The 16th Man

Sean Kelly was the 35th President of the GAA and more importantly, the first Kerry man in the history of the organisation to hold such a prestigious post (2002-2006). Kelly’s time in office was a landmark stint for the association due to the many renovations made by the Kilcummins club man. His image will be cemented in the concrete of history for his role in the introduction of rugby and soccer into GAA headquarters while Lansdowne Road underwent its transformation into Aviva Stadium. The move was viewed as demonic by many old diehards of the game but the majority of the nation will remember February 24th 2007 as a huge step forward in Ireland’s troubled history. This was the day when the British National Anthem ‘God Save the Queen’ was played without interruption and applauded by both sets of supporters on the same turf. Recently I was lucky enough to speak to this dedicated GAA enthusiast and find out some of his views on the 2010 championship.

Kelly is a man of extensive passion for the GAA, in particular the future success of the association. During his tenure as President he introduced the Nicky Rackard Cup, Christy Ring Cup and the Tommy Murphy Cup in a bid to improve the fortunes of teams considered to be in the ‘lower tiers’. It is no surprise then to hear that the Kerry man’s highlight of the 2010 championship season has been the emergence of so many new competitive teams on the hunt for Sam Maguire. The three teams left in the competition, Cork (6), Down (5) and Kildare (4) do not even combine a total to equal half of Kerry’s number of All-Ireland crowns (36). Whether it is Down or Kildare that line out on September 19th to face Cork in the showpiece it will be the first final since 2001 that Tyrone or Kerry are not involved in. ‘It is what was needed most’ says a serious Kelly. ‘Kerry being beaten was good for the game. The stories of many counties: Down, Kildare, Louth, Sligo have been a breath of fresh air’.

Many feel The Sunday Games meticulous examination of incidents involving Paul Galvin and Tomas O’Se in the Munster championship which led to the duos suspension, contributed to the Kingdom’s inability to retain Sam Maguire for the 37th time. Already dealing with pre-season losses of five key players, the post-game actions of the CCCC certainly hindered Kerry’s possibility of success in 2010. This is despite the fact that more obvious issues went unnoticed by the committee, such as the infamous finish to the Leinster Final. Kelly proves not one to dwell on sentiments of ‘ifs and buts’ and merely says the CCCC’s actions against Galvin and O’Se left a ‘sense of disappointment in Kerry’, noting that ‘when you’re on top people are always going to try and knock you’.

Drinking from a glass half full, he discourages any notion that the Kingdom could be entering a desolate era of famine similar to the eleven year period of genesis experienced from 1986 to 1997. Despite the underage dominance of rivals Cork in recent years Kelly is positive that ‘the players are there’. He carries the wisest of sporting philosophies that ‘anything can happen on any particular day in the world of sport and therefore nothing is ever won or lost before the ball is thrown in’. Moving from talks of the future to present day, he is blunt and honest on the performances of Kerry’s players in 2010. ‘Colm Cooper and Mark O Se might get All-Stars. As for the rest of them, they haven’t a hope.’

Since the exclusion of all of the Provincial winners and finalists in this year’s semi-finals Kelly has strongly voiced his opinion for a change in the structure of the championship, even constructing blueprints for an open draw, home and away type competition in his weekly column in the Irish Examiner. Explaining his opposition to the Qualifiers despite two of Kerry’s four All-Irelands since the back door introduction in 2001 coming via the system, he says that ‘a serious dent has been put in the Provincial championships’. Delving further into the issue he continues, ‘Most counties have now realised if you put too much effort in Provincials you weaken your chances in the All-Ireland. Winning the Provincials is now at a disadvantage because you meet teams from the Qualifiers who have built up their momentum and you end up facing them after three weeks off.’

Since 2004 the only team to have beaten Cork in championship besides Kerry has been Fermanagh. After the Kingdom were conquered by the Mourne men of Down, many felt that finally this Cork team would step out of the shade and shine in the absence of their great tormentors. It was not to be. They were grey and dull against Roscommon and judging by last weekend’s display against Dublin it would seem that the increased expectation to finally land Sam has added more psychological pressure to the Rebels rather than retracted. Kelly fuels the fire warning, ‘If Cork lose they mightn’t get another chance. It would be a knockout blow. Morale would be low and a few players might retire. We saw last year in Kerry what losing a couple of players in succession can do’.

When asked on whom he thought would win the All-Ireland, Kelly reiterated his earlier comment that in sport anything can happen on the day but then added that due to their strong bench Cork should deliver. No extra pressure on the shoulders of the stumbling Rebels from their near neighbours then. I guess it’s true what they say about Kerry people then; cute hoors the lot of them!

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