Knocknagree take ‘once in a lifetime’ shot at glory
The village, sitting half a mile east of the River Blackwater on the Cork-Kerry border, is festooned in blue and white. Six days out from the All-Ireland junior club football final and no effort or, indeed, paint, has been spared in decking the place out.
The fence enclosing the village green is covered by multiple signs carrying best wishes from various people and establishments. One blue placard reads ‘county champions’, the sign next to it says ‘Munster champions’. There’s space for a third one, should they get the job done at Croke Park this afternoon.
Our particular favourite is ‘Knock on, Knock all’. The signs continue into Rathmore and beyond. Their Kerry neighbours haven’t allowed the Blackwater get in the way of showing their support. Even on the Killarney side of Barraduff, there’s a poster to be found telling the Knocknagree lads to ‘give it their all’.
That’s where the team trained early this Sunday morning. No hard border around these parts.
The stream of cars hijacking the footpath outside the Knocknagree community hall suggests a bit of activity inside. Manager John Fintan Daly has just finished a video analysis session with his players. The chairs in the hall are laid out in advance of that evening’s Up for the Match.
Full-back Gary O’Connor was planning to attend, even if he intended to keep a low profile down the back. It is hard not to get caught up in the emotion of it all.
As John Fintan puts it: “Fellas say once in a lifetime, but for most small clubs it is not even once in a lifetime. There are clubs 50 times our size who will never get to Croke Park.”
O’Connor, a secondary school teacher at Coláiste an Chraoibhín, Fermoy, Co Cork, who commutes along the N72 daily, has been living the build-up since the semi-final win over Naomh Colmcille.
“It is just brilliant to be around the locality. I have never seen the place with such a buzz. People are delighted, smiling ear to ear, in anticipation of Saturday.”
O’Connor, 23, has his younger brother Paul beside him in the full-back line.
Their first cousin Patrick Doyle is behind them in goal, while two more of their first cousins, Anthony and Fintan O’Connor, operate in attack. A family affair, as you’d expect.
“We all live on the same road. There was only one girl in amongst 15 lads who were born on that road. Yerra, we were haunted with the number of lads born at that time. To beat teams from Kerry and Donegal, everything is novel and new.
“To be in a final at Croke Park, no one ever expected it.”
Well, not everyone.
“Johnny Fintan had this in his head and told us as much. We all thought this was outrageous, given we hadn’t even won the county.”
John Fintan Daly first got involved coaching the Knocknagree juniors three decades ago. He returned to the local bainisteoir’s bib for the 2013 season, having the previous February guided Miltown-Castlemaine of Kerry to
All-Ireland intermediate club glory at GAA HQ. It was difficult to walk away from a club he had established such a bond with. Home was calling, though. Knocknagree were at a crossroads.
“They had reached 10 Duhallow semi-finals in-a-row, four of them replays, and lost them all. They had a losing mentality. They were defeatist, somewhat. That needed to change. We brought in a lot of young players. It is a small club but we have made the most of what we have,” the manager begins.
The Sunday afternoon of December 3, when they overcame Declan O’Sullivan’s Dromid Pearses in the Munster decider, was significant not just for the fact that the Cork lads had stopped a 10-in-a-row for Kerry clubs at this grade. Six years to the day, Knocknagree had contested the county U16A final against Castlehaven. The boys from West Cork prevailed courtesy of a last-minute goal. Irrespective, Knocknagree were holding fine company. Eight of that U16 team started the provincial final win in Mallow. The team’s average age is not even 23.
“I felt from the start that we had the potential to not alone win Cork but go a distance and, maybe, someday get to Croke Park,” Daly continues.
“That wasn’t being overly arrogant. You had to aim high and it was always my lifetime’s ambition with this club. I wasn’t afraid to tell them. In Cork, we accept second best too easily, where football is concerned.
“Kerry are our neighbours. Rathmore have the same priest as us. We go to school in Kerry. We socialise in Killarney. We grow up with them. Yet, their footballers believe they’ll play in Croke Park with club or county. They don’t believe that in Cork. The difference here is that we’ve shown that [Kerry] mentality and ambition.
“Though there may be still a few begrudgers out there, we’ve earned our right to be in Croke Park. The players don’t get a penny in travel expenses. They don’t look for a penny. They deserve to be where they are and I just hope for their sake they put up their best performance.”
Knock on, knock all.
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