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Post by southward on Nov 30, 2019 13:02:42 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2019 13:13:08 GMT
He left it a bit late but I guess he has earned that right.
Dessie Farrell next in line?
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Post by Annascaultilidie on Nov 30, 2019 13:17:42 GMT
Santa came early 🤩🤩🤩
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Post by kerrygold on Nov 30, 2019 13:35:56 GMT
No big shock here. He was poxed to get out of Croker in the drawn game. I presume Cluxton will follow suit if he hasn't done so already.............
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Post by Annascaultilidie on Nov 30, 2019 13:40:01 GMT
No big shock here. He was poxed to get out of Croker in the drawn game. I presume Cluxton will follow suit if he hasn't done so already............. Oh shtop that would be amazing. Cluxton might not even announce anything.
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Post by gaelicden on Nov 30, 2019 13:44:09 GMT
It's our year lads 😉
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Post by taggert on Nov 30, 2019 15:02:57 GMT
Lets hope next year is...
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Post by sullyschoice on Nov 30, 2019 15:14:44 GMT
No big shock here. He was poxed to get out of Croker in the drawn game. I presume Cluxton will follow suit if he hasn't done so already............. Oh shtop that would be amazing. Cluxton might not even announce anything. He just wont turn up
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Post by onlykerry on Nov 30, 2019 19:04:04 GMT
Latest edition of the Kerry Jersey is out - the money game seems to mean we need a new revision of the jersey regularly to generate sales. The orange sleeve does nothing for me and is not true to the Kerry identity for me.
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Post by Mickmack on Nov 30, 2019 19:04:50 GMT
Jim Gavin is a high achiever in every respect.
His timing is very good too.
He is right to leave now.
He took over after Gilroy had broken the long famine and there was an abundance of money, talent and all sorts of things going in Dublins favour.
The foundations are there now and its just a case of keeping things on an even keel you would think.
Dublin will probably be in every final of the 20s and will win most of them in my opinion. Only Kerry look like having the goods to win a few of them.
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kerryexile
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Post by kerryexile on Nov 30, 2019 21:53:09 GMT
Firstly it must be said that he was a great manager. In his time he made a lot of very good decisions. Todays was another one of them. If it had been in his mind to go after 5 in a row he would have announced it shortly after the AIF. It is slightly late at this stage. He must have been vacillating and the fact that he has come down on the side of going is a reflection of what he sees on the horizon. There are a couple of players from other counties ready to cut loose.
Apparently there are only 4 candidates within the Dublin system that are up to replacing him. Its likely that this retirement will prompt a few other retirements. So the new manager will, at his first training session have lost a few experienced players and immediately be tasked with winning a sixth AIF in a row.
A lot of their younger player have been described in superlatives which I have always thought of, as yet, undeserved. Now we will see. Cometh the hour cometh the men????? Only time will tell.
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fitz
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Post by fitz on Nov 30, 2019 23:40:28 GMT
No big shock here. He was poxed to get out of Croker in the drawn game. I presume Cluxton will follow suit if he hasn't done so already............. KG - just don’t see how he was poxed in the drawn game. Thought we were lucky to get a draw based on the last 12 mins of game
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Post by Mickmack on Dec 1, 2019 17:56:49 GMT
Sport GAA Fixtures By Peter Branigan RTÉ Sport journalist
Dublin county board chairman Seán Shanley has admitted that he was "shocked" to hear that Jim Gavin had decided to step away from the five-in-a-row All-Ireland winners, and says that continuity is crucial when the new manager is selected.
Speaking to Brian Carthy on RTÉ Radio 1's Sunday Sport, Shanley says he heard the news early on Saturday morning.
"At nine o'clock, maybe half nine, I got a call from (Dublin CEO) John Costello," said Shanley.
"He was after getting a call, and Jim wanted to talk to him. John met Jim, and Jim told him he was stepping aside. 'Handing over the reins' is how he termed it.
"He simply said it was the right time to go, for Dublin. He felt it was the right time for him to go, and leave it to someone else to carry on."
