The Pride of the Parish, The Spirit of the Little Club and the Passion of the Gael

February 16th, 2010
by Weeshie Fogarty

All Ireland Intermediate and Junior Finals 2010

Last Sunday was another one of those memorable days for a Kerryman in Croke Park. Since I watched my first game there in 1955, the final against Dublin, I have been fortunate to witness many the magic moment and unforgettable victories together of course with some heart breaking defeats. And last Sunday was for me as good as any of those big All Ireland final days I have attended down through the decades. It was different and different in a truly wonderful way. Here we had men from Munster, Connaught and Ulster fighting for the pride of their parish, the honor of the little club and the spirit of the Gael.  The club is the corner stone of the GAA. Without it there would be no organization as we know it to day and when Sean Kelly during his Presidency kicked started the junior and intermediate All Ireland championships I doubt that even he a man of tremendous vision hardly realized how they would blossom and grow so much. The atmosphere around Croke Park before the game and especially within the hotel situated directly across from the stadium was something very special indeed. Fans from all the four clubs involved converged together in a gathering of happiness, expectation and nervousness as they counted down minutes before that hit for Croke Park and their hour of destiny.

The great beauty of these All Ireland finals is the fact that it gives families from the respective clubs the opportunity to travel as a group and sample the atmosphere and occasion that only Croke Park on final day can generate. Mothers and fathers with babes in their arms and four and five year olds trailing in their wake dressed from head to toe in their beloved club colors could be seen wherever one looked. I met old men well in their eighties and even older who never in their wildest dreams envisaged their own place appearing on the hollowed sod of Croke Park.  Supporter travelled from near and far. Old friends could be seen meeting and exchanging greetings as the fortunes and prospects of their respective clubs were discussed in great detail. From a Kerry perspective I met supporters from all over the county but especially from West and East Kerry both of who has representatives bidding for glory. And there among all the wonderful banter and hullabaloo was the man who began it all. Sean Kelly was stopped and congratulated by one and all as he made his way among the colorful throngs of supporters. Any club man worth his salt while praying for a home victory would feel that little tinge of regret wishing that the day would come when ones own club would be in the same situation. 

And then to cap it all we had two magnificent contests as Castlegregory wrote themselves into history’s pages following extra time in their junior final. Sadly however for Spa their magnificent bid for glory just failed despite a nail biting finish. What is it about Kerry, Mayo and Tyrone? The Kingdom for many years has had the upper hand on any opponents from Mayo while Tyrone on the other hand has now developed a winning vein against Kerry sides in recent years. Memories of a string of championship defeats against Down come flooding back. Kerry has never beaten Down in a championship game in Croke Park. Castlegregory struggles in the first half as Kiltimagh took the game to their Kerry opponents. Castle looked a little nervous and were fortunate to trail by just two points, 0-6 to 0-4 at the short whistle. As they have done all year the Westerns raised their game considerably following the break. Sean o Mahoney, Stephen Brown, J. P. Spillane and in particular the inspirational Shane Hennessey ran themselves in to the ground. And then entering the closing minutes with the Mayo men leading 0-11 to 0-9 came the decisive score of this wonderful contest. Stephen Hennessey’s free from the wing dropped into the opponents square at the canal end. Colm o Mahoney was at the heart of the action to get a flick on the ball and when the outstanding Mayo midfielder Thomas Morley fumbled the ball finished in the back of the net and Castle were ahead. The nail biting drama was far from finished as Ciarain Charlton tied the scores with a beautiful free on the full time whistle. The "Spirit of Kerry" in Croke park surfaced as always in extra time and Castle surged to victory in a storming ten minutes. Charlton had one last opportunity to level again with a kickable free into the Railway goal, but this time tiredness and probably nerves saw him drop his kick short and a Kerry team had achieved yet another memorable Croke Park All Ireland victory.

We longed for a Kerry double but sadly it was not to be and while they were outplayed for long periods Spa could very easily have snatched victory in the Intermediate final. Another action packed and dramatic game which was decided by a very harsh and debatable 52nd minute penalty. Spa’s excellent goalkeeper James Devane saved low down to his left at the Railway goal. The ball spun from his grasp with Cookstowm superb mid fielder Raymond Mulgrew lurking in the small square. He tumbled to the ground as did a defender while the keeper endeavored to push the ball to safety. I must admit at being amazed when the referee signaled a penalty and to add insult to injury flashed a yellow card to the Spa goalkeeper. The winners captain Barry Hughes smashed an unstoppable shot to the net and the pendulum had well and truly swung to the Tyrone men. I was always of the understanding that you never give a penalty unless you are 100% sure of your decision. Following the game I did a little poll of about thirty supporters and not one of them could say with any degree of certainty why the penalty was awarded. It was in my opinion a wrong call.

The East Kerry men then went on to play their best football and driven fordward by Michael o Donoghue, Eoin Cronin, Niall o Mahoney, the Gleeson’s, and the great hearted Fergus Clifford they dominated the final minutes and literally camped in the Cookstown half. But success was not to be for Sean Moynihan’s men. A combination of missed frees and the ugly swarming Tyrone fourteen men behind the ball  defense saw the Northern side victorious in a game where they kicked the massive total of fourteen wides. It has been an unforgettable journey for the Spa men and living so close to this vibrant, progressive, and family orientated club I know that they are well capable of pushing on from here and achieving much more. The club has been united as never before and testimony to this was the memorable after match banquet in Dublin that evening where over 600 supporters were in attendance. Sean Moynihan and his men may not have won the All Ireland but they did their club, district and county proud. The spirit fostered by such dedicated men as Tadgh o Sullivan, Donie o Leary, John Kelly, Andy o Sullivan,Con Doherty, Jack Morris, Denis Fenton and a host of others burn brighter than ever following the past months voyage to Croke Park. After all while winning is great in itself Sean Moynihan and his squad have achieved more in defeat for their club. than anyone can at the moment imagine. Castlegregory and Spa continuing the "Secret of Kerry".



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