Tomás follows in footsteps of giants

PÁIDÍ Ó SÉ won a record equalling eight All-Ireland senior medals, played in a further two All-Ireland finals, and in those 10 games, conceded a total of one point to his immediate opponent.

He was the toughest, fittest, hardest, meanest, proudest defender in the business, and this fact was officially recognised at the time with the awarding of five consecutive Allstars, to go with the All-Ireland gongs.

Heady days, and when the publican from Ventry finally went out to grass in the late 80s, there was a collective sigh of relief from wing and corner forwards all over the country. Surely, they thought, there will never be his like again.

Then along comes Tomás Ó Sé. Not a clone, exactly, because Páidí was most certainly an original, one of a kind. But close, so close. He’s got the same tank-like build, the same ferocious streak of competitiveness shrouded in the same genial and gentle outward demeanour, the same determination not to be beaten, to take everything that happens on the field very personally.

Another trait that Tomás shares with his more famous uncle is astuteness. They’re sharp men, these Ó Sé’s.

Páidí didn’t achieve what he did on the field purely on physical ability. He was also an outstanding reader of the way a game was going and where the action was going to break.

That ability, combined with his motivational prowess, enabled Páidí to continue off the field where he had finished on it, and in the seven years in which he has been involved in inter county management, he has taken Kerry to two U21 All-Irelands, followed by two senior, the first, in 1997, ending an 11 year drought. Tomás has that same innate ability, thinks deeply about the game he loves, the game on which he was weaned.

And approaching this Sunday, he’s a worried man, Tomás Ó Sé. Worried that Armagh, despite having seen off the challenge of Dublin in the semi-final, despite being champions of the toughest province of them all, are still not getting the credit they deserve.

“I can’t understand why people make us favourites for this one. They don’t seem to have learned from the Dublin game. Armagh have plugged away all year, haven’t lost a championship game, won Ulster. They’re hungry, they have to be after 2000 (Kerry beat them after extra time in the All-Ireland semi-final replay, by a goal).

“I mean, if you put us in their situation, if we’d lost to Armagh two years ago, we’d love to be facing them now again. They’re a big, strong physical team, deserving winners over Dublin. They play their football hard, but fair, play to their strengths.

“Paul McGrane is playing great stuff he’s not going to give Darragh Ó Sé an easy time. Kieran McGeeney has been outstanding all year. Those fellas won’t want to lose another All-Ireland, it’s going to be a hell of a tough game. If we’re to beat them, we’re going to have to match that hunger.”

Hard but fair, sounds like a description of the Kerry wingback himself, and Tomás is a firm admirer of the renowned Armagh defence.

“Oh you have to. They play it properly, get in the belts, fair belts but it upsets forwards. They’ve been doing it all year. They haven’t been giving away that many goals, it’s going to be very, very hard to break them down”.

Goals have been where it’s at for the Kerry forwards in this championship, especially since they got out of Munster. 14 in five games, including 3 in the semi-final revenge victory over their Munster final conquerors, Cork.

Much of that damage has been done by the two corner men, Mike Frank Russell and the sensational teenage prodigy, Colm Gooch Cooper, each a goalscorer against Cork. Wisely, Tomás doesn’t expect they’ll get the same latitude against Armagh.

“No, definitely not. I don’t know what happened Cork that day, but they weren’t themselves. That won’t happen again, I’d say, no matter how many times we play them. But they were there to be knocked down, it was up to themselves to have the proper attitude. Armagh will have it, definitely.

A little like Man United, Kerry have built up a lot of neutral support over the years, because of their success rate, and the spirit in which they play the game. This weekend however, most of that support is likely to go to the underdogs.

“Armagh are going for their first All-Ireland, plus the fact they’ve been so close so many years, especially lately. Definitely most neutral support will be hoping for an Armagh win.”

A few days before the replayed Munster final, Tomás, Darragh and Marc, his two brothers also on the team, were shattered by the sudden death of Michéal, their father. Motivation to play with Kerry would never have been a problem for an Ó Sé anyway, and the boys have played on through their troubles; be assured that this Sunday, there will be an extra edge.