With less than eight weeks to go before Dublin's opening Allianz League clash with Kerry at Croke Park, Shanley says the wheels will be set in motion quickly to find a suitable replacement for Gavin.
The County Board management committee will meet on Monday evening, before three of them will sit down with candidates who have declared an interest in the job.
Former Dublin player, and current RTÉ GAA analyst Ciarán Whelan said that Dessie Farrell was the leading candidate on Saturday.
Asked if he would like to see some of the outgoing management team involved, the likes of Paul Clarke, Jason Sherlock, and Declan Darcy, Shanley said they would be considered.
"I think yes, we would have to talk to them. Maybe it would be the best way of a bit of continuity," he suggested.
"He had a great backroom team. This wasn't the same backroom team that won five in a row. He's chopped and changed one or two new people in every year. I think that's what kept it fresh.
"I would love to see some continuity. I wouldn't like to see the whole lot gone. We'll have to ask them first are they're interested, and see is there one of them prepared to take on as manager."
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Post by ballhopper34 on Dec 1, 2019 19:09:24 GMT
The Moran’s of Dingle West Kerry Senior Football Championship Final will see holders Dingle play An Ghaeltacht in Páirc an Ághasaigh, Dingle this Sunday 1st December at 2.30pm. Final score: Dingle 0-20 An Ghaeltacht 0-9 ht 0-9 to 0-6 Man of the Match: Conor Geaney
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Post by ballhopper34 on Dec 1, 2019 19:30:18 GMT
From South Kerry GAA facebook: Walsh’s Supervalu South Kerry senior championship Quarter Finals Sat Nov 16th Valentia v Sneem/Derrynane @ 2:30pm Sat Nov 23rd Waterville v St Marys @ 2:30 pm (venue Ballinskelligs) moved to Valentia Sun Nov 24th St Michaels/Foilmore v Piarsaigh na Dromoda @ 1:30pm Sat Nov 30th Any replay or postponed game due to weather etc. Not needed. Sun Dec 1st Skellig Rangers v Renard @ 1:30 pm now refixed for Sat 30 Nov in Portmagee at 2:30pm. Semi final draw will take place after this game. Dec 7/8th Semi-Finals Sat Dec 14th Final Edit: Looking forward to Skellig Rangers and Renard draw on 1 Dec and play the replay on 30 Nov. Not sure of replay date if they draw on 30 Nov. Edit 2: 16 Nov Valentia 3-21 Sneem/Derrynane 1-6 Edit 3: 23 Nov St. Mary's 1-16 Waterville 0-7 Edit 4: 24 Nov Dromid Pearse 0-11 St. Michael's-Foilmore 1-4 Edit 5: 30 Nov Renard 1-11 Skellig Rangers 0-13 WALSHS SUPER VALU SOUTH KERRY CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI FINAL FIXTURES. Sunday 8 Dec. Renard vs Dromid Pearses in Con Keating Park at 1:30pm. Sunday 15 Dec. Valentia vs St. Mary's in Dromid 1:30pm. Final Sunday 22 Dec.
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Post by Mickmack on Dec 1, 2019 22:10:13 GMT
IrishExaminerOpen
Kerry's Clanmaurice take second chance for All-Ireland
By Kerri Murphy Sunday, December 01, 2019 - 04:09 PM Clanmaurice (Kerry) 3-6 0-6 Raharney (Westmeath)
A stunning second-half performance from Clanmaurice, crowned by 1-2 from last week’s hero Jessica Fitzell, secured the holy grail of the All-Ireland Junior Camogie championship title for the North Kerry side this afternoon in Nenagh.
Last Sunday at the same venue it was a magnificent solo score from Fitzell that gave Clanmaurice a second bite at the cherry and they seized their chance by firing 2-4 without reply when the game was in the melting pot, with Fitzell and Rachel McCarthy the goalscorers, adding to the first half major from Saidhbhe Horgan.
Raharney would have been the happier side in the early stages as they settled into the game far quicker than a week ago, when they were dominated by Clanmaurice in the opening half an hour.
