Kerry Football Club is an Irish association football club based in

Tralee Tralee ( ; , ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the River Lee') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in ...

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

. They play their home matches at

Mounthawk Park The Kerry District League (known as the Denny Kerry District League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league featuring amateur and junior clubs from County Kerry. The KDL is a winter league run by Adrian Casey. Its top division ...

. The club competes in the

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division, also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. The division w ...

, starting in the 2023 season, with an inaugural fixture against

Cobh Ramblers Cobh Ramblers Football Club (CRFC) is an Irish football club. The club, founded in 1922 and elected to the League of Ireland in 1985, hails from Cobh, County Cork and play their home matches at St. Colman's Park. The club's colours are clare ...

History

Early days

Participation from

in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

began when a team representing the

Kerry District League The Kerry District League (known as the Denny Kerry District League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league featuring amateur and junior clubs from County Kerry. The KDL is a winter league run by Adrian Casey. Its top division ...

(KDL) participated in the Eircom U21 League in 2002 and 2003, while Tralee Dynamos subsequently played in the third-tier

A Championship The A Championship, also known as the Newstalk A Championship, was an association football league featuring League of Ireland reserve teams and emerging senior teams. It was a third level league in the Republic of Ireland football league system. ...

between 2009 and 2011. Following the folding of the A Championship in 2011, Tralee Dynamos submitted an application for a licence to compete in the

for the 2012 season. However, their application was unsuccessful.

Underage leagues

The KDL resumed participation with the League of Ireland at underage level in the late 2010s, joining the Southern Elite Division of the Under-17 League in 2016 and subsequently that of the Under-19 League in 2019.

Senior side

It was announced on 22 June 2022 that an application had been made by Kerry Football Club, an entity comprising the KDL and a consortium led by

Brian Ainscough Brian Ainscough is an Irish football club owner and former player and coach. He was the owner of Dundalkhttps://www.dundalkfc.com/club-statement-takeover-complete/ and CEO of United Soccer League Two club Boston Bolts (USL). He was previously own ...

, Steven Conway and Billy Dennehy, for a licence to compete in the League of Ireland for the 2023 season. The application was deemed successful on 16 November, when Kerry were awarded a licence for the First Division. The club would operate on a fully

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

basis for the 2023 season, and play their games at

. Dennehy was announced as the club's first manager on 19 December. Later that same day,

Treaty United Treaty United Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Limerick. The club was founded in 2020 following the demise of Limerick F.C. and began playing in the League of Ireland Women's Premier Division in 2020 followed by th ...

midfielder Matt Keane was announced as the club's first signing, followed by Seán McGrath from

. The club's first ever competitive senior fixture took place on 17 February 2023, a 2–0 home defeat against

. The following week, Leo Gaxha scored the club's first ever senior goal, in a 3–1 defeat against

Bray Wanderers Bray Wanderers Football Club are an Irish association football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club in its present form was founded in 1942 in Bray, and was known until 2010 as ''Bray Wanderers A.F.C.'' It was elect ...

at the

Carlisle Grounds The Carlisle Grounds is a football stadium in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided ...

. Kerry secured their first point in the League of Ireland on 3 March, following a 1–1 draw with Treaty United at Mounthawk Park. Figures released upon the completion of the first series of First Division fixtures showed that Kerry had an average home attendance of 1,194, placing them fifth out of the ten clubs in the division, with all four home matches selling out. Kerry secured their first-ever win in the League of Ireland at the fourteenth attempt, with a 3–2 victory away to

Athlone Town Athlone Town Association Football Club is an Irish football club from Athlone who are playing in the League of Ireland. The club is the oldest in the League as it was founded in 1887. First elected to the League of Ireland in 1922, they play t ...

on 12 May, before recording their first-ever clean sheet on 2 June, following a scoreless draw with

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club is an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. They hail from Ballybofey, County Donegal and play their ho ...

Finn Park Finn Park () is a football stadium in Ballybofey, County Donegal in Ireland. The home ground of League of Ireland team Finn Harps, it has a 'safe capacity' of 4,200 with 351 seats. The first recorded Finn Harps game in Finn Park was in May 1954 ...

. On 17 November 2023, it was announced that Billy Dennehy had stepped down as manager to return to his original position of Sporting Director, with Conor McCarthy taking over as manager. On 24 November 2023, Brian Ainscough departed the club to take over ownership of

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

, pulling his funding in Kerry after 1 year with the club. The club qualified for the final of the 2023/24 Munster Senior Cup but lost out to

Waterford F.C. Waterford Football Club formerly Waterford United Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Waterford who play in the League of Ireland Premier Division. The club was founded and elected to the league in 1930. Originally the ...

First team squad

Technical staff

Women's team

In June 2023, Kerry FC announced the establishment of a women's football club, via acceptance into the EA Sports LOI Academy WU17's league for the 2024 season.

References

External links

* {{authority control 2022 establishments in Ireland Amateur association football teams Association football clubs established in 2022 Association football clubs in County Kerry League of Ireland First Division clubs Organisations based in Tralee Sport in Tralee