St Vincent’s aiming to scratch 23-year itch
It is a very different pond they will find themselves swimming in.
These days, the event is sponsored by a major bank, cameras keep an eye on virtually every game and live matches demand a cavalcade of outside broadcast units and a small army of support personnel.
It was all very different in Jimmy Keaveney’s day. Back in the ‘70s the final was more often than not played at HQ but it popped up in locations as diverse as Athlone, Thurles and Tuam and also at random points of the calendar — somewhere between the months of November and June.
The ad hoc and sometimes underwhelming nature of the fledgling competition — it was first run off in the 1970/71 — is brilliantly emphasised by Vincent’s one and only national success 31 years ago.
“I was captain of the team and the game was played in Portlaoise,” the iconic Dublin forward recalls. “Pi**ing out of the heavens, it was. Donal O’Cianain from Roscommon was GAA chairman at the time.
“When the game was over, he walked out onto the pitch with a big gabardine coat on him. He had the cup stuffed inside the coat, gave it to me and said ‘there you are Jimmy’ and that was it. There was nothing like the publicity that you get nowadays.”
At the time, that lack of fuss would have suited Vincent’s well. After all, with a tradition like their’s, that day in O’Moore Park must have felt like a precursor for many more to come, given the glittering reputation the club had already earned.
Men like Mickey Whelan and the Foley brothers, Des and Lar, had transformed the Marino outfit from a mere club into an institution. Ten county titles they won in the 11 seasons from 1950 to 1960. The one that got away was in ‘56.
By the time of the club’s triumph in Portlaoise in ‘76, county titles were falling into their lap like leaves off an autumn tree but the glory days were about to pack their bags and move on.
They did take the county crown three more times over the next eight seasons — a rate that just about satisfied their high standards — and then, that was it. Until this year, that is. But why the drought that lasted almost a quarter of a century?
“You look at any of the great teams down the years like Glen Rovers and Tuam Stars — teams who were on a par with Vincent’s in their day — they haven’t come back at all,” Keaveney points out.
“At least we’re making an impression again now. The fact is, you can’t stay at the top in sport for 50-60 years. You have to take a break somewhere along the line but hopefully our time on the sidelines is a thing of the past.”
Given that there’s no escaping history, it isn’t a surprise to learn that a chunk of the current team can point to fathers or uncles who played on the last side to reach the summit in Dublin back in 1984.
Another link to the misty-eyed past comes in the form of the man directing it all from the touchline. Most people will remember Mickey Whelan from his ill-fated spell in charge of Dublin in the 90s but there is far more to the man than that.
A member of the Vincent’s team that claimed the All-Ireland in ‘76, he won a pair of Celtic Crosses and an NFL title with the Dubs and is one of the most respected men to have ever worn a bainisteoir’s bib.
“Mickey is probably one of the best coaches/managers in the country,” says Keaveney. “I have no doubt about that. Mickey has been managing (Vincent’s) on and off. He was over the last two or three championships we have won and that is stretching back to the early 80s.”
Even the most creative sculptor is nothing without the right materials and, at first glance, Whelan’s team isn’t overly blessed with talent. Aside from Connolly and Tomas ‘Mossie’ Quinn, the names on the team sheet aren’t the sort to catch the eye.
A trawl back through the recent underage record books doesn’t give any indication as to a Vincent’s resurrection either but those inside the club have been privy to the sight of small seeds shooting up for the last number of years.
“For the last three years we’ve been knocking on the door. We’ve got a good bunch of young lads together. We could see ourselves that we had a good young crop of kids coming through, lads like young Diarmuid Connolly who is a very talented hurler as well as a footballer.
“Our lads are up for this, there’s no doubt about it. It’s about time that we got our act together again and started winning Leinster Club championships. Mickey got that into them after the final.
“They won the final on the Bank Holiday Monday and they were back training on the Wednesday. They wouldn’t be happy with the county championship. They are good enough to get out of Leinster — at the very least.”
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