Ó Sé and Gaeltacht have dilemma for club decider

CROKE PARK is for the little guy on Paddy’s Day. That is what the club final is all about — the four captains who converged in Ballsbridge yesterday for the AIB Club final press conference were compelling evidence of this.

An Ghaeltacht's Fergal Ó Sé and Caltra's Noel Meehan sat, side by side, in Toyota Motor Centre, chatting amicably.

Fergal, player-manager and brother to Kerry's inter-county trio, finds himself in a bit of a bind.

His suspension for the All-Ireland semi-final expired last week he conducted matters from the sideline as his team dispatched Brigid's from the capital. It has led to a dilemma of sorts heading into the All-Ireland final. To pick himself or not.

"The lads did very well the last day when I was suspended," Ó Sé said. "I have three selectors with me on the line, and I am just going to leave it up to the selectors. If they go with the team that went out the last day, I will do what I can for them on the line and if I'm called upon at some stage, I will do my best on the field."

Just six days before the final, Ó Sé assured everyone the problem was not weighing on his mind. "It is not really a distraction and the team will be selected on Friday night anyway, so whatever distraction it caused will be well cleared up by next Wednesday."

Distractions are the last thing clubs need in the run-up to an All-Ireland final. In Caltra, there might be distractions around the dinner table. The mantra for the next week will be this final is about Caltra, not the Meehans, but one of the brothers, Noel, is the team captain and just happens to be his side's most important player for the past couple of games apart from the marquee name of Micheal, of course.

"It is not just about playing with the brothers, it is about playing with lads I have been playing with since I was young," Meehan said. "There is a good spread of talent across the parish and the whole team is just glad to be playing in Croke Park."

In Caltra, they wouldn't often dream of a big day like next Wednesday. "We can't believe we are going to be playing in Croke Park. This time last year, that wouldn't have even been a dream. Playing in a county final might have been a dream, that would have been about it. We are usually worrying about relegation at this time of the year, not playing in an All-Ireland final."

Caltra's achievement is all the more astonishing, considering the suspension that their manager incurred. "You just have to take these things on the chin. We have four selectors and they are four good guys, they have worked very hard to get us where we are."

In the semi-final, Caltra's goal early in the second half might have sealed their passage. "Every club needs a bit of luck on their way to Croke Park. The Loup are a good side and we had to play very well to beat them, but if that goal hadn't gone in, it might be Johnny McBride sitting here talking tom you instead of me."

But it's Noel Meehan from the small parish of Caltra, and Fergal Ó Sé from An Ghaeltacht. The little guys in the wide GAA family. Just what club final day is all about.