McQueen names panel to compete at Kennedy Cup

THE West Cork Schoolboys League has announced the squad that will travel to this summer’s 2019 SFAI New Balance Kennedy Cup at the University of Limerick.

Danny McQueen will be in charge of a talented WCSL U14 group of players hoping to make their mark at the SFAI’s most prestigious annual schoolboys’ competition. 

Beginning on Tuesday, June 11th, West Cork faces a tough Group 2 opener against top seeds, the North Dublin Schoolboys League (NDSL). The following day, the outcome of a double-header with Limerick District and Roscommon District and Youth Schoolboys League (RDYSL) will dictate who West Cork face in the knockout stages on days three and four. 

This year’s finalised squad is drawn from the Ardfield, Bantry Bay Rovers, Bunratty United, Beara United, Drinagh Rangers, Dunmanway Town and Lyre Rovers clubs.

Bay and Bunratty form the bulk of McQueen’s Kennedy Cup panel with each side represented by four players. Former WCSL Player of the Year Dan Andrews is joined by teammates Callum McElhinney, Ben O’Sullivan and Tommy O’Sullivan who each played integral roles in helping Bantry Bay claim this past mini-season’s SuperValu U14 Premier League title.

Bunratty struggled to make an impact in that same division but Sam Pickering, James McKnight, Tom Ryan-Purcell and Sean Parsons’ consistency over the past two seasons has earned the Town Park quartet deserved Kennedy Cup call ups.

Darragh Gough netted 11 times during Ardfield’s U14 Premier League campaign, finishing runners-up behind champions Bantry Bay. Gough is joined in this summer’s WCSL squad by fellow Ardfield club mates Adam O’Regan and Colm Hayes. All three are capable of making valuable contributions at the University of Limerick.

Edward Myers has made a significant impact since joining Drinagh Rangers and he, along with Tom McQueen and Luke Shorten will be expected to feature prominently for West Cork in the opening group phase and beyond. Oran McCarthy and Shane Barry will represent Dunmanway Town in a Kennedy Cup squad where Lyre Rovers’ Conor O’Sullivan and Beara United’s Mikey Orpen are rewarded for their terrific club and inter-league displays with a place in McQueen’s finalised line-up.

The 2019 Kennedy Cup is only two months away and the West Cork Schoolboys League’s preparations will intensify over the coming weeks now that their squad has been finalised.

The 2019 West Cork Schoolboys League Kennedy Cup squad includes: Darragh Gough (Ardfield), Adam O’Regan (Ardfield), Colm Hayes (Ardfield), Dan Andrews (Bantry Bay Rovers), Callum McElhinney (Bantry Bay Rovers), Ben O’Sullivan (Bantry Bay Rovers), Tommy O’Sullivan (Bantry Bay Rovers), Mikey Opren (Beara United), Sam Pickering (Bunratty United), James McKnight (Bunratty United), Tom Ryan-Purcell (Bunratty United), Sean Parsons (Bunratty United), Edward Myers (Drinagh Rangers), Tom McQueen (Drinagh Rangers), Luke Shorten (Drinagh Rangers), Oran McCarthy (Dunmanway Town), Shane Barry (Dunmanway Town) and Conor O’Sullivan (Lyre Rovers).