Former Cork captain John O’Keeffe was the heart and soul of Millstreet
John O'Keeffe captained Millstreet to win the 1948 Co. SFC pictured with the match ball after he captained Cork to enjoy victory in the 1949 Munster SFC Final.
John Coleman can recall a few of the guiding lights in Millstreet as he was growing up. John O’Keeffe was one of the brightest.
O’Keeffe, who passed away earlier this week, captained Cork to the Munster football victory in 1949. He was recalled as “the heart and soul of Millstreet” by Coleman, a star on Cork’s All-Ireland football winners of 1973.
“Johnny was always a presence in the club, going back years,” said Coleman.
“When we were all kids starting off with the club, Johnny Keeffe, Din Connors, Toots Kelleher - they were the big names, they were the players we aspired to copy all the time.
“Din Connors went back to the forties, and the Cork All-Ireland-winning team of 1945. There was a direct link to our team in 1973 because the late Connie Hartnett was related to him.
“Both of them wore the number seven jersey - and Connie would never wear any other jersey, as a matter of fact.
“Johnny and Toots came a bit after Din, and having Johnny as captain of Cork was obviously a huge honour for the entire area. Not that you’d ever know it - he would never bring it up or boast about it. Some fellas might get a lot of milage out of playing a few times for the county but Johnny was the exact opposite.
O’Keeffe figured prominently on Millstreet’s day of days, captaining them to senior glory.
By the end of the forties the north Cork club had an experienced side, having learned valuable lessons in two county final defeats earlier in the decade. Millstreet overcame Beara, St Finbarr’s and Fermoy to reach the 1948 Cork senior football final, where they faced newcomers St Vincent’s.
With O’Keeffe a key operator at centre-back in terrible conditions, Millstreet edged out the city side, 1-2 to 0-3, to collect their only county senior title. The victory meant one of their players would captain Cork the following season.
O’Keeffe and (Denis) Toots Kelleher were already figuring in red and white at that stage, figuring in Cork’s defeat against Cavan in the replayed 1948 National Football League final. Having drawn in their first meeting in June, the sides met again in October - the week before that Cork county final - but Cavan were too strong.
The following year O’Keeffe captained Cork to Munster championship glory - Clare beat Kerry in the Munster SFC semi-final but Cork had too much firepower for the Banner in the decider, winning 3-6 to 0-7.
Familiar opponents ended Cork’s season in the All-Ireland semi-final. Cavan, then a powerhouse side, qualified for the decider with a win, 1-9 to 2-, though Meath beat them in the All-Ireland final.
Far away from the roar of the Croke Park crowd, O’Keeffe served Millstreet faithfully, playing championship football for 18 years before retiring. His commitment to the area wasn’t limited to the football field, either.
“Johnny was a great man for the community as well,” says John Coleman.
“He was always active in the Tidy Towns movement in the town, and people in Millstreet would have been used to the sight of himself and his wife, Lena, who predeceased him, working on that. They’d be out helping with the Tidy Towns morning, noon and night.
“He was also one of the founders of the Millstreet Town Park, which is a fantastic asset to the town and always has been, but in the lockdown it has blossomed even more as an amenity for people to walk in, and for kids to use the playground.
“The club GAA pitch is there but there’s also a tarmac path around the perimeter, which is being used more now than ever.
“He worked for years for Irish Life, so he’d be calling to houses collecting premiums, so he was well known and always around for a chat.”
The links between the Colemans and the O’Keeffes went deep: “John’s brother Arthur worked with us for almost sixty years and was responsible for the preparation of Billy’s rally cars (John’s brother Billy, legendary rally driver).
“John was a customer here in our shop for 50 years and I can honestly say I never heard a bad word out of him, or about him from anyone else.
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