'I had to lock that space where Tommy Walsh wanted to go': Mark Keane on THAT goal against Kerry
The 47 minutes that followed his introduction passed in a toing and froing blur of excitement.
For Mark Keane, only a select few moments protrude from the noise: The black cards, Sean Powter’s last-gasp drive forward, the unrelenting weather. Above all else, a thundering and blunt instruction.
“I was actually in midfield marking David Moran leading up to it,” he recalls.
This was his Cork senior debut. In Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Against Kerry.
The stuff of dreams almost dashed as they trailed by a point in the final minute of extra-time.
“I remember Cian O’Neill on the sideline just said to me. ‘Mark! Get into the f**king top of the square!’
“After that I was just lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.”
Keane is speaking from Melbourne, where he is busy preparing for Collingwood’s upcoming AFL season.
He has just finished a taxing two weeks in hotel quarantine. Limited equipment, bad food, yet he stresses, no complaints.
It was all worth it. The annual return to Ireland became the trip of a lifetime.
In fact, he credits his recent exposure to Australian Rules for equipping him with the necessary know-how to produce that moment of magic. As Luke Connolly’s shot sailed high, Keane sensed it would drop short.
He began to mark his territory and command the square. This is what he had been trained to do.
“It was all from my position in the AFL as a key defender. I try to engage the person near me and lock away the space where I think the ball is going to land so he can’t get into that space. That is what I did with Tommy Walsh.
“I guarded the space where he wanted to go, where the ball was going. I was guarding it and let him go at the last second and went for the ball.
“I just kicked it. I didn’t even think about it. I could have easily taken a mark or handpassed it over the bar. I just kicked it so I didn’t second think it.”
From the outside, 2020 appears like a picture-perfect year for the Mitchelstown man.
An AFL debut and new two-year contract. The chance to play for Cork. A fantasy fulfilled.
Scratch beneath the surface and the reality is far more complex. To truly understand what that goal meant, you need to look back over what came before it. This meant more than many realise.
There is no question the county needed it. A first championship win over their fiercest rivals since 2012. Their southern pride could not tolerate another chastening fixture. The triumph was greeted with a mix of relish and relief.
But Mark Keane also needed it. The last time he sat down with this journalist was March 2020.
As he talks now, he picks that point and charts the months that followed. A period filled with turmoil.
Shortly after, the season was suspended. In June it resumed. With little notice, all Victorian clubs were required to travel interstate, to live and train in hubs across Australia’s least affected states. The goal was to isolate players in bubbles and salvage the campaign. Everything, from list sizes to salary caps, was up in the air.
All combining to strengthen the yearning for home.
“Last time I was talking to you I was getting a bit homesick. Then we went away to a hub,” Keane explains.
It was a feeling the club fully understood. Earlier in the year, they had sent personnel to his hometown in a bid to appreciate what their young prospect missed. Nick Maxwell, their leadership and culture manager, was captain during Marty Clarke’s stint with the side. All this exposure gave them a deep sense of what the GAA stood for in the hearts of their Irish recruits.
From the moment Keane signed, Collingwood committed to do whatever was necessary to maintain that bond.
“Eventually I said I’d stick it out and I was lucky enough to stay with it and make my debut on the west coast. After we got knocked out by Geelong in the semi-final, I was lucky again to get home and we beat Kerry.”
Perhaps the best illustration of how much this opportunity meant is the process that made it possible. Once the season ended, Keane left Australia, already drafting the message in his mind. Ronan McCarthy’s number was calling out to him. It was while waiting for a connecting flight that he decided to reach out.
“When I was going home, I honestly had no idea if it would happen. I was sitting down in Dubai airport and decided to text Ronan. I just said, ‘I am on my way home from Australia and I got the go ahead to play for Cork this year if it was okay.’ “He gave me a ring when I got back to Dublin and told me to let him know when I am out of my quarantine. I sent a text when I was out. That was a Tuesday. On the Wednesday I trained with Cork. I had four or five sessions and then during the training session before the Kerry game Cian O’Neill told me to be ready because I was coming on.”
It finished with the ball in the net. Cue pandemonium. Delirium.
Over the past two years Keane has remained Cork’s staunchest supporter. That meant waking up in middle of the night for every match. During fellow county man Ciarán Sheehan’s time in the city, they developed a habit of meeting up to watch The Sunday Game.
Looking on, longingly.
The minor team he was a part of graduated and went on to win an U20 All-Ireland title. His childhood friends started playing for the county. He was delighted for them but desperate to make his own contribution. Finally, he got the chance. Those years of supporting from abroad only making it sweeter.
“I was just so happy to see the boys so happy, if that makes sense.