At midfield they were far more competitive, giving their forwards a lot to work with. They ran into a brick wall in the shape of Clanmaurice captain Liz Houlihan at the edge of the square, who repelled wave after wave of attack, but three frees from Pamela Greville, two of them earned by strong running from Aoife Doherty, put them 0-3 to 0-1 in front after 20 minutes.
The heavy ground made it hard for either team to keep possession of the ball and to work through the lines, so Saidhbhe Hogan’s score after 22 minutes proved to be the game’s first from play. Hogan, along with Clodagh Walsh, was introduced to the team after coming off the bench last week and they combined for a crucial goal three minutes later.
Walsh’s shot for a point crashed back into play off the upright, and Hogan pounced to sweep it into goals. A point from Greville, another free, made it 1-2 to 0-4 at the interval, and they retained momentum after half time, drawing level through Andreanna Doyle in the 36th minute.
They never took the lead, however, with Laura Collins performing brilliantly as a sweeping midfielder, and once Patrice Diggin scored another point for Clanmaurice from a 45 in the 38th minute, the Kerry side kicked on in fine style.
Their crucial score came from Fitzell, who won the ball over the top of the full-back line, passed the ball to forward Walsh, and once the sliothar broke loose it fell perfectly for Fitzell to whip it into the goals, leaving Clanmaurice four points ahead. Laura Collins scored another superb point, Rachel McCarthy drove forward and after covering 50 metres of ground, fired in a decisive third goal in the 53rd minute, dropping her strike over Anna Weir’s head to push the lead out to nine points.
Even with all the heartbreak that the club had endured in recent years, they were never going to let it slip from there.
Scorers for Clanmaurice: J Fitzell 1-2, S Horgan 1-1, R McCarthy 1-0, P Diggin 0-2 (0-1f, 0-1 ’45), L Collins 0-1.
Scorers for Raharney: P Greville 0-5f, A Doyle 0-1.
Clanmaurice: A Fitzgerald; E Ryall, L Houlihan, M Costello; N Leen, S Murphy, Á O’Connor; P Diggin, R McCarthy; O Dineen, J Horgan, S Horgan; J Fitzell, L Collins, C Walsh.
Subs used: A Maunsell for Walsh (54), J O’Keeffe for S Horgan (57).
Raharney: A Weir; T Lynch, J McKeogh, M Carroll; A Shaw, F Leavy, A Doyle; A O’Malley, L Doherty; A Nea, P Greville, A Doherty; E Core, E Finn, H Core.
Subs used: S Coleman for Nea (45), E Shaw for E Core (57).
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Post by Mickmack on Dec 1, 2019 22:11:57 GMT
This small group of camogie players are amazing really.
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Post by glengael on Dec 3, 2019 10:53:37 GMT
RTE radio Sport making the most of Jim Gavin's departure, more on about it this morning. I suppose it's good that they have something to talk about, it's not as if there's much action on the playing fields these days.
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Post by kerrybhoy06 on Dec 3, 2019 11:48:42 GMT
RTE radio Sport making the most of Jim Gavin's departure, more on about it this morning. I suppose it's good that they have something to talk about, it's not as if there's much action on the playing fields these days. In fairness he did alright! They still talk about Micko/Paudi in romantic terms so I don't think we can complain
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Post by Mickmack on Dec 3, 2019 13:30:15 GMT
Gavin's policy of introducing new players every year means that Dublin are in rude health.
The avarage age of the team didnt go much above 26 during his tenure.
Rock is the oldest forward at 29 outside of Dermo. Dermo might give it another year now!
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Post by Mickmack on Dec 4, 2019 10:27:02 GMT
GAA Revealed: CPA proposals included 16 weekends for clubs - and no major changes to hurling championship
Donnchadh Boyle
The Club Players Association (CPA) proposals to help 'fix the fixtures' included 16 weekends for clubs to play meaningful games with their county players and an opportunity for every team to compete for Sam Maguire on an annual basis.
The club players' body's proposals, which have been seen by the Irish Independent, come as the GAA's Fixtures Review Task Force are set to announce their recommendations at an event in Croke Park today.
The CPA resigned from that committee, departing with a hard hitting statement insisting its work was "a 'Trojan horse', designed to give cover to the GAA authorities to ratify the status quo, while having the appearance of consultation and thoughtful deliberation."
