Captaincy call a sensitive issue in Kingdom

There are now only a handful of counties in which the captaincy of the senior teams is decided by the county champions, the most high-profile of which are Kilkenny and Kerry.

For the 2013 season Eoin Brosnan has been nominated by champions Dr Crokes as Kingdom skipper and while reluctant to be drawn on that — understandably — it’s still an issue he admits could be open to question.

“It’s certainly one to debate but it’s not really for me to comment too much on it. I’ve been asked to take on the role and it’s something I’m honoured to do.

“There are arguments for and against but historically in Kerry, even when a divisional side has won it has still worked well.”

Kerry boss Eamonn Fitzmaurice was, however, a little more emphatic. “I can see both sides of the coin but speaking strictly from a management point of view, of course you’d love to be able to pick the captain, but if we were picking him we’d pick someone like Eoin. I’m delighted that Eoin got the job. From a management point of view it’s great for us that we have an experienced player.”

And the other side of that coin? “I know that when we won the county championship in 2007 with Feale Rangers, a huge part of the enjoyment was that we were going to have the captain of the Kerry team the following year [they went with Eamonn’s Finuge clubmate, Paul Galvin]. I’m sure it was the same for the Crokes lads.”

Much as Fitzmaurice would like to see it changed, don’t expect anything to happen anytime soon — every time that particular proposal has been brought to convention it has been rejected by a massive majority.

For 2013, at least, it won’t be a problem, not with someone as experienced as Brosnan, but ironically the same player also personifies why the rule should perhaps be looked at.

It’s not his first time as Kerry senior football captain but the first occasion turned out to be something of a disappointment.

“In 2000 Dr Crokes won the county final; I had been involved around the Kerry panel in 2000, eventually broke into the team in 2001 during the championship. The club hadn’t had a player on the Kerry championship team in a long, long time (1991, and before that, 1914). Choosing the captain is an honour bestowed on the county champions, it’s something the club would like to avail of if they can at all. They asked me to take on the role before the Dublin game — that was my first start in the All-Ireland quarter-final. At the time I said no, then they said it to me again before the semi-final and I said yes. It turned out very badly, Meath blew us apart — they were fantastic that day. Straight after it, I had a few hard weeks. I was only 21 so I had to keep the head down and get through it. I never thought there would be more.”

There was, and when Colm Cooper took himself out of the picture it left Brosnan as the natural choice. “Colm felt himself that he’d given two years to the role of captain, that there’s a lot of extra commitment attached to it and that he’d like me to stand up and take on the role, if it was something I was interested in. It’s a huge honour, something I’m looking forward to.

“I’m 32, a lot more mature, a lot more experienced. Looking at the panel we have a lot of young fellas, what I hope to do is to relate to these fellas and pass on any experience I have to them. If they feel the need to communicate I can help them, I’m always available to do that.”