Boarding pass to club glory no load for O'Rahilly's Cormac Coffey
LONG HAUL: Cormac Coffey of Kerins O'Rahilly'S. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Cormac Coffey cannot understand the fuss being made.
Himself, fellow Dubai resident Jack Savage, and New Yorker Gavin O’Brien have been going to great lengths - and even greater distances - to line out for Kerins O’Rahilly’s in their run to Saturday’s Munster club football final.
For the Dubai pair, especially, it’s been one long, continuous loop of work, fly, football.
But as Coffey sees it, theirs is a fairly straightforward task in getting themselves from A to Tralee and back again.
Presenting themselves at the correct boarding gate at the correct time is no difficult job. Neither is watching a couple of films and stomaching some mediocre in-flight grub as they cruise over whatever continent or ocean they need to cross en route to Dublin.
And sure once they land in the capital, there is typically some friend or family member waiting in the set down area ready to chauffeur them down to Strand Road.
How could any of that be described as challenging or onerous, asks Coffey from his Dubai apartment?
Those that are to be applauded and have a fuss made about them are the club members putting their hands deep into their pockets to get himself, Savage, and O’Brien home from the desert and Big Apple.
“There are so many people commending our efforts for flying home. But to be honest, it is unbelievable to be given the chance to fly home,” says Coffey.
“The people that should be praised and given credit are the people who are making it possible. We have been so lucky that there have been really generous people in the club and community who have been providing the funds for these flights.
“Not alone that, but we’ve been getting the direct flight home each time simply because it is more convenient for the body and the logistics of the game.”
Further well-earned thanks for those filling their tanks to drive three and a half hours up the road to collect whichever one of the three has landed into Dublin airport after the last of the day’s planes, trains, and automobiles have set off for the Kingdom.
“I’ve had flights where I got in after 7pm and you’ve missed the last flight down to Farranfore or the last train out of Heuston. The bus times can be awkward too, and in the end people were going out of their way from the club to go up and collect me.
“Cathal Sheehy came up the first time. The last two occasions DJ Hanafin has spun up. I consider him a good luck charm, seeing as we’ve won the last two games.
“The effort by the club has been unbelievable. It is paying off, fortunately for us. We are still there and still going.”
No question but they wouldn’t still be going if it wasn’t for their Rahilly’s-abroad contingent. The 1-9 kicked against Éire Óg Ennis was supplied by four players. All bar one of that quartet is no longer living in Ireland.
Twenty-six-year-old Coffey and his girlfriend moved out to Dubai on August 23. Travelling had always been on their radar. It’s one of the reasons why Coffey said, thanks, but no thanks, when Jack O’Connor invited him to rejoin the Kerry set-up for the 2022 season.
Club commitments, on the other hand, are non-negotiable. The couple were hardly a wet week in Dubai when he returned for Rahillys’ county championship group game against East Kerry.
After that was the club final against Templenoe in late October, followed by last month’s Munster semi-final. Wednesday’s flight home was his fourth for club fare.
The dynamic corner-back is the sole Irish múinteoir in the private Indian primary school where he’s teaching. His young students were quickly brought up to speed on the race for provincial club honours.
“The kids in the class think I am a professional footballer at this stage because they’d never seen GAA before,” he laughs. “I’ve shown them plenty of videos of different games and they are in awe of it.”
The school, the same as those stumping up for his flights, have been very good to the 2014 All-Ireland minor winner.
He was given the flexibility to be absent from the classroom on the Monday and Tuesday after the Munster semi-final and was also given leave of absence on Thursday and Friday of this week so as to get himself home in plenty of time for Páirc Uí Rinn.
“I had proven to them with the games before Ennis that I could manage it in terms of the workload, flying at the weekend, and being up to date with the work when I came back. They have been very accommodating.
“The only game where I found the flying tough was the East Kerry game. I flew on the Friday, played on the Saturday, and then flew back on the Sunday.
“On the Monday after East Kerry beat us, I went into an Indian school that knows nothing about GAA and there wasn’t a word said about the game. There’s advantages to that.”
True, but it isn’t just the post-mortems he’s missed. The club final celebrations he had no part in. The Munster final build-up too.
Distance from Strand Road, though, and the game that consumes their pocket of Tralee has brought fresh appreciation for what it is he is flying home for. It is and it isn’t about the silverware.
“It’s only when you leave home do you fully realise how important the GAA is. Coming over here initially, I wasn’t too interested in joining any club as I had had so much football. That was one of the reasons I wanted to get away; get a break and travel. But within two weeks of arriving, I joined the Dubai Celts.
“To be this far in the competition at home is huge for the club, past members, everyone really. Being collected at the airport by people who aren’t even putting on the jersey, but who are so eager and excited for the game, it is amazing and shows what it means to everyone.
“It has been an unbelievable experience flying home for these games and it’s a time I’ll never forget.” Coffey’s school broke for Christmas yesterday afternoon, meaning he’ll remain in the Kingdom until the far side of Christmas.
The hope is that his January itinerary will involve a couple more airport check-ins, adjustable headrests, and an All-Ireland club semi-final.
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