistically we need to get something out of our opening two matches to take into the final group game with Mayo as they are definitely the strongest team in our group. We would expect that game to be our toughest challenge but we cannot take the other two sides (Midlands and North East Counties) for granted either”.

Preparation for this year’s tournament has gone well with a series of recent practice matches (including other Kennedy Cup qualifiers) providing tough opposition. The West Cork Schoolboys selection recorded victories over Tramore Athletic (Cork) and also the South Tipperary League. Jason Minihane (Bunratty), Rudi Henwood (Skibbereen) and David O’Brien (Togher) were amongst the goals in those games. The same side were unlucky to lose 1-0 to the Cork Schoolboys league last weekend but still managed to put in an encouraging performance.

Chairman of the West Cork Schoolboys League, Paddy McCarthy, is looking forward to the tournament: “The Kennedy Cup is the best soccer tournament for youngsters in the country. The competition is superbly organised with scouts from Premiership clubs in attendance every year.” Involved with the Kennedy Cup squad since 2001, Paddy is appreciative of the help and support from the each of the player’s parents: “We are every grateful for all the help and support from the parents who travel to Limerick for the tournament. The competition is taken very seriously but there is also an element of fun and we make sure the squad always enjoy their trip”.

It promises to be a fascinating UMBRO Kennedy Cup competition again this year with the West Cork Schoolboys League in with a realistic chance of qualifying from Group 3.

2007 UMBRO Kennedy Cup - West Cork Schoolboys League squad:

The West Cork Schoolboys League finished a remarkable 7th overall in the 2007 Schoolboys Football Association of Ireland Umbro Kennedy Cup.

The West Cork Schoolboys League is now officially ranked as the seventh best youth soccer League in the country thanks to a remarkable display in the 2007 Schoolboys Football Association of Ireland Umbro Kennedy Cup.

Every year the Schoolboys Football Association of Ireland (S.F.A.I.) organise an Under 13 soccer competition known as the Kennedy Cup. Thirty two Schoolboy Leagues were represented this year with the cream of young Irish football talent on display in Limerick University over a seven day period. Roy Keane took part in the Kennedy Cup back in 1984 and captained the Cork Schoolboys League side that eventually went on to win the competition that year.

The West Cork Schoolboys League has been competing in the Kennedy Cup for the past seven years and represents one of the smallest leagues in the tournament. Some of the most talented players from this season’s Schoolboys leagues were selected by a panel of coaches to represent West Cork in the competition. The coaches for the 2007 competition were James Walsh, Conor Uhl and Martin White with Martin Henwood (Registrar) and Paddy McCarthy (Chairman) of the West Cork Schoolboys League also heavily involved. Declan Croke of Dolphin Transport in Skibbereen has been a tremendous support over the past couple of years and transported the squad to and from Limerick.

Coach, James Walsh asked each club to nominate and send their best four players to trials for this year’s squad. After a series of intensive, specialised training sessions the final squad was reduced to nineteen players. The panel was made up of players from Bunratty United (5), Skibbereen (3), Drinagh Rangers (3), Togher Celtic (3) Lyre Rovers (2), Riverside Athletic (2) and Clonakilty AFC (1). The draw for the tournament was held at a recent meeting of the organising council with West Cork drawn in Group 3 along with the Mayo, North East Counties and the Midlands Schoolboys Leagues. Mayo were likely to provide the toughest opposition as they were ranked 5th best schoolboy’s league in the country coming into the tournament.

West Cork kicked off their campaign with a 0-0 draw with the Midlands Schoolboys League. A dull first half brought little in the way of goal-mouth action. West Cork changed from their 4-5-1 formation to 4-4-2 after the interval and created the best opportunities in the second half. Sean Evans and Daniel Twomey were to the fore but try as they might, West Cork failed to break the deadlock and the game ended scoreless. Best for West Cork included goalkeeper Patrick Rossiter and centre backs Dan MacEoin and Eric Crowley. Kevin Davis impressed in midfield in his Kennedy Cup debut while Daniel Twomey worked tirelessly up front. Coach James Walsh was happy to earn their first points of the tournament: "It was very important we didn't lose our opening match so I was happy to get a point. We could have won it in the second half but overall, I was delighted with the lad's opening performance."

West Cork secured their second point in Group 3 with a hard fought draw with the North East Counties. A second consecutive 0-0 draw was earned on the back of another solid defensive display. Eddie Goggin and Gearoid Barry each had chances in the opening quarter but found the North East Counties goalkeeper in excellent form. Dan MacEoin flashed a header just wide up the upright and that proved to be West Cork's best chance of the game. The North East Counties held out and the game ended in another 0-0 stalemate for West cork. Coach, Conor Uhl was pleased with his side's performance: "We were very solid at the back again today but just lacked that bit of firepower up front to win the match. I thought we dominated the game but failed to capitalise on all our possession."

