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Munster Club Championship: Kerry have an unlikely - albeit willing - representative in this year's Munster club football championship as Milltown/Castlemaine travel to face Clare champions Kilmurray/Ibrickane this Sunday in Quilty.

The rules in Kerry regarding Munster qualification state that if an amalgamation of clubs, such as the Maurice Fitzgerald-inspired South Kerry, win the championship, the club competition (run in parallel) takes precedence. It meant Laune Rangers were dealt a cruel hand.

After losing the championship decider to South Kerry they had a mere week to recover before heading into battle with their local rivals in the club final. It was a challenge they were apparently not up for last Sunday.

Rangers were caught cold and now Kerry is represented by one of the most wonderful success stories of the year. The club that's situated on the road between Tralee and Killorgan were as surprised as the rest of us about being the Kingdom's standard-bearers. So much so, that they only started studying the form of Sunday's opponents last night.

"We know very little about Kilmurray as we were playing in the semi-final of the club championship against Kilcummin on the same day they beat Limerick's Drom Broadford," said manager Mike Hickey.

"Also, we didn't expect Laune Rangers to be beaten by South Kerry, but we will get some videos of Kilmurray and start preparing for them."

You see, Rangers were supposed to dispense with South Kerry and take their rightful place in the provincial draw. They didn't and Milltown-Castlemaine - without a single inter-county player in their panel - took their chance.

A club that only came up to senior football two years ago is now leading the Kerry charge, but there were plenty of warning signs of their progression.

For a couple of years before Hickey took over, the foundations were laid for this achievement by Pat Flanagan. This is the same man that Jack O'Connor now trusts with the physical preparation of Kerry. So, conditioning certainly isn't a problem down at Paddy Burke Memorial Park as the winning of the Division One title showed two years ago.

A former sprint champion, Flanagan also led IT Tralee to Sigerson Cup glory twice in the late 1990s, albeit with the likes of Séamus Moynihan in tow.

Hickey picked up the baton to bring events a step further, but trips to Clare are sprinkled in peril as last year's more feared Kerry champions An Ghaeltacht discovered.

Hickey pointed out they also go in search of respectability: "I hope they bring the same enthusiasm they brought into the Laune Rangers game. We want to show our pride. Pride in representing Kerry - it's something we want to do justice."

Before writing them off, the talent in this side must be noted. There may not be any household names but still plenty to watch for the future.

Mike Frank Russell was shut out from play the last day by Damien Murphy, while former Kerry under-21 Donal Kelleher kicked four points from play.

This year's All-Ireland minor finalists also donate two players to the team - captain Shane Murphy and centre back Ciarán Kelleher.

An unfancied Kerry team, have you ever heard the like?