The CPA proposals, which didn't envisage any major alterations to the current hurling system, suggested a format that would see the provincial football competitions, pre-season tournaments and national league amalgamated into one competition that would be played off in February and March.
Performances in that competition would dictate seedings for the championship which would feature eight groups of four counties. The top two teams from each group would progress to the last 16 of the Sam Maguire while the bottom two would move into the 'B' competition.
The document outlines the benefits of replacing the current league competition with a regionally based structure, pointing out that it largely maintains the provincial structure, while also enhancing their importance by linking them to the All-Ireland series and offering games against local rivals.
However, the CPA also acknowledge that their proposals would need Longford to move into Ulster and would exclude New York from the senior championship.
It also points out that teams would be guaranteed at least three championship games under this proposal and the All-Ireland winners would be decided just seven weeks after the first team exited the competition.
The U20 competitions in hurling and football would be be played at the same time as the provincial football groups and the hurling league.
The club game would benefit with club players enjoying 16 guaranteed weekends to play their games from February to September which providing "certainty, meaning and regularity".
It's expected that the Fixtures task force will unveil more than 30 recommendations this afternoon which the CPA believe won't do enough for the club player.
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Post by glengael on Dec 5, 2019 9:31:41 GMT
That programme on the Sunday Game 'Sunday Best' was interesting last night. The older studio footage was fascinating. Thought there was a bit of a slant towards football though and a bit too much same old same old from a lot of the pundits. No mention of Enda Colleran who was the 1st analyst, as they were called then, that I remember. Lovely footage of Templenoe also.
I appreciate that it's difficult to cover everything in an hour, maybe they could have got a 2 parter out of it.
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Post by veteran on Dec 5, 2019 13:04:17 GMT
That programme on the Sunday Game 'Sunday Best' was interesting last night. The older studio footage was fascinating. Thought there was a bit of a slant towards football though and a bit too much same old same old from a lot of the pundits. No mention of Enda Colleran who was the 1st analyst, as they were called then, that I remember. Lovely footage of Templenoe also. I appreciate that it's difficult to cover everything in an hour, maybe they could have got a 2 parter out of it. Glengael you are right about the omission of Enda Colleran. Perhaps , it was not known as the Sunday Game when the late Enda presided over the show, Another omission was ladies football even though camogie got a decent mention. It was a mish mash with little thought or imagination put into it. The first GAA programme was in the early to mid sixties, called , I think, “The world of Gaelic Games.”. It was on for no more than fifteen minutes! It was presented by Jerome O’Shea who won senior medals with Kerry in 1955 and 1959. Jerome , who died recently, was from Caherciveen and was father of Conor of rugby fame. He was a high fielding corner back when there was a premium on high fielding. Apparently, in the last ten minutes or so of the 1955 final he repeatedly repelled Dublin who came into the final with an unbeatable tag. Any Kerry player on that team gained eternal glory because the victory was totally unexpected. Consequently, that 1955 team is one of the most acclaimed of all winning Kerry teams.
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Post by Ballyfireside on Dec 5, 2019 21:09:29 GMT
That programme on the Sunday Game 'Sunday Best' was interesting last night. The older studio footage was fascinating. Thought there was a bit of a slant towards football though and a bit too much same old same old from a lot of the pundits. No mention of Enda Colleran who was the 1st analyst, as they were called then, that I remember. Lovely footage of Templenoe also. I appreciate that it's difficult to cover everything in an hour, maybe they could have got a 2 parter out of it. Glengael you are right about the omission of Enda Colleran. Perhaps , it was not known as the Sunday Game when the late Enda presided over the show, Another omission was ladies football even though camogie got a decent mention. It was a mish mash with little thought or imagination put into it. The first GAA programme was in the early to mid sixties, called , I think, “The world of Gaelic Games.”. It was on for no more than fifteen minutes! It was presented by Jerome O’Shea who won senior medals with Kerry in 1955 and 1959. Jerome , who died recently, was from Caherciveen and was father of Conor of rugby fame. He was a high fielding corner back when there was a premium on high fielding. Apparently, in the last ten minutes or so of the 1955 final he repeatedly repelled Dublin who came into the final with an unbeatable tag. Any Kerry player on that team gained eternal glory because the victory was totally unexpected. Consequently, that 1955 team is one of the most acclaimed of all winning Kerry teams. Hey Vet, any chance of a regaling of memorable NK finals in that thread, O'Donoghues and Walshs of Bally, etc - come on, indulge us, moreover on the run up to a NK final in Bally! Shannon Rangers were outstaning then, did Ogie debut at 16?, of a day in Tralee? If I am not mistaken and while he was never a giant, well physically anyway, he was biggish for his age then but he didn't sprout much further. You see how lads are now so much taller when you look at David.
