The unlikely lads

IN early 1977, near where Duhallow and East Kerry are split by the River Blackwater, a small hostelry hosted a low-key meeting with grand ambitions.

In Ballydesmond and Knocknagree, a clutch of young Gaelic football players had been raising eyebrows, both with their schools and with their respective clubs at juvenile level. That humble get-together yielded an amalgamation that would soon send shockwaves around Cork GAA.

Just over a year and a half later, the unthinkable happened. This newly-formed Pobal Uí Chaoimh outfit wrapped up the perfect year with an incredible victory over the mighty Nemo Rangers in the 1978 minor county final.