Probe launched as All-Ireland winner suffers 'broken jaw' in incident during football match

A PLAYER SUFFERED a broken jaw and significant head injuries in an incident with another player during a GAA football match in Kerry.

It is understood that Jack Kennelly, who won an All Ireland medal at minor level with his county, was injured in the incident at the 18 minute point of the match. The match was then abandoned.

The Journal has learned that a report is awaited by Kerry County Board about the incident that happened on Sunday during the Division Three match between Ballydonoghue and Castlegregory.

The incident happened during the match, and while Kennelly was standing on the pitch – he was not directly in contact with the ball at the time.

We contacted gardaí who said that there are no records of a garda investigation. A spokeswoman for Kerry County Board confirmed that they are aware of the incident.

“Kerry GAA are aware of the incident, they are currently waiting on the referee’s report. Once this report has been received the CCCC [Central Competitions Control Committee] will deal with the matter,” she said.

Advertisement

County League Division 3

Castlegregory 0:1 (1)

Ballydonoghue 0:0 (0)

Castlegregory lead by 1 point

18:43 1st Half

Game abandoned — Ballydonoghue GAA (@ballydonoghue) April 6, 2025

Martin O’Mahony, chairman of Ballydonoghue GAA Club, confirmed the incident and spoke of his clubs shock at the incident.

“What happened was serious and there’s a cloud around the parish over it.

“Jack, the guy injured, is very well known, very well liked. He’s self employed. It is confounding really, we have to wait for a report and go down proper channels.

“We are consulting with the club, and we’ve been in touch with the [Kerry] County Board and we’ve been dealing with [Jack's] family as well.

“We just want to say thanks to the people who looked after him on the field. There was a nurse from Castlegregory and she was top class. It’s a bad situation, and we are quite emotional about because he is so well liked, and his family are great servants of the club and we are just hoping that things are dealt with properly,” he added.

Castlegregory did not respond to a request for comment.

Click here to read article