MacGearailt: I didn’t think I’d get this chance

HE’S experienced the glamour of the inter-county senior game and has All-Ireland medals clinking in his pocket.

But when Aodhán MacGearailt takes to the field for Kerry in this afternoon’s All-Ireland JFC final in Pearse Stadium, the significance of the occasion will not be lost on him.

Appearing in a national decider is something he deeply cherishes, as it’s just two years since the An Ghaeltacht man was bracing himself for the prospect of never playing again after undergoing a cornea transplant in his right eye.

He revealed: “I had a birth defect in my eye. My right eye was growing the wrong way and I was going blind in that eye so I had a new cornea. I was told going into the operation, that I more than likely wouldn’t play football again.

“But I managed to get in touch with a Cork man, Professor Michael O’Keeffe in the Mater Hospital. He gave me the all-clear and as I was living in Ballygarvan, I said I’d try to get back into the football with them at the start of the last year. The club was just fantastic to me and we managed to get to a county junior final last year.”

MacGearailt was deeply appreciative of being back involved in football, but it wasn’t long before he hankered a return to his homestead in West Kerry. He began making the long trek back to An Ghaeltacht again this season yet plans to return to the inter-county stage were never something he countenanced. But having not figured in last year’s Kerry senior championship, the Kingdom junior management were alerted to MacGearailt’s availability.

“I got the itch to go back playing with the Gaeltacht this year. I never thought of playing any inter-county football but when I was asked, I said yes immediately. It was a great opportunity to play for Kerry again. 2006 was my last year playing senior for Kerry, but it’s always very special to play for your county at any level.

“Obviously it’s not as big as an All-Ireland senior final and a lot of people might not place much store in the junior grade.

“But at the stage where I am at the moment, it means a lot.”

Kerry’s junior campaign took off after a fine victory over Cork in the Munster semi-final and they’ve travelled to locations as diverse as Newcastlewest and Manchester before securing their spot in this afternoon’s final.

“It’s been fantastic”, says MacGearailt. “Playing in somewhere like Manchester was an eye-opener, in a bad old field against Lancashire in the semi-final. But it was great to see that there’s still such interest in playing football in places like that. We’d a great weekend in Manchester, and it was great to get to know the younger fellas on the team. There’s some great players there and they’re very keen to step up from the junior grade. A few of them are from small clubs like Cordal, Tuosist and Brosna so it’s a massive chance for them to get noticed in this final. From my own point of view, coming towards the end of my career, I’m just trying to help out. I don’t really feel nervous entering this game. It’s an All-Ireland final I want to enjoy because I didn’t think I’d get the chance to play in one again.”