Silverware to silence the Kingdom’s critics

THERE will be a lot of talk this week of demons banished and ghosts laid to rest, of this Kerry team finally delivering on the big occasion.

It’s talk that the Kerry players won’t tune into. People said Kerry had to win this final, but the team never saw it like that.

At least, their captain didn’t. It’s about 20 minutes after his memorable victory speech, in the native tongue, and Dara Ó Cinneide is running his mind through the past couple of years. The heavy defeat to Meath, frailties exposed by Northern teams.

“The last couple of years hurt us, people had it like we were a disaster every year. We didn’t think we were, we were always there or thereabouts.

“We absorbed the criticism because we had to. Some of it stuck, some of it deflected nicely off us,” he said. “But we knew, as a team, after a few games in the league that we had something special going this year.

“It is easy to say that now but there was something special there all year.”

There was something special in Ó Cinneide’s boots yesterday, too. By the 13th minute he had scored five points, one a deliciously innovative flick from another of those glorious long balls that bamboozled the Mayo full-back line. By half-time, he had scored seven points.

And all this after wrestling all week with the prospect of watching the game from the bench. On Tuesday, Ó Cinneide’s old back problem flared up again. Right up until Saturday evening, he was unsure if he would be able to start. Only intensive physiotherapy ensured he was right for the day.

And now... “Unbelievable, just to lift the cup. I didn’t think the Kerry supporters were the sort to run onto the field. I thought they would be a bit more restrained.

“I am delighted to see that they savour it as much as the team. We are going to enjoy this one, even though it is number 33, every one is fresh and new and different.”

It means something more to Ó Cinneide when he thinks of Paddy’s Day. That afternoon, he came to Dublin with the guys he grew up with to win an All-Ireland and tasted defeat again. He kept coming back to that as he described his emotions on winning his third All-Ireland senior medal.

“St Patrick’s Day was a regret. We had to turn the tables a little bit. We had been down so low, we had got to a certain level.

“Leaving here on Patrick’s Day, it was like we might as well not have got out of Kerry at all, or Munster at all. That makes this day extra special.

“I remember talking to Dec Meehan after the club final and he said I don’t think we ever played as well. This is the day to produce it, All-Ireland final day.

“Caltra did it on Paddy’s Day, we did it out there.”

Ó Cinneide reflects on the performance that Kerry produced and the word perfect crops up. “It was near-perfect. It wasn’t champagne football, but in terms of winning breaking ball, in terms of fighting and battling, contesting the ball, it was near perfect.

“Everyone put a marker down today, if Diarmuid Murphy was playing out in the middle of the field, he would have won breaking ball.”

With 10 minutes to go, and his back starting to feel the effects of the game, Ó Cinneide was called ashore. By that stage, Kerry were out of sight.

“We have the league and All-Ireland titles now, I don’t think we can do much more.”

“It was one of Kerry’s most important victories.

“It hurt us when people said we were getting spooked every time we go to Croke Park. We didn’t see that.

“We genuinely didn’t and we were getting pissed off people were thinking like that.

“Okay, we lost big games but we won big games. We needed some silverware to put those ghosts to rest.”

Now, they are truly banished with the biggest prize of all.