“Mark Collins, Brian Hurley, Ian Maguire, it was a long time coming for them. It was my debut. I have many years to go playing for Cork but they have wanted to do that for years. Dr Con Murphy celebrating after, that was amazing to see.
“First to meet the likes of them. Then to see how happy they were after beating Kerry, they were just thrilled. It was like a sense of relief after. A weight off their shoulders. I grew up watching them.”
Calm and craft created the goal; chaos came after. It was a result that sent shockwaves across the championship. Remarkable for any number of reasons: its timing, the definitive consequences, delivered by a debutant not long off the plane. And yet, for Mark Keane, a result entirely expected.
“When I came home, I remember saying it to the lads. I know I was not in there that long, but I just said there is no reason we cannot beat Kerry.
“I was fully confident going into that game we were going to win. I am not just saying that because we beat them. I genuinely had full belief we would win.
“I actually got that (feeling) going into the group. Their mentality even. One thing I noticed: Ian Maguire is a fantastic captain. He has a great style of leadership, just consistently motivational and positive. We had a few A vs B games before that and you just knew by them. I was really confident.
“Obviously, Kerry are up there as one of the best teams in the country. We were within three points of them last year and I think we were better equipped this year. It was a plan to break them down. We didn’t let them play.
The butterfly effect was profound. Having watching Keane’s heroics, Tipperary’s Colin O’Riordan went back to Sydney Swans with a request to play in the Munster final. They granted that wish and more AFL clubs look inclined to do so in the future. That can only be a good thing for all involved.
“I can only imagine… Colin didn’t get to play the first two games. Then he saw me play and went away to ask again. If he didn’t get to play and they went and won a Munster title, would he really be happy coming back out here?
“I don’t know. I know for me, beating Kerry and getting to a Munster final, it gave me a taste of it. That will do me for another bit. If I didn’t get to play any Gaelic back home, I would only miss it more. I would feel like I am losing contact with it and that is the last thing I want, to lose contact with a sport I grew up playing.”
Disappointment did follow in the Munster final. Keane came on, fielded plenty of ball, but as a collective the side never really got going. A harsh reminder of a crazy year and the nature of sport in 2020. Delicate business.
“Obviously, it was a tough defeat to take. The better team won on the day. I think it is really hard to back up those wins like the one against Kerry. It remined me of us beating West Coast in the first final last year, we went on and lost to Geelong in the semi-final.
“It is such a high. You think it will get better and higher. We obviously worked so hard that day with extra time. You can’t take anything away from Tipperary. They are a great team. Sweeney, Kiely, Quinlivan, they are great players.”
The past 12 months have been about debuts. The 20-year-old also lined out against Freemantle in Round 9 last August. As his focus returns to Collingwood, the next challenge is to kick on.
“It was an unreal moment to make my debut. There were no fans in Europe and then to run out in front of 50,000 fans, it was probably the only sport in the world to have a crowd. The whole thing is about you.
“Making your debut, all the lads get around. It was surreal. All my family and friends were in contact. Then I had my jersey presented to me by Brodie Grundy, our ruckman.
“Compared to your first game in GAA, they don’t make a big deal about it. The full day is about you. Obviously, they are focused on the win and stuff, but they all get around you and you think the world is on top of you. So, there is a bit of nerves there. I am just glad it is over and done with. Get the debut done and drive on from there.”
A new year presents new opportunities. Keane has just moved house in Melbourne, linking up with Essendon and Meath man Cian McBride. “I am learning off him, and he is learning off me,” he says with a grin.
The bond with fellow Irish AFL players has been an important resource since his arrival. The group saw three members depart in 2020 as Conor McKenna, Conor Glass, and Ross McQuillan returned home.
Living with a fellow Irishman who understands the transition and has the experience of a different club is invaluable.
The plan now is more progress. Since 2018, Mark Keane has had two teams, playing for one, supporting the other. Now he finally feels like he belongs to both.
“Preseason is a hectic part of the year. I suppose last year showed anything can change. Injuries, the season could be called off, we could head way in hubs again. I have to think short-term. Starting tomorrow. Right now, I am hoping to have a really good training session tomorrow. A short-term goal is to play both pre-season games.
“My target then this year is to play in round 1. I remember at the end of the year I was talking to Nathan Buckley and he said I was very close to playing the semi-final against Geelong. The goal is definitely have a good preseason and hopefully play Round 1 against Western Bulldogs on March 19.
“I am focused on playing out here. When I go home, whenever that will be, I will be hoping to go back and play for Cork. I want to go play hurling as well. I grew up playing both, Cork hurling was big for me.
“I’m still in touch with Gaelic football here. I kick around with Garryowen, a local club. Conor Dorman got me in touch with them so I’ll be meeting them for a kick around. I always want to stay in touch.
“I will never fall out of love with it.”
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