No longer green but still gold

Kerry legend Maurice Fitzgerald talks to Diarmuid O’Flynn about his enduring passion for football, and his native South Kerry.

IN THE lead-up to tomorrow’s Kerry SFC final, with his team, South Kerry bidding for their first three-in-a-row of senior titles, when Maurice Fitzgerald agreed to this interview it was with one very definite proviso — he would not talk about Maurice Fitzgerald.

Too much had already been written about him, he said, more than he had ever wanted.

He was prepared, however, to talk about South Kerry, anxious even to talk, and wonder of wonders — as he spoke, it became increasingly obvious that in his fierce passion for South Kerry, for its proud tradition, he was also, in spite of himself, revealing a hell of a lot as to why Maurice Fitzgerald became the footballer he was and has remained the potent force he still is.

“You’d need hours to really come to grips with the history of football in South Kerry,” he warns, as an opening shot. “All I ever knew growing up were the stories of Mick O’Connell, Mick O’Dwyer, their feats and achievements in ‘55, ‘56 and ‘58, when they won the county senior championship, then again 1981 and ‘82, the Jack O’Shea era, when they won again. My Dad actually was on the team with O’Connell and O’Dwyer, and my brother Seamus was involved in ‘81 and ‘82 with Jack O’Shea, Ger Lynch, John Egan and company, with the result that within my own house I was always second-rate because I hadn’t won any.

“I only got on the board for the first time two years ago, so in the bragging sense I was well back at the table! We grew up on those stories, so we’re steeped in the tradition of South Kerry football around here, which is one reason I’m not too disappointed we never got to play at senior level ourselves, in Caherciveen. I grew up in the South Kerry tradition, of wanting to play with South Kerry. Playing with Kerry was a far more distant dream, but playing with your own divisional board side, that’s still a great honour, and something that’s a bit more achievable. We have only nine clubs here, and to represent your club on the South Kerry team — especially for fellas who are not making the Kerry team — is the next best thing.

“You talk about the importance of it — it is next to the All-Ireland for any footballer, but especially so here in South Kerry, it’s looked on as a great honour and achievement.

“There’s a fierce passion among the clubs for divisional football here — they all have their own dog running, if you know what I mean. It meant an awful lot to South Kerry people this year that because we had won the county senior last year, Jack O’Connor was trainer of the team that won the All-Ireland, and Declan O’Sullivan led the team out in the parade, became the first man to bring the Sam Maguire back to South Kerry since Mick O’Connell in 1959.

“Jacko was captain, was beaten in an All-Ireland final, John Egan the same, Declan himself likewise last year. The fact that we won the county title again last year, however, meant he had a second chance, and thankfully he was able to overcome his injuries and the other problems he had during the year to play a huge part in the final. We feel that we all made a contribution to that, it’s almost the perfect story if you like, in a football context, a massive achievement when you consider the size of the club Declan comes from.

“None of that would have happened but for the success of the divisional board, and that’s because the effort has been going in on the ground for quite some time. South Kerry have been knocking on the door since the mid-90’s, but never making the breakthrough. There is an obvious difficulty that comes with being a divisional side, especially given the geography of the area here — it’s not as easy to get together as it is for a normal club side. It’s only when you get a successful run that it becomes easier.

“The former chairman of the board here, Pat Everett made a huge contribution to the success of the last few years. He sourced the right people at the right time to run the team. Patrick Brennan was his very able assistant at the time, as secretary, and he is now the new chairman. The ultimate success came last year when South Kerry won the minor, U-21 and senior championship, something we’d never done before. That comes down to a lot of things; the success of Coláiste na Sceilge, where Jack O’Connor was such a huge influence, the underage structure put in place by the divisional board and the work they’ve done, and finally the great work done by James Sullivan and his selectors in managing the present team. All of those were contributory factors, but then there is also the individual talent coming through. If we just talk about the attitude of the Kerry senior players, Declan Sullivan, Bryan Sheehan, Adrian O’Connell, Ronan Hussey, Ronan O’Connor and Killian Young, their attitude, the way they’ve come back to the South Kerry setup after a long year with the county, has been fantastic. Last year, after being beaten in the All-Ireland final, they put their personal disappointment behind them immediately, came back to us with huge enthusiasm. This year, after winning, it was the same, and it was the same two years ago also, when they won the All-Ireland. Their hunger, their zest — whether they’ve won or lost the All-Ireland final — is as strong as everyone else’s, and that’s been a major influence on the success of South Kerry for the last few years.

“What mustn’t be forgotten either is the contribution of people like Junior Murphy. Junior first became involved in underage football in the primary schools back in the 70s, and even though he’s retired from teaching now, he’s still involved.

“He was also a Kerry minor selector for 10 years, including in 1994, the last year Kerry won the minor All-Ireland. Denis Dwyer was playing with Kerry that day and will be playing again on Sunday. I believe the growth of football in the divisional board areas, and in rural clubs generally, is due to the work of men like Junior, and that’s the biggest concern I’d have for the future, that as our economy moves on, greater and greater demands on people’s time, we could lose men like Junior.”

It’s funny, but when outsiders think of Kerry football, they’re fully versed on the great clubs from Tralee — Stacks, Mitchels and O’Rahillys — along with Dr Crokes of Killarney, South Kerry’s opponents tomorrow. They are also aware of the hard men from the west, of Paddy Bawn, the Dingle greats, the Ó Sé clan, the Gaeltacht men. Up in the north, the local championship is of legendary status, an annual tribal battle where victory is treasured almost as much as any All-Ireland medal. Likewise in South Kerry, says Maurice — it’s just that people haven’t noticed.

“It’s the very same here, always played with great passion and vigour. All of us on the South Kerry team at the moment, we’ll all be going back to our clubs after Sunday’s game, to St Mary’s, Waterville, Dromid Pearses, Valentia, Sneem, Skellig Rangers, Renard, St Michael’s/Foilmore, Derrynane, and the bragging rights then are up for grabs, they’ll be fought over between here and Christmas. It has to be said too, the success of the divisional side for the last two years has led to a livelier, more passionate fare in the local championship.

“And apart from the bragging rights, there’s the honour of the captaincy also at stake.”

Phew! Anyway, that’s South Kerry, that’s why they are now seeking their third consecutive county senior title; that’s also Maurice Fitzgerald, that’s what made him the player he was, still is. “You must enjoy it, that’s the main thing,” he says. “I’m not taking it for granted that I’ll be playing a part in this, but I will say I’d be very excited about the possibility of being involved.” And for how long more will he continue to lace up those boots?

“Junior Murphy tied my boots for me when I started out at U-12, when I couldn’t tie them myself; I’ll keep playing ‘til I can’t reach down anymore, and maybe Junior will be around to tie them for me again!”