Other Counties

Tyrone chairman over the top

October 7th, 2008
by Weeshie Fogarty

And so as is the tradition in Kerry the inquests on the recent All Ireland final defeat continue all over the county and beyond. Wherever one travels the subject of the game comes up and in my opinion Kerry supporters are by far the most knowledgeable and fairest of all.

And the one thing that come through to me in my debates and discussions with the vast majority of fans is that Kerry could easily have won this game and there was only the width of a goalkeeper's foot between victory and defeat and also that we have the players to come back and regain our number one spot in the country.

The goalkeeper's foot referred to previously was of course that of the Tyrone man who saved Declan O'Sullivan's goal attempt late in the game. Yes of course there was other which conspired to deprive Pat O'Shea's men of victory. However, in any defeat which I have witnessed down through the years every mistake both on and off the field is magnified ten fold when defeat is our lot. And it is from defeats such as this that Kerry learn most and lessons will have been taken well on board by Pat O'Shea and his selectors if they decide to remain on and have another go at steering the Kingdom the another title.

I must admit at finding it a little amusing when I read in the papers during the week what Tyrone chairman Pat Darcy had to say as he pontificated to the rest of the country how All Irelands will be won in future. " Tyrone have re-defined the essential dynamics of Gaelic football and how the game should be played," he said.

"It's a different way of playing the game-everybody defending, everybody attacking. There's a lot of creativity in it, a lot of movement off the ball, ending always with some brilliant scores. It's a different style of Gaelic football and I believe it has set the benchmark for the future. I think a lot of counties will be picking up on that and a lot of coaches will be realising that this is the way fordward in Gaelic football."

The man is quite rightly entitled to his opinion of course, but to say that Tyrone without winning two in-a-row, three in a row or four in-a-row as Kerry has done in the past are defining the way Gaelic football will be played in the future is a little bit over the top in my opinion.

Probably the one defining secret of Kerry's football story is the ability to learn from defeat and come back better and stronger than ever. When Kerry were humiliated by Meath in the 1954 final there was a near revolt in the county. The following year the 1955 final win over Dublin is hailed by many as the greatest of all. Derry's win over Kerry in the 1958 semi-final in terrible weather conditions was the shock of the century.

The following year 1959 our wins over Dublin in the semifinal and Galway in the final were celebrated by Kerry men and women all over the globe. Following defeats to Down in 1960-61 one Sunday newspaper ran a series of articles entitled, "What's wrong with Kerry Football". The answer came the following year 1962 when Sean Og Sheehy son of John Joe lead Kerry to another glorious victory.

In 1968 my own Killarney Legion club mate Jackie Lyne was trainer as Down once again proved the masters in that year's final. One of the winning Down side was quoted as stating that Kerry were years behind in their football ability. Answer. Kerry won the All Irelands of 1969 and 1970. Mick O'Dwyer fielded the youngest fifteen in the history of the game for the 1975 final against Dublin.

No hope for Kerry said the so called experts. Answer, a stunning performance and another win. So not bad for a county that is constantly being advised to learn from others. Roll on 2009.



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