Fifteen ties that bind Kerry and Galway

LEAP: Kerry captain Mick O'Connell shows off his fielding skills to team trainer Dr Eamonn O'Sullivan and the some of his team mates in Fitzgerald Stadium during collective training before the 1959 All-Ireland. (Photograph courtesy The Kerryman)

1.

A Kerryman did more than anyone to create Galway’s winning tradition in maroon. The colours’ first All-Ireland day was 1934, when Ballyferriter’s Mick Ferriter hit two goals to catapult the Tribesmen to victory. UCG student Ferriter (23) caught the selectors’ eyes after winning Sigerson and county medals with the college. Described as “a brilliant opportunist”, he proved it that day and Galway have stuck with maroon ever since.

2.

Joe Keohane did it all — indeed his famous battlecry was ‘We do it all for Kerry’, but on his most famous day he was in street clothes. He played in the drawn final against Galway in ’38, but went on strike over expenses and missed the replay. However, after a whistle was mistaken for endgame, half the Kerry team left Croke Park and Keohane and more were drafted in for the final minutes. It gave Keohane the distinction of paying at the gate and playing.

3.

One of their own beat Kerry that day — Moyvane’s Jackie Flavin, who stands alone in GAA history. Nurtured by neighbour and Kerry great Con Brosnan, he played a starring role in Kerry’s 1937 All-Ireland final replay win — a year later work took him to Ballinasloe and he starred again, for Galway to become the only footballer to win back-to-back All-Irelands with different counties.

4.

Flavin wasn’t the only happy Kerryman in ’38. Kerry were back-boned by West Kerrymen — Sean Brosnan, Paddy ‘Bawn’ Brosnan, Billy Casey, Bill Dillon, Paddy Kennedy and Tom ‘Gega’ O’Connor — but bragging rights west of Annascaul belonged to Dingle’s Connie O’Connor and Ballyferriter’s Eugene O’Sullivan who won medals as Galway subs.

5.

Kerry had revenge on Galway in the 1940 and ’41 finals, but one that got away occupied them more. It was 1942 when they crashed in a semi-final to Galway when going for four All-Irelands in a row. All because Paddy Bawn and Billy Casey went on strike after their Dingle clubmate Sean Brosnan was dropped. Worse still, three Kerrymen helped beat them — Jackie Flavin again, with help from Dunquin’s Dan Kavanagh and South Kerry’s Johnny Clifford.

6.

The 1959 final between Kerry and Galway is famous for captain Mick O’Connell leaving the Sam after him in the dressing room and Seán Murphy having the game named after him. It's called the ‘Seán Murphy All-Ireland’ ever since, while legendary GAA scribe Padraig Puirséil was so moved he said “if I were a Kerryman, I think I’d start a subscription to erect a monument to Murphy”.

7.

That ’59 final wouldn’t have been the same if Kerrymen hadn’t thrown in their lot with Galway. Lisselton’s Jack Kissane and Tralee’s Mick Laide wore maroon. Kissane had the consolation of winning his All-Ireland with the Tribesmen in ’56 — Laide never did win one, but his son Pa was on Kerry’s 1997 team that landed Sam.

8.

Galway got their revenge for ’59 in the 1960s, dominating Kerry with a run of four successive wins — the All-Ireland semi-final in ’63, the finals in ’64 and ’65 and ’65 league final as well. Kerry were toothless up front in those years, failing to raise a single green flag in four games.

9.

Of course, there was a Kerry connection to the great 1960s Galway three-in-a-row side — not on the field, but off it. Dunmore McHales’ John Keenan was a Galway ever-present, his father-in-law was Kerry legend ‘Long’ Jack Walsh from Asdee, who won six All-Irelands between 1924 and ’32.

10.

Just in case you thought the flow of footballers between Kerry and Galway was one way, there are exceptions — the 1990s when Galwegians won All-Irelands for Kerry, not Sams but Sigersons on IT Tralee’s three-in-a-row side. In 1997 Padraic Joyce was on a team that included Seamus Moynihan, Barry O’Shea and William Kirby, while Michael Donnellan was on the 1998 team captained by another Galway All-Ireland man Michael Cloherty.

11.

In 1998 Galway bridged a 32-year gap to their last All-Ireland. Michael Donnellan made history by emulating his father John and grandfather Michael in claiming a Celtic Cross. Alas, a Kerry family got there before the Donnellans — the O’Connors from Dingle. Batt won with Kerry in 1909, his son Connie with Galway in ’38, while Vincent played for Kerry in their 1979 win over Dublin.

12.

When Kerry beat Galway in the 2000 final, Aodán MacGearailt kept up a family tradition of beating Galway in a decider. His granduncle Joe MacGearailt showed the way in 1942 — the Ballydavid man captained Dublin to victory, with his midfield partner being Dingle’s Mick Falvey. More remarkably, one of Galway’s midfielders was Dunquin’s Dan Kavanagh.

13.

MacGearailt was one of four Gaeltacht men on that 2000 team — Darragh and Tomás Ó Sé and Dara Ó Cinnéide were others, while Páidí Ó Sé was manager. Games with Galway were different — when they crossed paths with An Ceathrú Rua’s Seán Óg de Paor and Séan Ó Domhnaill on the field and spoke, it was as Gaeilge. Always.

14.

Kerry’s greatest goalkeeper Dan O’Keeffe always had a horseshoe in goal with him for good luck, but Dara Ó Cinnéide had a miraculous medal — given to him by Sister de Sales in Dingle — sewn into his togs. Meanwhile, Seán Óg de Paor had his medal inside the collar of his jersey. With five All-Irelands between them, the miraculous medals worked.

15.

Galway have no issue with Sunday’s referee Sean Hurson, albeit he’s a Galbally Pearses clubmate of Kerry coach from Tyrone Paddy Tally. It’s not first time there’s been links between team and referee — the ’38 final ref was Tom Culhane from Glin, just a few miles over the Kerry border. That year he’d played for Munster with 11 of the Kerry team — familiarity didn’t stop him making a huge call against Kerry though, blowing his final whistle as Purty Landers’ ‘winning’ kick sailed over the bar.