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Post by Mickmack on Dec 15, 2014 19:04:27 GMT
No more than anyone I suppose, I was down hearted when Colm Coopers season ended on a muddy field in February. Whatever hopes Kerry had in 2014 looked doomed that day.
Shortly afterwards, good ould TG4 showed two games on Saturdays that lifted the spirits and suddenly Kerrys medium term future looked bright. One was the final of the Hogan Cup and the other was the final of the Sigerson Cup.
PCD were simply a revelation. Eamonn Fitzmaurice outwitted his opponent that day and the second half performance reflected his ability to get everyone pulling together in a collective effort. PCDs decision to offer a replay after the black card error showed the mark of the man.
The performances by Bryan Kelly in goal and especially Paul Geaney as captain in the Sigerson final was exceptional and showed massive leadership potential in both.
About six of the PCD team went on to win the All Ireland with Kerry and of course the minor county championship was won too by Dingle.
Paul Geaney delivered when it mattered and while his goal in the final will always be remembered, his final point in Limerick while holding his man at bay must surely be the point of the year. All of this in a year that his mother passed away. A remarkable man surely.
When Sam was presented, An Pocar Buille was played in Croke Park and given that Dingle is mentioned in the song, it was entirely appropriate for me anyway as Dingle, Lispole and An Gaeltacht and PCD gave a lift to the spirits when twas needed.
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Post by ballynamona on Dec 15, 2014 19:41:12 GMT
Yes, Eamon made good switches at half time in the Hogan Cup.
There is definitely a good era in store back west if they can keep guys around. Dingle could well win a county title in the next few years.
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Post by Annascaultilidie on Dec 15, 2014 20:01:42 GMT
That is gas I actually played that today! On the anniversary of PO's untimely leaving, I wanted to bring myself back to the Hill with An Poc ar Buile blaring and the whole terrace rejoicing. I couldn't find any video from HQ but that was good enough. It was a special moment and an almost spiritual experience. |
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fitz
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Post by fitz on Dec 16, 2014 6:14:20 GMT
No more than anyone I suppose, I was down hearted when Colm Coopers season ended on a muddy field in February. Whatever hopes Kerry had in 2014 looked doomed that day. Shortly afterwards, good ould TG4 showed two games on Saturdays that lifted the spirits and suddenly Kerrys medium term future looked bright. One was the final of the Hogan Cup and the other was the final of the Sigerson Cup. PCD were simply a revelation. Eamonn Fitzmaurice outwitted his opponent that day and the second half performance reflected his ability to get everyone pulling together in a collective effort. PCDs decision to offer a replay after the black card error showed the mark of the man. The performances by Bryan Kelly in goal and especially Paul Geaney as captain in the Sigerson final was exceptional and showed massive leadership potential in both. About six of the PCD team went on to win the All Ireland with Kerry and of course the minor county championship was won too by Dingle. Paul Geaney delivered when it mattered and while his goal in the final will always be remembered, his final point in Limerick while holding his man at bay must surely be the point of the year. All of this in a year that his mother passed away. A remarkable man surely. When Sam was presented, An Pocar Buille was played in Croke Park and given that Dingle is mentioned in the song, it was entirely appropriate for me anyway as Dingle, Lispole and An Gaeltacht and PCD gave a lift to the spirits when twas needed. Great shout Mick. Can't remember which thread but I had Paul's point in extra time in Limerick as my point of year also. Not one but two men held of, the second one twice from a tough angle and distance at that stage of the game re: both fatigue but also more than any score that night, a match winner. For me it has no equal. |
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Jigz84
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Post by Jigz84 on Dec 16, 2014 15:32:37 GMT
No more than anyone I suppose, I was down hearted when Colm Coopers season ended on a muddy field in February. Whatever hopes Kerry had in 2014 looked doomed that day. Shortly afterwards, good ould TG4 showed two games on Saturdays that lifted the spirits and suddenly Kerrys medium term future looked bright. One was the final of the Hogan Cup and the other was the final of the Sigerson Cup. PCD were simply a revelation. Eamonn Fitzmaurice outwitted his opponent that day and the second half performance reflected his ability to get everyone pulling together in a collective effort. PCDs decision to offer a replay after the black card error showed the mark of the man. The performances by Bryan Kelly in goal and especially Paul Geaney as captain in the Sigerson final was exceptional and showed massive leadership potential in both. About six of the PCD team went on to win the All Ireland with Kerry and of course the minor county championship was won too by Dingle. Paul Geaney delivered when it mattered and while his goal in the final will always be remembered, his final point in Limerick while holding his man at bay must surely be the point of the year. All of this in a year that his mother passed away. A remarkable man surely. When Sam was presented, An Pocar Buille was played in Croke Park and given that Dingle is mentioned in the song, it was entirely appropriate for me anyway as Dingle, Lispole and An Gaeltacht and PCD gave a lift to the spirits when twas needed. Great shout Mick. Can't remember which thread but I had Paul's point in extra time in Limerick as my point of year also. Not one but two men held of, the second one twice from a tough angle and distance at that stage of the game re: both fatigue but also more than any score that night, a match winner. For me it has no equal. Love watching that point, hasn't been fully appreciated in my opinion. To do what Paul did, when the pressure was on, with 3 Mayo men hanging off him, what a score, hair standing up thinking about the roar that went up from the Kerry crowd after it!!!!!! |
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Jigz84
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Post by Jigz84 on Dec 17, 2014 14:09:11 GMT
Pauls' Point
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animal
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Post by animal on Dec 17, 2014 14:17:44 GMT
Paul's point is my point of the year.
