‘It’s exciting in Kerry at the moment because we don’t know what’s coming’

It was at the Dublin launch of the Comórtas Peile Paidi Ó Sé that Kieran Donaghy was reminded yesterday of one of the Ventry man’s most controversial sound bites.

The Kerry supporters, Ó Sé famously claimed, are the ‘roughest type of f**ing animals you could ever deal with’.

Ó Sé was scolded for that remark though a number of Kingdom figures have since claimed there was more than a ring of truth to it.

Donaghy was considering the Kerry supporters in the context of new manager Peter Keane’s appointment and what sort of honeymoon period he might enjoy.

“If he thinks he’s going to get a big two or three years to bring this through it’s not going to happen, that’s the reality of it,” said Donaghy.

They’ll get the League and they’ll get the Munster championship, then it will be kind of step up to the plate time. That’s just the way it is, that’s just expectations.

Yet while Kingdom supporters may crave an All-Ireland win in 2019, five years after their last one when the towering Tralee man played such a central role, they may have to be realistic.

Donaghy isn’t saying they won’t win the Sam Maguire Cup but reckons talk of dashing Dublin’s drive-for-five is more than a little premature.

“Kerry haven’t got to play Dublin in the last two or three years,” he said. “I would very much say that if I was in Peter Keane’s shoes now, Dublin would be the last thing in my mind. It would be about getting my team going and getting my team playing well. Trying to get to an All-Ireland semi-final is the first thing we’ve to do. We lost two of them in 2016 and 2017 and didn’t even get to one last year. So we’re miles off it now.”

The quality, and quantity, of talented young players in Kerry’s panel gives Keane, manager of the last three All-Ireland winning minor teams, a fighting chance of turning things around.

Donaghy called it quits before Keane was even appointed while Darran O’Sullivan, Anthony Maher and Donnchadh Walsh have also retired. The 2006 Footballer of the Year sensed change was coming towards the end of the 2018 campaign.

“I did yeah, I just had the feeling,” he said. “Anthony had worked really hard to get through the year with his bad hip injuries. I knew Darran could possibly be leaning that way as well and I knew Donnchadh had a lot going on with physio work and opportunities in Dublin that he’d been turning down to play with Kerry. He’s thinking about the next part of his life too, he’s engaged now. I didn’t want to be the only auld fella around the place, trying to enlighten all these youngsters!

“No, it’s exciting in Kerry at the moment because we don’t know what’s coming this year, we don’t know what we’re going to be playing. We don’t know what tactics are going to be used. It’s exciting for me as a fan to watch and see how the boys go.”

Part of the excitement surrounds the return of Tommy Walsh and the potential impact he can have. One half of the famous ‘Twin Towers’ that dominated the 2009 Championship, Walsh is 30 now but still can perform an important role in Donaghy’s opinion.

I would say that blistering pace, getting out in front, getting the ball and turning and burning fellas would be something that might have to change but he’s still a very good lead guy,” said Donaghy.

“He learned that out in Australia, how to get out in front and he’s so big and strong that once he gets out in front of you, he’ll win it out in front. So I still see him winning a lot of marks in there and a lot of scores coming off him.

“When me and him were playing together, I was kind of the big, awkward target man and he was in the corner against a small corner-back, running out, winning ball, pushing him aside and kicking it over the bar or going through on goal.

“I kind of see him nearly being more of that target man now because you’ve got David Clifford and Paul Geaney and James O’Donoghue. You’ve got enough of those fellas that can play. He can also go out at centre-forward and be a kind of an aerial threat from kick-outs or whatever.”

Donaghy said the return of Donie Buckley as coach could be crucial also. “I would say that Donie will be doing a lot on the team’s defence, work-rate, tackling, all that sort of stuff,” he said. “We don’t know what Kerry are going to do tactically next year, so that’s the exciting part for me.”

- GAA clubs from the United Arab Emirates, Scotland, England and 17 counties across the four provinces of Ireland will take part in the 30th anniversary of the Lidl Comórtas Peile Páidi Ó Sé 2019, with 44 adult men’s and ladies club teams descending on the rugged Dingle Peninsula from February 15 to 17.