Ó Sé highlights An Ghaeltacht lesser lights

THERE is something unique about Gaeltacht’s involvement in the All-Ireland Club Football final tomorrow, not least the fact that they are the first native-speaking team ever to contest a final.

Other than their neighbours in the Beara peninsula and the far-flung reaches of Donegal, they are about as far away from Dublin as you can find a club flying the GAA flag and nurturing the Irish language and culture.

Darragh Ó Sé, who is captain of the team, explains that it's an essential part of what they are.

"We're very proud of our language. We're from the Gaeltacht and we speak it the whole time. The fact that the football has come to the fore has given it more of a profile," he says.

Echoing the views of other players who have big-match experience of Croke Park with their counties, he talks enthusiastically about tomorrow's game. Since they won the Munster final near the end of last year, the prospect of making it to the final on St Patrick's Day swept them along on a wave of euphoria. "It's just something that has taken off in the last couple of months and carried us away," he explains. Everybody got a lift from the Brigid's game, as you can imagine in a small club. There's been a great buzz.

"It's amazing what it means to be in the final. It's like going up to Croke Park for the first time again. It's a completely different experience, because it's with our own lads!

"We were very up for the game with St Brigid's. The one thing that stood to us is we took each game one at a time. We never took anything for granted which we couldn't because we were new in the competition.

"For all the teams that got to the All-Ireland semi-finals, there was no such thing as underdogs or favourites because of the fact that we were all new to it."

And, to a large extent, there's still something new about their opponents, the Galway champions Caltra. Watching recordings of the opposition on TG4 isn't very revealing, he suggests.

"You can't learn an awful lot off videos. You might see a couple of matches, but you can't really make up your mind. All you can do is focus on their style of play and what they tend to do. Really, videos aren't as much use as they are in county games."

Ó Sé thinks back to the earlier years of the club, to the time when they were competing in the novice grade.

And he smiles when he realises that he is now one of the older players in the squad. "I remember playing in a novice final against Ballymac. Then we won the junior against Rathmore and the intermediate final against Dingle. The following year we earned our spurs. In the last couple of years we have been lucky in that we had the players, the back-up and the support to get where we are now.

"The backbone of the club wouldn't be the county players, but the lads who are there every week. They'd be better club men than we would. For that reason alone it's a huge achievement for everyone and I'm just delighted to be part of it."

Pól Ó Cuinn, his midfield partner, and Dara Ó Cinnéide came on to the team around the same time. Older brother Fergal was already an established player. Darragh says that it's probably a mistake to name other individuals who played a part in the development of the team, but he mentions a few the likes of J.J. Corduff, his brother Michael, Tommy Moriarty, Alastair MacGearailt who has come home from Australia for the final and Mickey Connor.

"Mickey was a fellow we all looked up. He was one of the better ones when we were starting off. A lot of lads played and moved away. They were lost through emigration.

"That said, we have knocked great enjoyment out of the last five or six years. We have had great fun. We have got great value out of the club since we were young fellows."

He recognises that one thing that Caltra have in common with Gaeltacht is that the team is built around several sets of brothers. They respect them all the more for that.

"They play fantastic football. You can't but take notice of them," he adds.

"We're very cautious. It's another game, another 60 minutes and you're not very sure about your opposition. But you do know that it's going to be very tough.

"The toughest so far!"

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