Article April Week 3 2005
Kerry set out on the long Voyage to retain
the Sam Maguire
And so Kerry have relinquished one of their national titles, the
league has been lost and all eyes are now on May 29th when Kerry
set out on the long voyage to retain the Sam Maguire, opinions differ
greatly as to what was best for the county as regards being out
of the closing stages of the league. On one hand it means that the
panel will not have another competitive match until they meet Tipperary
in May and the lucrative financial income which comes from the league
semi-finals and final has been lost. Another big game would have
given the selectors the opportunity to have one final decisive look
at some of the fringe players on the panel as well as giving them
the opportunity to show that they have what it takes on the big
stage. You can play all the challenge matches in the world but it
is well known that one highly competitive outing is a completely
different kettle of fish. The selectors I would imagine are still
a little unconvinced as regards the championship qualities of some
of the so called fringe players, league form can be very deceiving.
Of course you have the believers who will say that being out of
the league is a blessing in disguise because it gives the selectors
and trainer Pat Flanagan the opportunity to have more or less
a clear run into the championship, they will have met in conclave
since the Mayo game and planned their campaign right up to the
Tipperary clash. Training nights, challenge games, club matches,
county championships, weekend end collective training, forget
about holidays, births, marriages and deaths until the crusade
is finished and anything else that will effect the preparations
has been fully discussed.
The biggest fear of all is injuries to the big name players, or
should I correct myself there and say injuries were one time the
biggest fear of all, lets not forget that the two leading names
on the team were missing last year, Seamus Moynihan and Daragh
O Se were injured, missed the final and still the team rose brilliantly
to the occasion. Once again the old saying, ‘show me your
subs bench and I will tell you how good you are’, is a classic
example of a big panel with most importantly of all lots of big
match experience waiting to come on. However the management can’t
wrap the players up in cotton wool, the club is the corner stone
of the association and players will be lining out with their clubs
and injuries will occur, Darragh o Cinneide has been the first
causality, remember last year and that serious injury to Seamus
Moynihan in that county championship game in Killorglin.
One thing we can be absolutely certain, if Kerry get to the final
this year every scribe in the country will write about the final
of fifty years ago, that historic day when Kerry stunned the sporting
world and beat the so called Dublin machine in 1955. For me this
year the dream final pairing would be that of Kerry and Dublin.
Indeed I was fully informed of the significance of that now distance
day when I had the great pleasure of meeting two lovely ladies
at last Sunday week’s local derby in Tralee between Austin
Stacks and Kerins o Rahillys. John Dowling was the legendary Kerry
captain that day fifty years and two of his charming daughters
informed me that not alone did their dad lead Kerry to glory that
year but he also opened his nationally known shoe shop in the
town of Tralee.
This is a wonderful Kerry trait, linking up the day and year with
some happening in one’s life, you will always hear the phrase,
‘I remember the year well, that was the year Kerry beat
such a county in the final’, some one remained me lately
that this is called an association of ideas. (You learn something
every day). As for myself I was attending my first final and I
had just begun a life long association with my Legion club and
that final was of added importance to me from a Legion perspective
because we had a great participation in it. Jackie Lyne was a
selector, his first time as a mentor, he had been dropped sensationally
for the final the previous year against Meath and it caused uproar
in the county, indeed many felt that his demotion greatly upset
the morale of the team and could have been one of the causes of
what was a very disappointing display by the Kingdom. The Cleeney
man threw his hat into the ring for the selectors job in ‘55
and he romped home heading the p
oll. His fellow selectors that historic day were John Joe Sheehy,
Johnny Walsh, ‘Paddy Bawn’ Brosnan, and Michael o
Shea, (St. Mary’s Caherceiveen). And of course the trainer
was the one and only Dr. Eamon o Sullivan, a man we have often
referred to here in this little column.
Another of my club men with whom I would later play with and train
under was the late Gerald o Sullivan, while Gerald did not start
in the final that day in ‘55 he had played in the earlier
rounds against Waterford, Cork and Cavan and at the time was playing
outstanding football. Born in Ballycasheen, Killarney on the Woodlawn
road, his wife Joan and son Michael still live there, Gerald and
his brother Teddy had played in the Polo Grounds final of 1947
and had won county championship medals with The Legion in ‘46.
Looking back now in retrospect it is evident that his contribution
to Kerry football was immense, sadly he, like many more great
servants are quickly forgotten by later generations. In case readers
think that this is a parochial club assertion of my great clubman,
let me quote Mick o Dwyer from his excellent Biography and what
he said of Gerald.
Undoubtedly, the biggest influence of all on the South Kerry was
Gerald o Sullivan. A native of Killarney he took up duties at
Caherceiveen creamery in 1950 and from there on he gave unswerving
service to Caherceiveen St. Mary’s. With his striking good
looks, personable manner and wide spread popularity, Gerald o
Sullivan was a natural leader of men, In ordinary life a man of
gentle and self-effacing demeanour but once he pulled on a football
jersey he underwent a personality change.’
Mick o Dwyer credits him with being the guiding influence on his
young life, this, a truly remarkable tribute to an exemplary person.
‘ If ever I modelled myself on anyone, it was him. He was
a great footballer whose worth was never fully recognised, without
his guidance and encouragement I doubt if I would have come to
anything as a footballer, I owe him everything’. Trained
by Gerald South Kerry went all the way to the county final at
the first attempt and on October 13th 1955 they won their first
championship since 1897, they repeated this victory in ‘56
and ‘58. One of my most precious memories of my football
life is of playing with and knowing Gerald o Sullivan, one of
those people of whom you learn good things from and never forget.
Two more men from my club deeply involved in that ‘55 victory
were Johnny Culloty, well known to one and all, a man whom we
will return to in greater depth at a later date, he lined out
at corner forward that day and then there was Donie Murphy another
great profiled here in this column some weeks ago. Donie starred
at full back in that years Munster win, became ill after the match,
was diagnosed with tuberculosis, hospitalised and missed that
remarkable final. Donie now lives in Castlebar and when there
for the recent Mayo game I had a long chat with him, he still
has a passionate love for his club and county. So as Kerry attempt
to win the county’s 34th title what was achieved 50 years
ago will surly be recalled at many stages of the campaign despite
what I was once told by a prominent Kerry Gael, ‘forget
the past, that only puts pressure on the players’, to that
man let me say, it’s the past that put us where we are to
day, ignore it at your peril.
Fogra: Next week the Mid Kerry board announce their Unsung
Hero Of Kerry GAA. He will join Kilcummins Sean McCarthy and Kenmare’s
Tom O Connor, previous monthly recipients of this new award.
Weeshie's Week 