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Post by Mickmack on Dec 5, 2019 22:39:27 GMT
My suspect memory tells me that Robert Bunyan was a bigger prospect than Ogie was back then. I think they were about the same age. Robert could hurl too. I think Ogie led Gormanstown College to big things back then. Ogie was a prodigy from very young.
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kerryexile
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Post by kerryexile on Dec 5, 2019 23:49:27 GMT
Ogie was never considered big for his age. What he did have was unbelievable speed, as fast as McCaffrey. He put himself on the map in the Co. Final in 1972 when as an under 16, playing wing back he held no less a player than Brendan Lynch, an established county player. Micko later decided that the place for that speed was centre forward.
Of course with a player of Ogie's calibre Shannon Rangers won the minor Co Final in 1974 giving Robert Bunyan the chance to captain the AI winning minor team of '75. I suppose everyone is entitled to their opinion, but the vast majority of people would never have condsidered Robert Bunyan to be of the same standard as Ogie.
Ogie and Robert both played underage hurling for Ballyduff.
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Post by Mickmack on Dec 7, 2019 10:41:08 GMT
IrishExaminerOpen Menu NEWS
By Kieran Shannon Sports Correspondent
Follow @kieranshannon7 Saturday, December 07, 2019 - 05:55 AM Tonight, Kerry’s first All-Star will be inducted into the Munster Council Hall of Fame. Donie O’Sullivan could have played with Joe Namath and the NY Jets but he has no regrets about returning to Kerry because of all the opponents as well as teammates he’d befriend in older age.
He knows: the name hasn’t echoed through the generations the way old comrades like O’Connell and O’Dwyer have. Just as he barely knows any current Kerry player personally since Johnny Buckley opted out, he suspects none of Peter Keane’s charges up to possibly this week would even have known of him, a state of affairs that would have hardly perturbed his modest nature. Had he been one that craved the limelight then maybe he would have taken up the offer to play with the New York Jets all those years ago.
Tonight the Munster Council will admirably honour its duty as guardians of the sport’s history by inducting him into their Hall of Fame, reminding folk that there was a time Donie O’Sullivan was among the finest footballers in all the land. But should he fall into the company of a fresh-faced countyman like fellow corner-back Tom O’Sullivan or even fellow East Kerry man David Clifford at tonight’s function in Castletroy, the one bit of wisdom he’d have to impart is this: it isn’t whether time remembers you or not but that you cherish your time and the opportunity it presents to make friends for life. Opponents as well as teammates.
At the moment, you might curse Con O’Callaghan and Johnny Cooper, or at least the fact that they’ve kept denying you your first senior All-Ireland medal but in tim e— and before you or they retire — you should come to realise that ultimately we’re all on the same, losing, side.
Ninety minutes in O’Sullivan’s company and it’s striking how little he talks about all that he won in the game: the first-ever club All-Ireland title, back when a divisional team like his own East Kerry could claim it; lifting Sam Maguire as Kerry captain 50 years ago next September; making the first ever All-Star team and the one the year after it again; all the O’Donoghue Cups he won with his native Spa as well as with his adopted club of Dr Crokes.
Instead he talks more about the big games that he lost and how they were good for him and the friends all around the country that to this day he cherishes more than any medal collecting dust in a shelf.