Having said that I looked at the video linked above. Michael Murphy's point at No.2 is incredible. Some strike.
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Post by Annascaultilidie on Dec 17, 2014 14:28:12 GMT
Paul's point is my point of the year. Even more so because he had been taken off. Rock solid confidence. |
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Post by buck02 on Dec 17, 2014 18:37:06 GMT
Personally I would have Leary's point against Mayo in Croke Park as the point of the year. Barely on the pitch, got the ball, quick look, over the black spot.There would have been no replay in Limerick without it.
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Post by southward on Dec 17, 2014 22:26:04 GMT
For me, Jonathan Lyne's first point was outrageous in its context. Not a regular (is it his first championship appearance of the year ?) and he's only on the pitch a few minutes. It's a draw game and it's at boiling point; then he goes and takes on a strike like that. Probably would have been slated if he missed. Ballsy or what ?
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Post by southward on Dec 17, 2014 22:34:00 GMT
Been watching our 2014 games again on the DVD. What struck me most was our point shooting. Up until the Mayo replay it was great but in the last 2 games we went to the dogs a bit in that department. Should have won those games a lot easier but, particularly in the first quarter of the replay and for large chunks of the final, we couldn't hit a barn door. Nerves ?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2014 3:06:14 GMT
Personally I would have Leary's point against Mayo in Croke Park as the point of the year. Barely on the pitch, got the ball, quick look, over the black spot.There would have been no replay in Limerick without it. This for me also. If this was missed, we are gone and it was far from a gimme. the others mentioned were not as critical in terms of timing. |
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Post by kerrygold on Dec 18, 2014 9:28:28 GMT
Personally I would have Leary's point against Mayo in Croke Park as the point of the year. Barely on the pitch, got the ball, quick look, over the black spot.There would have been no replay in Limerick without it. This for me also. If this was missed, we are gone and it was far from a gimme. the others mentioned were not as critical in terms of timing. I agree with this, it was a massive kick from Kieran O'Leary, point of the year. Kieran Donaghy has to get goal of the year. It suddenly became a monster moment and season defining opportunity. The finish was sublime. |
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Post by Mickmack on Dec 21, 2014 10:35:58 GMT
billy keane
Sister de Sales is the last of the Dingle nuns. She lives all on her own in the big, old Presentation Convent that was once home to 40 or more sisters.
De Sales has plenty of company. Jesus and the spirits of sisters past are always with her. De Sales speaks as if the spirit world is in the here and now. "I feel their presence in a very real way. My friends are with me and I pray with them as if we were all living together under the roof on the convent."
The heroes of the western world mind her at night. Dara O Cinneide and Paddy Kennedy are from different generations of Kerry football and De Sales has their photos framed on the walls of the little cell where she goes to sleep every night.
"I will always have Dara and Paddy to look after me," she laughs.
De Sales pours the tea in the little room she has made into her own holy place. The simple cross and tabernacle are her Sistine Chapel but there is another cathedral she longed to visit but was forbidden to do so for so many years, and that was Croke Park.
It was hard on her. For de Sales is known in Kerry as The Football Nun. Poor de Sales didn't even get to attend her parents' funerals when they died within a few weeks of each other. So how then could she go to football matches?
Coming up to her eightieth year, she hasn't a wrinkle on her open face. De Sales' friend, Maria Ashe from Annascaul, explains why, in just three words. "Fun, faith and football."
There's a lovely innocence about her, here in the winter half-light at the noon of a bedraggled day when the trawlers are tied up at the quay of Dingle but still bobble like corks in the swell. The grand old cut-stone convent, known as The Diseart, shudders and shakes with every squall.
Favourite
"Dara Cinneide is my favourite player," she says. "He's such a gentleman." And then with the young girl's giggle, she sighs, "Ah Dara, my darling." But it's all just a bit of fun.
De Sales procured a miraculous Holy Medal "from an impeccable source", in Medjugorje, just a few days before the 2004 All-Ireland final. Dara was captain that year. Under strict instructions from de Sales, Bean Ui Cinneide sewed the holy medal into her son's football shorts.
De Sales prayed all the way up to Croke Park and sang all the way home. Kerry won and Dara lifted Sam.
Then The Football Nun bounds up as if she's about to run for the ball. She acts a play from the day her nephew Johnny Horgan lost a county final with Feale Rangers. I was sitting near her back then. De Sales burst into tears at the final whistle.
The reverie is interrupted by the Angelus Bell. I'm embarrassed. I've forgotten most of the words but de Sales prompts gently. The Football Nun has as much time for the sinners as the virtuous.
