A new report has revealed that emigration in Kerry is seriously affecting the County’s ability to field full teams at under-age level, according to Wednesday's edition of the Irish Examiner.
A sub-committee established by the Kerry County Board has been investigating rural depopulation in the Kingdom and has revealed damning statistics about the underage game in the 36-time All-Ireland football winning county.
The sub-committee has revealed that 23 of the 76 Kerry clubs have an average of eight boys per class in their local primary schools. Further to this, eight of those 23 clubs have less than an average of five boys per class in their local primary schools.
Surprisingly, six of the clubs are located in the South Kerry area – a traditional stronghold for football in the county. The logical outcome of these findings is that the 23 clubs will have to join forces in fielding underage teams in the future.
At minor level, less than four out of ten (37%) clubs in the county are able to field 15-a-side football teams this year. The comparison of 69% of clubs fielding 15-a-side football teams in 1998 offers a stark comparison.
Joseph McCrohan, who chaired the sub-committee said: "We were asked by the Kerry County Board to look at this issue which has become more significant in the county in recent years.
“There is a definite problem there for small rural clubs in Kerry and this needs to be addressed. The number of young players coming through to senior teams is narrowing the whole time. The key reason for that is the lack of jobs out there and the emigration that is ensuing as a result of that.
"We have asked that job creation in rural parts of the county now become a priority for the county committee. For instance we’re suggesting that the county board, district boards and every club encourage GAA members to become members in local development organisations.
"If the situation worsens, it could have serious consequences for the Kerry senior teams down the line.
“If you look at Kerry All-Ireland winning teams, it has been a common occurrence for some of the county’s best footballers to have come from small rural clubs, in areas in the south and north of the county for instance.
“But there is the prospect that will stop happening as these clubs won’t have the players to supply to county teams. The Kerry county teams would then largely be drawn from the urban areas in the county."
The Kerry County Board is set to examine the recommendations of the report with the hope of implementing them in 2012.