When learning that you hail from Cork, he asks if you know of Con Paddy O’Sullivan from Urhan. When you say you don’t, he smiles wistfully. “Of course, you’d be too young.” He then explains how O’Sullivan was a totem for Cork for years at midfield, was one of their main men when they reached the All-Ireland final in ’67. But more than that he’s been “a good friend when times have been bad”.
Con has been like an angel of mercy. He lives near the [Cork University] hospital there and we’d often call in to him when visiting John Dowling; John was ill up there for a long time. Con was great to us that time, and [other former Cork players] Gene McCarthy and Johnny Carroll too; I know them well, we’d often still meet. And the same with Kevin Dillon down in Clonakilty. Pat Griffin died recently and when we’d call down to him, Kevin was so good to all of us.
All around the country it’s the same. A few years ago he called into Brian McEniff’s hotel in Bundoran as he hadn’t seen Brian since his brother Seán’s passing a few months earlier. McEniff wasn’t at the hotel but informed the receptionist to keep O’Sullivan there for 20 minutes; he was dropping everything and heading straight over to see an old friend.
More than once Seán O’Neill has stayed in his house out in his homeland of Tiernaboul, out by Spa on the Cork side of Killarney, and whenever he’s been up in Belfast he’s often called in and stayed with O’Neill. Last year to mark the golden jubilee of Down’s third All-Ireland triumph, O’Sullivan went up to Mourne Country accompanied by Brendan Lynch and Tom Prendergast where he’d greet his direct opponent that day, Mickey Cole, like a brother.
That says a lot about O’Sullivan’s nature as it does about the passage of time. When Down foiled Kerry in ’68, it was the fourth All-Ireland final or semi-final defeat of O’Sullivan’s career at a time when he had yet to know what it was like to walk off the field a winner in September. But looking back, those defeats were the making of him. As a man going through life as well as a player.
“At the time the defeats looked terrible but looking back they were good for us. You know that Johnny Cash song and he’s talking about going down to Jackson and his wife [June Carter] sings for him to go on ahead, ‘you big-talkin’ man, make a fool of yourself!’? Well, that could have been us had we won all the time! You could have got false ideas of one’s self. So it helped with our humility, and, I suppose, our resilience. When you’ve been down and lost and then come back and you win, you appreciate it all the more. And you’d learn later in life that there are a lot tougher knocks than losing an All Ireland semi-final or final.”
That’s why he’ll always be able to identify his happiest day in Croke Park. It wasn’t lifting Sam Maguire in 1970; instead it came 20 years later in a game he wasn’t involved in. Meath and Down were playing a league final. O’Sullivan went to the game in the company of his then 11-year-old son, Eoin, who a year earlier had been diagnosed with leukaemia. For months it looked like Eoin wasn’t going to make it.
You’d be going into Crumlin Hospital, blaming everything. Why should this happen to us, to Eoin? Then you’d say, ‘Well at least in Eoin’s case, there’s some treatment, some hope; other children are just dying. Then a year later you’d nearly feel guilty because he’d survived and so many other poor kids there hadn’t. It made you appreciate every blessing in life.
That league final on a lovely sunny April afternoon was one of those blessings. A teacher for most of his professional career, it reminded him of that poem of Kavanagh’s, Canal Bank Walk. Spring was in the air and redemption was pouring over him, going to and watching the game with his son. In the darkest hours in Crumlin, Eoin had feared he’d never get to see another game, and how “my youth will be gone”. Even when he’d survive, he’d be told he could never have children. Last year his wife had a child. Eoin himself is now a doctor. A story that his father’s old teammates and opponents alike bask in upon meeting up.
Of course, occasionally they will look back and with fondness of the old days when they themselves were in their youth and prime. He still speaks fondly of the generations before him in Spa that cultivated a love of the sport and founded a club that he would derive so much satisfaction from. He lights up upon recalling the years when Spa would be playing and winning games in September, and how the sound of the barking dogs bringing in the cows would get earlier by the week.
