THE Austin Stacks / Lee Strand Denis O’Connor Invitational U14 Football Tournament will take place this Saturday September 13th at Austin Stacks GAA club grounds in Connolly Park, Tralee.
There are 12 teams taking part providing a feast of football in the Under 14 tournament. They are Austin Stacks, Kerins O’Rahillys, John Mitchels, Na Gaeil, Ballymac, An Ghaeltacht, Churchill, Oranmore/Maree, Salthill/Knocknacarra, Nemo Rangers, Na Piarsaigh and Monaleen.
The matches will be played on the Main Pitch and on the Nuns Field, with group games commencing at 10.30am. Teams will compete for the Billy Breen Memorial Shield Final, the Abie Allen Plate and Denis O’ Connor / Lee Strand Cup.
This popular event, which is an important landmark in the club calendar, started out in 1986 as a 4-team competition for Under 13 football.
The tournament attracted widespread interest and soon expanded to eight teams. Then, in 2001, the tournament widened further to 16 teams and the Billy Breen Memorial Shield and Abie Allen Plate Competitions were added to the Lee Strand Cup Competition.
In re-launching the tournament in 2022, the Tournament Committee decided to change the competition to U14 and to proceed with a 12-team format.
2025 U14 Denis O’Connor Lee Strand Tournament organising committee pictured with Gearoid Linnane from Lee Strand and members of the Austin Stacks U14 team.