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.

Interesting in the embarrassing saga for Kerry is the position of strength from which they started the morning after the All-Ireland final floor-wiping of Mayo. Chairman Walsh proudly proclaimed that Jack O’Connor was the man to lead Kerry not just next season, but for the next three seasons.

His pitch made, Walsh took his foot off the accelerator, giving O’Connor plenty of time to repair in his Dromid lair, and ponder his next move with his co-selectors and family. Whether Walsh backed off too much during this hiatus is a moot point — perhaps the trail went cold for the want of love-bombing towards the manager. This is a point the executive strongly contests, insisting they made their case without ambivalence.

Either way, the requirement for an alternative ticket was obvious.

However, no Plan B was forthcoming. Kerry went after O’Shea and worked on the premise that the Munster Council issue would be sorted. By the time, Kerry discovered that key members of the provincial council executive were digging their heels in, managerial options were in short supply. Mick O’Dwyer and Liam Kearns were signed up elsewhere, John Kennedy and Eoin Liston ruled themselves out, and the outgoing management team rejected all overtures. John Evans was one of the new few coaches who publicly declared his interest, but he was not interviewed. Neither was another possible contender, Sean Geaney.

There was a broader concern. Kerry was also discovering the unpalatable truth of modern-day inter-county management — there are no longer talented, starry-eyed coaches willing to put their life on hold for the good and glory of the county. Kerry has never gone down the route of ‘reimbursement’ (legal or otherwise), always relying on their marquee name. No more.

Cue panic. Heavyweight counsel was enlisted as tensions between Kerry and the Munster Council increased amid claims that the provincial body was making O’Shea and his compatriots grovel for assistance. Nobody could see the irony of the situation.

By Thursday evening, Kerry had all but thrown in the towel, even though O’Shea himself was still hopeful.

Like most GAA solutions, pragmatism was a factor. As a possible candidate for the next presidency of the GAA, it served little purpose for Munster Council chair, Sean Fogarty of Tipperary, to be aggravating one of his key constituents. Similarly, no-one will be surprised if Kerry’s Sean Walsh bids for the Munster chair in the future.

The future of Kerry football wasn’t the only thing up for grabs this week.