O’Keeffe hoping well-tutored Tralee finally get their reward

TRALEE CBS’s first appearance in the Hogan Cup final at Croke Park on Sunday will evoke special memories for the principal of the Kerry school, Tony O’Keeffe.

In 1969, O’Keeffe was a member of the St Brendan’s Killarney side which captured the ultimate accolade in colleges senior football. Ironically two other members of that side, John O’Keeffe and Donal McMahon, are now teaching with The Green in Tralee.

The two schools were powerhouses of football in the Kingdom and enjoyed a healthy rivalry.

Admitted O’Keeffe: “Your years in school mould you for the rest of your life.

“Sport and in particular Gaelic football gives you the opportunity to make friends that stand the test of time, and while John, Donal and myself are now teaching in Tralee CBS, all three of us have some great memories of our years in St Brendan’s.

“When you consider Tralee CBS has 15 Munster titles to their credit, it’s hard to believe that this is our first year in the All-Ireland final. The bulk of those wins were in the 1930s and 1940s, when there was no All-Ireland series and when we did manage to get to the finals in the ‘70s, ‘80s and 90s, Coláiste Chríost Rí were the dominant force in Munster and we found it impossible to beat them.

“For all our successes and defeats, the Green has been a tremendous breeding ground for footballers for the county teams. There was a Brendan Reidy who played in goal on three Corn Uí Mhuirí winning teams in 1931, ‘32 and ‘33 and also won three All-Ireland minor medals with Kerry in those same years.

“The legendary John Dowling captained the school to a Corn Uí Mhuirí win in 1948 but we lost to St Mels in the All-Ireland semi-final. The three Sheehy brothers, Niall, Brian and Paudie all went through the school.

“Perhaps the greatest of all the players were Mikey Sheehy and Ger Power who won eight All-Ireland senior medals and Sean Walsh who won seven.”

And the trend looks like continuing: “Last year the school had six players on the Kerry minor team which lost the All-Ireland final to Roscommon in a replay.”

Tralee CBS will overnight in Dublin at the weekend and O’Keeffe i grateful for the support the school has received from local business people.

“Playing colleges games can be costly particularly if you are successful but we are very fortunate in that the local people here in Tralee have been very good to us with sponsorship. Successful business people who are past pupils of the school have also been very generous and that is something I want to acknowledge.”

Despite the long journey for students of the school on Sunday, O’Keeffe is hoping that all former students who were forced to leave Kerry to seek employment in the bad old days, will come out and support the team.

“There is huge interest in the school and among the clubs in the town and they will travel in force, but if we can galvanise all past pupils who now are living outside the county, there should be strong support for the team in their quest for All-Ireland glory. Tralee CBS has been playing colleges football since the school first opened in 1931 and Sunday is the culmination of 76 years of hard work.

“Hopefully it will end on a winning note.”