Robbie Kiely: Dublin breach of Covid rules 'a storm in a teacup'

The Tipperary footballer's GAA career began with Kilmacud Crokes in Dublin

Tue, 06 Apr, 2021 - 16:43

Paul Keane

Tipperary footballer Robbie Kiely admits that a GAA career which began at one of Ireland's largest clubs, Kilmacud Crokes in Dublin, will eventually end for him at Cork junior outfit Barryroe.

In between, the Munster SFC medallist also had spells with Arravale Rovers in Tipp and Cork senior side Carbery Rangers, winning a county title with the latter in 2016.

It's been an interesting journey for the experienced half-back who transferred to Barryroe last year, joining brothers Alan and David in the team.

Kiely, whose family live in the area, said it was experiencing Rosscarbery outfit Carbery Rangers' win in 2016 that convinced him to move on to Barryroe.

"Seeing the emotion of the people in Rosscarbery after they won such a big event like the county final, it just got me thinking," he said on The GAA Statsman podcast. "My family is based down in west Cork, in Courtmacsherry, and Barryroe would be the local club where the brothers, the cousins, are all part of the club.

I just decided it was time in my life, that I had two or three years maybe left of playing, and I was saying it was time to move down. I'm probably back playing with the brothers for the first time in 10 years which is very strange when you think about it. The GAA club scene is all about the family and the parish, that's what the GAA is about.

"I just said it's time to go back to the roots and get back playing with the brothers and just enjoy the craic. I achieved the goal with Ross' and I was delighted to do that. We'll hopefully achieve something now down in Barryroe, who knows what will happen."

Kiely was a key figure in the Tipp team that overcame Ronan McCarthy's Cork last November in the Munster final.

Back in 2016, McCarthy was in charge of the Carbery Rangers team that beat Ballincollig in the county decider.

"He was a no-nonsense manager, he wasn't talking any of the politics or anything like that," said Kiely of McCarthy. "He was picking the team based on form and that was going to be how it was. And it worked."

Kiely played with Crokes in south Dublin until he was 12 before the family moved to Tipp, where his father is from, leading to him playing for the Premier County.

Speaking about the Dublin footballers' Covid guidelines breach, Kiely said it was much ado about nothing.

Boss Dessie Farrell was hit with a three-month ban after a group of players were caught training early last Wednesday morning at a GAA club.

"If they split the group into a four and a five and went into a public park instead of going to a GAA field that should have been closed, and if the selector wasn't there...you'd see people up in Tramore Valley Park here having a picnic and four of them there having a coffee and a few lads doing training, rugby lads doing training, you have boxing lads who I actually saw there earlier on today, then there wouldn't be as much hassle.

"But I think it's the fact that it's Dublin, they've come across as such a role-model team and what they say in the media is that everything is for the team and all of that, I think it's just because of that that the media wanted to jump on it.

I think it's a storm in a teacup really. They should have done it probably better, or whatever way they were going to do it...like, 7am in the morning and going to the GAA field, probably not the smartest thing in the world. But nothing to it really."

* The full interview with Tipperary and Barryroe footballer Robbie Kiely on the GAA Statsman podcast is available here.