No escape for Kavanagh

EXILED as he is in south Dublin, Longford’s Brian Kavanagh must have thought he could distance himself from talk of local rivalries in the run up to tomorrow’s Leinster Championship tie against Westmeath.

Far from it. A national school teacher in Stillorgan, Kavanagh plays for the local Kilmacud Crokes club but works in an area of the parish where St Olaf’s are the outfit of choice and the two neighbours squared off in the Dublin county championship on Wednesday night.

Kavanagh sat out the game because of his county duties but that inactivity didn’t prevent him from being targeted by his colleagues in the staffroom where he was ribbed mercilessly about leaving any Crokes equipment and crests at the front door.

He had no problem being the butt of their jokes. Though he has travelled home on the bus laid on by the county board for the Dublin brigade for training during the week, he is happy to be out of the eye of the storm as championship talks proliferates Longford.

He is from Ardagh originally, a town nestled in the middle of the county, but his own schooldays necessitated another bus trip, this time to Ballymahon down the N55 towards Athlone and within kicking distance of the Westmeath border.

“The rivalry would be fairly strong, especially where I come from,” admits Kavanagh.

“I’d know a lot of the Westmeath lads from years back. I’d know Paul Conway, who is a selector on the Westmeath team now very well.”

It is a rivalry that will be getting it’s third championship airing in 12 months at Pearse Park tomorrow and, for the second year in a row, the fixture will have the honour of breaking the seal on 19 weeks of All-Ireland action.

This time last year, the GAA’s refusal to commence the competition with a more high-profile encounter was met with raised eyebrows but complaints are thin on the ground this year after last year’s epic lived up to its billing, and more.

Nine points adrift at one point, Longford won by three on a scorching day when mouths ran dry and tears seemed to flow freely.

“At half time we were panting because it was such a hot day and Westmeath had had all the ball. We were struggling and a bit shell-shocked, to be honest. Scoring the two quick goals after half time changed everything.”

Kavanagh supplied those strikes, and six points besides. It was a remarkable performance but hardly a surprising one. His scoring exploits the summer before had been critical to Longford’s long run in the All-Ireland qualifiers and he ended the year with an All-star nomination.

Performances like that tend to earn a man extra attention on the field — ask Mattie Forde — but Kavanagh weathered the dreaded ‘second season syndrome’ with some ease and remains key to any ambitions Luke Dempsey may harbour.

His market value was franked by the interest shown in him by Dublin clubs when word spread through the grapevine that he was contemplating a switch.

St Vincent’s and St Brigid’s were both rumoured to be interested before Crokes became his chosen base.

All three are heavy hitters in the Dublin senior ranks but he pleads ignorance when the suggestion is made that his rising reputation must have brought with it a more concerted and less disciplined standards of marking at times.

“I can’t say I have noticed any real change. If there has been a change in attitude towards me it has been very gradual. It is a 15 against 15 game anyway. I don’t focus on just my own game.”

Fewer people remember the repeat contest seven weeks later when Westmeath managed to hold onto a nine-point advantage until the final whistle in the All-Ireland qualifiers and the two counties’ trajectories have continued in those contrasting directions since.

Longford needed two wins from their last pair of Division Three games to avoid the drop to the bottom tier of the NFL.

Westmeath, in the meantime, were busy securing promotion to the top flight, a feat they celebrated by beating Dublin in the subsequent final.

“Everyone knows it will be a tough game for us. Westmeath had a great league campaign and went on to win Division Two. They have built up great momentum and it is a brilliant platform for them going into the championship.”

Longford’s own preparations haven’t been helped by a plethora of injury worries but they showed their potential in the O’Byrne Cup when, with a clean bill of health, they had their pockets picked by two late Dublin goals in the final.

The Dubs and Kerry have both been given stern examinations by the midland county in the championship in recent years and Derry have joined Westmeath in falling at their feet on the hard summer ground.

They lack the resources to make a concerted tilt at silver but Longford are clearly capable of fighting above their weight and emulating a run like the one they embarked on in 2006. As for Brian Kavanagh, he has eyes only for his old neighbours.

“It’s hard to judge. You can find yourself looking ahead to what sort of run you could have but that would be taking your eye off the ball. We can’t really look any further than Sunday. If we get through that we might have a look at the bigger picture.”