There's so much more to her than football. De Sales works every hour God gives her. "Come on. I must look after the old people," she says, and I follow on. She's dressed in red for the Dingle team and de Sales walks as if she's marching behind the Artane Band.
We're given a lovely lunch at the Day Centre near the convent where the older people from all over the index finger of the Dingle Peninsula dine out. The sing-song at lunch time would lift your spirits. De Sales is older than most of the old people but she doesn't know that.
Their jobs are endless with the tending to the altar in Dingle church, collecting for charity, the minding of the housebound, and the listening. For a woman who talks so much, de Sales is a great listener.
But this is a sports column, sort of, and we only persuaded de Sales to talk if we concentrated on football. The real reason she agreed to an interview is my Auntie Kathleen was her mentor when the shy de Sales entered the convent.
"The Master of Novices said I was like a mouse inside a mouse hole, but I became a teacher and it was always in my head to coach football, but back in the old days it wasn't known for nuns to coach football."
She wasn't long getting over the shyness. Football was the spur, for de Sales knew All-Ireland senior finals are won in Babies Class.
"I used to let the children out to play in the yard and all I did was throw them a football and let them off. Well …but my God… but they used to go at it hell for leather , until the bell, and sometimes if there was a great game going on I would forget to ring the bell."
Three All-Ireland senior medal winners she trained. Tommy Griffin was the first. Paul and Mikey Geaney won All-Irelands this year. Four more of her boys won minor medals this year.
De Sales ventures back and forth like a time traveller.
"Paddy Kennedy was my pin-up before I entered. He was captain in 1946 and I listened to the match with most of the parish on the Daly's radio.
"Paddy had lovely curly hair and I had a picture of him in my room at home. When we were eventually given our freedom, I was brought by my friends the Crowleys from Ardfert to a Kerry game in Killarney. I thought I'd burst with the excitement.
"Paddy was at the game he put his arm around my shoulders and well… I blushed. " There's another giggle, and do you know, didn't she blush again, 50 years on.
She has had her tough times too. De Sales fought back from a stroke and she says it was her prayers to God not to take her that saved her, as she had so much more work to do. There's a toughness there also and she doesn't give in.
We tour the convent. The Diseart chapel is home to RTE's 'Other Voices' and to the most exquisite Harry Clarke stained-glass windows. I look in admiration as a rare winter ray, filtered by Harry, lights up the crib and the Baby Jesus.
We ask de Sales if she would have liked to have had children of her own.
"But I had so many children," she laughs. And then it's as if she's transported back in time again. The Nun rocks her cradled arms over and back.
"My niece Suzanne gave me her little baby Olan to hold while she was out shopping. He went off to sleep there in my arms and there was just the two of us. Ah but Billy he was lovely, and I said my rosary as the baby Olan slept. It was the most beautiful hour I ever had in my life."
The tempest stills to an ordinary gale. I ask de Sales to bring me to the nuns' cemetery in the grounds of the Diseart. A huge old copper beech covers the square grave. Her departed friends, the 75 sisters who lived and died here, are buried in neat rows under small white crosses, like you'd see in The Somme.
De Sales picks up a fallen leaf and shows me the space allotted to her. The last one in the nun's plot. Before thinking it through, I ask if she's afraid of death.
Natural
"No, not at all. Sure won't I be among friends? There's no need to be afraid. It's natural and just another part of our journey."
We stay a while to say a prayer. But you sense it's more than that. De Sales is chatting with her friends.
The Football Nun has no notion of going anywhere far away in the immediate future .
"I wouldn't mind staying around a while longer. There are still a few more All-Irelands to be won, if God spares me."
And talking all the time, the Last Nun of the Dingle Convent, links me out through the whispering spirits, and the loved-for gardens of her old stone home, to the Diseart car park.
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Post by glengael on Dec 21, 2014 12:05:52 GMT
I remember Peter Crowley coming forward and fisting a point about 5/6 mins from the end of the drawn semi- v Mayo. The minute I saw that, I said to myself- this is not 2011 or 2013 all over again. There is something very different going on here.
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Post by buck02 on Dec 22, 2014 14:25:13 GMT
The other night I watched the Kerry-Tyrone league game in Killarney this year. This was the game that if we lost, we were almost certainly relegated after being beaten by Dublin, Mayo & Derry before it.
Pa Kilkenny, Peter Crowley, Bryan Sheehan, David Moran and James O Donoghue were outstanding in the second half. Peter Crowley's shoulder on Cavanagh had me reaching for the rewind button about 10 times. That 2nd half was a sign of what was to come in the summer. But I just didn't realise it at the time.
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fitz
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Post by fitz on Dec 23, 2014 10:24:35 GMT
The moment the final whistle went in the replay with Mayo, I was never as convinced or confident we would win the final. Ironically Mayo played a huge part in or winning of Sam. I didn't see any so called expert/commentator appreciate those two battles for their true quality and value the victor extracted. Simultaneously the defeat of Dublin whilst a brilliant victory for Donegal, its contextual merits were undoubtedly overblown.
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