Ogie paints bleak club outlook

TO illustrate the most pressing issue currently facing the GAA, Ogie Moran reflects on a photograph of what he describes as a Kerins O’Rahilly’s “dream team” that won the 2006 Kerry minor football championship.

Of the 32 players featured in that snapshot from seven years ago, only a handful are still lining out for the Tralee club. All others have either packed in the game or left the country.

“Some went walkabout. Some didn’t make the senior team straight away and they just lost interest. Some of them just wouldn’t give the commitment to it. Some emigrated to Australia and others went to America. It’s frightening,” Moran remarked. “When many players reach the age of 16 or 17 you tend to lose them.”