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Article April Week 2 2005
Pat Ahern, This is your Life

I was fortunate to be involved in a most deserved celebratory occasion last Tuesday night which took place in the town of Newcastle West, Co. Limerick, the man who was the focus of a ‘This is your Life’ style event was a person who forgotten by many has given magnificent service to Kerry as a footballer and has worn the green and gold with great distinction in championship fare at minor, junior and senior level.

Pat Ahern has been resident in that lovely Limerick town for many years and had only been retired as manager of The Bank Of Ireland there when serious illness struck him down as retirement stretched before him, Pat suffered a stroke, which now greatly impedes his total movement, nevertheless it is in adversity that he exudes all the great qualities he displayed as a player with club, division and county, great courage, a never say die attitude and a wonderful endearing cavalier attitude to life in general. Despite great health problems he is a tonic to meet and I can safely say that one comes away following a meeting with Pat greatly enriched and questioning one’s own preoccupation with minor problems.

And so it was that three great friends of his, hugely impressed with his continuous great outlook to all things in life decided that they should pay some small tribute to him as a little gesture of appreciation to what he had given to the local community and to football in the town since he settled down there. Family friends and former team mates travelled from far and wide to attend the surprise get together and literally packed Whelan’s spacious pub in Newcastlewest, the men behind this superbly organised occasion were, Pat and John Whelan and Seamus o Sullivan all life long friends of the Kerryman.

So who attended, well the following is my team including many legendary players who travelled from far and wide to pay their special tributes to Pat. Tony Lyons, Declan Lovett, Teddy Bowler, Derry Crowley, Tom Prendergast, Tim Doyle, Jimmy Healy, Patsy Joy, Frank Russell, Brendan Lynch, Pat Griffin, Patsy o Connor, Brian McCarthy, Tom Long, Billy Doran. Selectors present, Donie Sheehan, Gerry Savage, John Clifford, Fr. Kelly, (Glenbeigh). As the late ‘Bracker Regan’ would say, a gal-axy of stars.

Pat Ahern was born in Scart, Gortatlea, Ballymacclligott on June 13th, 1942, one of a family of eight, four boys and four girls, his father was a farmer and early memories were of playing football morning noon and night with the local boys, one of his brothers Dan went on to become one of Kerry’ greatest ever cyclists, in fact it is said that he was the greatest cyclist never to win the famed Ras Tailteann.

'I was always a great man to train’, Pat told me, ‘Dan and I would be up at six o clock in the morning to bring in the cows for milking, before this was done Dan would go off on a 80 mile cycle and I would do laps of the field until he came back, I did a lot of sprinting which stood to me later and I won a lot at the sports meetings around the county every Sunday and we would cycle to all those meetings, 100, 200, and 440 yards were my strong points’. Tadgie Lyne was his boyhood hero and he recalled marking him as a boarder in St. Brendan’s.

’Every Thursday The Sem. would play a town team and Tadgie was playing with the Crokes at wing ford ward, I was marking him and I was so in awe of him that when I got back to school I wrote home to my parents telling them that I was marking Tadghie, he was a great favourite of my mothers, my father said that fellow better forget about his football and concentrate on his studies, I was always first out to the Sem field for training before five o clock study, football was my life’.

Three years on the school senior team the first year he was only 14 years old, he spent time in Tralee CBS, then selected on the Kerry minors in 1959, defeat was their lot by Cork in the Munster final in Killarney, ‘I injured my shoulder weeks before the game, my father had some stuff for rubbing to the cows to prevent mastitis and I would rub that into my shoulder every day outside in the cow house and it did the trick, I played.’ Indeed I can vouch as goalkeeper on that team of 1959 that Pat played a blinder at wing back and was the star of the side. He played Kerry Junior the following Sunday and taking up a position in The Bank Of Ireland he was posted to Killorglin, joined Laune Rangers with whom he won 7 mid Kerry championships, The Kerryman Shield and Towns Cup.

He quickly caught the eye of the Kerry senior selectors, and following three trips to play in Wembley Stadium, National League and tournaments games all around the country Pat was playing his best football and in 1962 he was a regular member of the panel. Kerry played and beat Roscommon in that years final, he was handed the number 20 jersey, however when the medals were given out he was ignored, ‘I was bitterly disappointed, another player who had played in the semi final and was not available for the final was presented with the medal, I received an unofficial All Ireland medal inscribed with the words, ‘ In appreciation for services rendered from Kerry County Board’.

1967 was momentous year for the son of the Gortatlea farmer, he captained a star studded Mid Kerry team to county championship victory and later that same year he led Kerry to the Junior All Ireland Title in London, now resident in Limerick he played for three years with the county senior side while he played and trained Newcastlewest to divisional victories. What we have written here only scratches the surfaces of this exemplary mans sporting career, we may learn much more later in the year as he hopes to publish his book entitled, ‘Me and my Shadow’.

Pat is married to the former Mary Healy from West Kerry, they have three children, Micheal, Muireann, and Patrica who expressed their delight to me on the multitude of tributes paid to their father, it was indeed a night to remember and a richly deserved accolade to this exemplary Kerry footballer who gave years of sterling service to his county and well done to those three Limerick men who organised this remarkable tribute to a forgotten hero.

Billy Doolan’s Best ever East Kerry Side.
Billy Doolan has been a stalwart Kilcummin man all his life, he has served his club in all facets, as a player, mentor, officer and loyal clubman, his great knowledge of football in East Kerry can not be in dispute and with just three more selectors remaining to announce their best ever side before the final selection Billy’s selection makes very interesting reading indeed.
Peter o Brien, (Dr. Crokes)< Derry Crowley, (Glenflesk), Mike McCarthy,(Kilcummin), Seamus Moynihan, (Glenflesk), Donie oSullivan, (Spa), Tim Sheehan, (Kilcummin), Pat Casey, (Spa), Ambrose o Donovan,(Gneeveguilla), Tadghie Lyne, (Dr. Crokes), Mick Gleeson, (Spa), John Saunders,(Rathmore), Pat o Shea, (Dr. Crokes), Tom Long,(Dr. Crokes), Colm Cooper,(Dr. Crokes),
Subs. Peter o Leary, (Legion), Dan o Keeffe, (Gneeveguilla), Tom o Sullivan, (Rathmore), Noel O Leary, (Dr. Crokes), Diarmuid o Donoghue, (Legion), John Crowley,(Glenflesk).