McGRATH CUP:KERRY CLAIM being "harder hit" than other counties when it comes to player availability is the sole reason for their withdrawal from the McGrath Cup – despite being the defending champions.

Between various club commitments and colleges getting first choice on players, Kerry would have found themselves with a shadow panel, and that, according to selector Ger O’Keeffe, prompted the decision to opt out of this year’s competition, which gets under way on Sunday with three preliminary round games.

“We have a large number of lads playing with their colleges in the McGrath Cup, and overall we’re harder hit by the unavailability of players than in previous years,” said O’Keeffe. “We’re also without the Dr Crokes’ lads because of their All-Ireland club semi-final next month.”

As well as that, Milltown-Castlemaine and Dromid Pearses are involved in the All-Ireland intermediate and junior football semi-finals later this month, and this year’s East Kerry and Mid Kerry championships have yet to be completed, and are still at the semi-final stage.

Six of the 11 teams competing in the McGrath Cup are third-level colleges. In Sunday’s preliminary round games Waterford play IT Tralee, Clare play UL and Tipperary face LIT.

In the quarter-finals, set for Sunday week, CIT will play Waterford or IT Tralee, Cork will face Clare or UL, WIT will play Tipperary or LIT, and Limerick will play UCC – and with most of these colleges including some Kerry representation, the latter county’s withdrawal from the competition is perhaps understandable.