The final Group 3 match between west Cork and Mayo took place later the same afternoon with both sides needing a win to progress. West Cork saved their best performance of the group to see off their much higher ranked opponents with an emphatic 3-1 victory. The game was West Cork's second in seven hours but goals from Kevin Davis, Jason Minihane and Gearoid Barry ensured West Cork's path into the quarter finals. Sean Evans crossed for Kevin Davis to open West Cork's account with a fine header after 10 minutes. Mayo fought back and equalised just before the break. West Cork were not to be denied and another pin-point Sean Evans cross was expertly converted by Jason Minihane to leave the score 2-1. Gearoid Barry made sure of the win with the clinching goal five minutes from the end to send the West Cork bench into wild celebrations. The historic win secured top spot in Group 3 and a place in the quarter finals for West Cork. Best for West Cork included Kevin Cormican, Sean Ryan, Sean Evans and Darren Sweetnam.

Donegal defeated West Cork by a single goal in the quarter finals of the Kennedy Cup on Wednesday the 13th of June. West Cork were always in the game and Eric Crowley, Jason Minihane and Eddie Goggin each forced world class saves from the excellent Donegal goalkeeper. Donegal used their superior physical strength to out-muscle West Cork for long periods and scored the only goal of the game with a header from their tall centre forward. Despite the 1-0 defeat the West Cork team put in their best performance of the tournament but just came up short against superior opposition on the day.

On the second last day of the competition West Cork fell to the Limerick Desmond Schoolboys League in the semi finals of the Kennedy Plate competition. Tiredness and fatigue had set in with the West Cork players drained from the Herculean efforts of the previous three days. Limerick ran out 2-0 winners which meant West Cork's final match would be against South Tipperary later in the afternoon to decide 7th and 8th place in the competition.

West Cork fielded a much changed line-up from their previous games with several squad players who had yet to feature getting a chance to shine. West Cork went 1-0 ahead with a fine Eddie Goggin effort. South Tipp responded well and deservedly went 2-1 up before the break. To their credit, West Cork refused to give in and Adam Collins scored from close range to level the game at 2-2. There was no further scoring so penalties were needed to decide the outcome. Eric Crowley scored the decisive penalty to secure 7th place in the competition for West Cork.

The 2007 West Cork squad deserve immense credit for achieving their second highest finish in the Kennedy Cup ever. Seventh overall is a tremendous achievement considering the West Cork Schoolboys League is one of the smallest leagues represented in the competition. One of the highlights for the West Cork side occurred on the second day of the tournament when they were awarded the "UMBRO Team of the day award" for winning Group 3. UMBRO presented West Cork with 6 footballs and a team kit bag for their achievement.

Coach, James Walsh was thrilled with his side's overall performance in the tournament: "I and my fellow coaches are very proud of this achievement. The players gave us everything they had and we played some excellent football throughout the tournament". James is already looking forward to next year's competition: "We (West Cork) will be seeded as one of the top eight leagues in the country for next year's tournament which is outstanding. Every player did what we asked of them and raised the profile of the West Cork Schoolboys League."

West Cork squad for 2007 SFAI UMBRO Kennedy Cup:
Jason Minihane, Sean Evans, Josh Lenz Lipitch, Adam Collins, Eddie Goggin (Bunratty United), Darren Sweetnam, Eric Crowley, Danny Allison (Drinagh Rangers), Rudi Henwood, Dan McEoin, Patrick Rossiter, Kevin Davis (Skibbereen), Daniel Twomey, David O'Brien, Mark Quinn (Togher Celtic), Kevin Cormican, Gearoid Barry (Lyre Rovers), Sean Ryan, John Daly (Riverside Athletic) and Shane Deasy (Clonakilty AFC ).

2007 UMBRO SFAI Kennedy Cup Results:
Mon 11th June - Group 3
West Cork 0 Midlands

Tues 12th June - Group 3
West Cork 0 North East Counties 0
Mayo 1 West Cork 3

Wed 13th June - Kennedy Cup 1/4 Final
West Cork 0 Donegal 1

Thurs 14th June - Kennedy Plate Semi Final
Limerick Desmond 2 West Cork 0

Thurs 14th June - Kennedy Cup 7th / 8th Play-Off
West Cork 2 South Tipperary 2
* West Cork won 8-7 on penalties