Championship

Killarney and the Munster Football Final

June 21st, 2011
by Weeshie Fogarty

I believe there is something special about the coming Munster final. Already and unlike some previous years the talk and discussion has been going on apace and the Kerry football faithful are fairly unanimous in their debates. Midfield might struggle, the forwards as good if not better than any other county and the defense undecided.  Cork coming to Killarney as All Ireland champions not having won here since the early nineties, Kerry under the greatest scrutiny as to exactly where they are at. It all adds up as to what should prove to be a magical day in Killarney. The only down side for me is the fact that it is not knock out and while I believe both county's will go flat out to win the fact that the so called back door is there eliminates that do or die atmosphere from the occasion.

And what an occasion it is for the town of Killarney. Having been privileged to have sampled every Muster final in Beauty's Home since 1955 let me advise you that if you have never experienced the color, excitement, milling crowds, electric but very friendly atmosphere that engulfs the town then make an effort to do so. Bring along your kids, walk the streets form early morning and if you are not going to the game you will still go home with memories of a very special and unique occasion. And it is unique because our town is so close to Fitzgerald Stadium that the milling thousands mingle and mix together before and after the match. The legendary Cork footballer Billy Morgan once told me that he loves coming to Killarney for Munster finals because unlike Cork city where the supporters are  scattered  far and wide and lost in the vastness of the city, not so in Killarney.

The many public houses, hotels, restaurants and other so called "eating houses" will have a bonanza and one land lord of a local pub said to me recently this Munster final will be as good if not better than the rest of the year put together. And for thousands it's in the bars that the real serious stuff goes on. I can guarantee you that if you want to meet, listen or discuss every aspect of both teams with real experts of the code before and after the match then drop in to anyone of the great GAA bars around the town.  Here you will see groups of men and women supping pints and sipping lemonade as they analyze every line of the field and explaining exactly why their county will win the Munster cup with no name.  McSweeney's on the corner is the very last port of call and the nearest pub to Fitzgerald Stadium. College St where the faithful will be seen in their thousands boasts Sean Murphy's great sports bar. In here there is on display something very special because adorning the walls just off the bar are line of framed All Ireland and Munster final programmes and it fascination to look at them and peer at the many long forgotten men who only for these programmes would be erased from our memories. The old family run Arbutus Hotel is next door and has hosted Munster final crowds longer than any other premises in Killarney. 

Across the street The Failte Hotel is another favourite meeting place. The Tatler Jack on Plunkett Street owned by renowned GAA fanatic Eddie o Sullivan will be packed with the faithful. And you can gaze at the walls of Eddies bar festooned with pictures and other memorabilia of the game. Charlie Foleys is situated in New Street and it was always a favourite haunt for the Kerry men of 1946.There is a great family connection with the legendary Lyne family of Cleeney who gave four All Ireland winning medalists to the Kingdom. The late Charlie was brother –in-law to the Lynes. You will be sure to see the Spillane's of Templenoe here as their  late mother was another sister of the Lynes. . Charlie travelled to America with that magnificent winning Kerry team of 1931. Tom o Donoghue owns the Speak Easy in High St, Jack C o Shea is just across the road from him and Teddy o Connors, he of the 1946 winning team is also on High St. Teddy's was the meeting place and watering hole of the one and only John B Keane. He was always to be seen in the lane along side the pub before and after the matches.  But let's head back to College St and enter the premise of Jimmy O Brien one of the best known and unique GAA pubs in the country. Only two topics of conversation are tolerated here! The first is football, mainly of the Kerry variety. References to Cork or Dublin football are endured only if spoken of in jest or ridicule but despite that a genuine and warm welcome awaits GAA players and followers, past or present, here. This little watering hole has become a place to where many Kerry exiles regularly make a pilgrimage in search of spiritual renewal and sustenance to help them survive in lonely outposts far from the homeland. They return to their homes in Cork and other strongholds of the enemy fortified with hope and resolve and with a steely glint in the eye after assurances from the several icons of the game who are regulars in Jimmy's that the Green-and-Gold will rise again! The other passion and topic of discussion here is traditional music and the pub is regarded as the unofficial embassy in Killarney of Sliabh Luachra, an area unusually rich in traditional music and song. Only last week I surprised the genial landlord Jimmy with a special Terrace Talk on his life and times as he celebrated fifty years in the bar business. So enjoy the day, soak up the atmosphere of the occasion and in a quite moment remember all the great Kerry/ Cork footballers who have answered the final whistle.



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