O’Sullivan was amazed to learn he’d be honoured by the Munster Council tonight; he genuinely claims to have been merely “a fair to middling player”. His senior career suggests to the contrary but at underage it’d be fair to say he was no blue-chip talent. He never made a St Brendan’s colleges team. He didn’t make the Kerry minors either. And when he lost a 1961 All-Ireland junior semi-final to Louth, he was sure that his last chance of ever playing in Croke Park was gone.
As it turned out, it wasn’t. He was out there on the field with Mick O’Connell for the 1962 All-Ireland semi-final against Dublin when O’Connell put on what is generally considered one of the greatest display of his or anyone’s career, kicking a point from either sideline. And yet, if you look at the archive his old late great pal Weeshie Fogarty established on the Terrace Talk website, O’Sullivan’s campaign that year finishes there. There is no Game 4: the All-Ireland final, against Roscommon. Why? Because he was a seminarian at the time in Maynooth. College had started back up. And so the day of the game, O’Sullivan wasn’t even in Croke Park. Instead he listened to it on a radio in the seminary.
“That’s just how it was in those days. The gates were never locked. I could have walked out if I wanted to go, so there was no point feeling sorry for myself.”
Nor does he have any regrets about declining the opportunity to be a pro American football player. A few years after opting not to pursue the priesthood, he was studying educational psychology in St John’s, New York, where the New York Jets also trained. O’Sullivan by then was not just renowned in Ireland for his capacity to kick an O’Neill’s so long and accurately off the ground, but had grabbed the attention of the college football coaches who enlisted him to be their kicker. When the college paper wrangled a couple of Jets to join with him for a photography and kicking session, a bit of crack turned into something more serious: Hey man, this Irish guy can really kick!
As TJ Flynn would beautifully put it in Princes of Pigskin, a 2007 ode to 100 former Kerry greats through the years, “The [Jets] had been pinging seven irons all along. O’Sullivan showed them how to use Big Bertha.”
Their coach Weeb Ewbank offered him a contract. Their quarterback Joe Namath, infamous for his Hollywood lifestyle and good looks, also recruited him: see you at camp next summer! But Namath didn’t. The photo in Sports Illustrated was the last they’d see of each other. A couple of years later Namath and the Jets made it to the Superbowl but O’Sullivan was just happy to have made it back to September in Croke Park.
Even at that stage I thought this [Ireland] was a better country to grow old in. And I missed playing here with the club and with Kerry and the lads. In American football, the kicker isn’t really part of the team. I often feel as if there’s someone guiding you through life, and that home was where I was meant to be.
O’Sullivan will be 80 himself next March but he continues to be sprightly in body, mind and spirit. He still enjoys football; wouldn’t be a fan of the new rules but would admire greatly the Dublin team Gavin built as well as how Mayo and Kerry have gallantly gone about trying to foil them. But it’s the current players themselves that he hopes are truly appreciating this window in their lives.
He hopes that in time they will have friendships as long lasting as those he maintains with the likes of O’Connell, Tom Long and his old Spa clubmate Mick Gleeson, men “who in the bad times, have been there”.
“Enjoy every minute of it,” he says when asked what advice he’d give for any current player. “Even the bad times are good. Don’t mention the word sacrifice or anything like it. You’re in your prime. There’s the sheer enjoyment of playing and there’s the real benefits of the friendships you’ll make, the contacts you’ll get to have, for life.
“In old age you’ll appreciate it all the more.”
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Post by sullyschoice on Dec 7, 2019 23:37:26 GMT
Betting suspended. Tommy Conroy new favourite. Former Vincent's manager
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Post by gaelicden on Dec 8, 2019 0:16:40 GMT
Betting suspended. Tommy Conroy new favourite. Former Vincent's manager Won the club all Ireland in 2014, wouldn't be first choice in the minds of others certainly. Apart from Vincent's, what other experience does he have?
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Post by sullyschoice on Dec 8, 2019 0:23:34 GMT
Betting suspended. Tommy Conroy new favourite. Former Vincent's manager Won the club all Ireland in 2014, wouldn't be first choice in the minds of others certainly. Apart from Vincent's, what other experience does he have? Not much else that I am aware of. A bit of a left field candidate. Was a big outsider in the betting. I know his sister for what that's worth.🤣
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