Kerry breathes sigh of relief

THURSDAY night’s howling gale from the south-west wasn’t propelled just by meteorological forces; it was augmented by a collective wave of relief coming from those charged with retaining the good name of football in the Kingdom.

Not since Páidí Ó Sé’s controversial sacking as Kerry coach has the home of gaelic football been under such intense scrutiny off the field as it has been this week.

Munster Council management finally released the pressure valve on chairman Sean Walsh in the early hours of yesterday by permitting Pat O’Shea’s name to go forward for consideration as Kerry coach. It was a late late reprieve for the executive committee left with the humiliating prospect of having no-one left to interview for the position. That they dodged a bullet on this occasion isn’t the point — the wonder is how it ever came to this.