After the fairytale, Rathmore finding freshness again

The East Kerry club are not ready to be eliminated from the Bishop Moynihan Cup race just yet.

GOING AGAIN: Rathmore full forward Shane Ryan, who is the Kerry goalkeeper, taking a shot against Kerins O'Rahilly's. Pic: Don MacMonagle

Kerry SFC

Cast your minds back twelve months, and Rathmore were doing their damnedest to navigate a passage through the treacherous waters that is the Kerry county intermediate football championship. Even the mighty Austin Stacks ended up submerged and drowning just a few short weeks ago.

The East Kerry men went on, however, to annex county, provincial and All-Ireland honours in the ultimate fairytale campaign. Now, having already secured their senior status for next season, they are not ready to be eliminated from the Bishop Moynihan Cup race just yet.

In the undoubted match of the weekend, Rathmore make the trip to Kenmare Shamrocks for what is likely to be a do-or-die championship (Group 2) encounter tomorrow (4pm), with St Kieran’s expected to swat the eliminated Feale Rangers aside, ensuring the losers of the all-club clash will be knocked out.

“It’s a nice place to be. The club championship was kind of disappointing for us. We had a good win against Kerins O’Rahillys, but then Dingle bullied us behind there, and it was a real welcome to the senior ranks. We just didn’t play well against Dr Crokes,” said Rathmore manager Denis Moynihan.

“We just seem to have got a bit of form back now. We played well against St Kieran’s, it could have gone either way, so a draw was probably a fair result. Then Feale Rangers didn’t play well last week, but we played very well, so we’ve a very good chance below in Kenmare.” 

While Rathmore, understandably, struggled in the aftermath of their All-Ireland victory, with an up-and-down county league and a club championship group stage exit, Moynihan is hopeful that they might have an edge in freshness on Kenmare, who are lining out for the eighth successive weekend.

“There is a bit of freshness there with us now, we had a break after the club championship, and we were tired after the long year before, and then going straight into the county league. The couple of weeks of a break were huge for us,” he added.

“It is a huge ask for Kenmare and Dingle. If you get into a club final, you’re obviously winning, but to keep it going, and keep the hunger, and stay injury-free, that is tough. From a Rathmore point of view, we just hope that we have that bit of freshness over Kenmare on the day.” 

After a cracking draw against St Kieran’s (0-20 to 2-14), Rathmore put up another big score in their emphatic win over Feale Rangers last Saturday (1-16 to 1-5). Inter-county goalkeeper Shane Ryan, full-forward with the club, has notched 0-11 in the two games.

“His best years (outfield) were under-21 and I suppose then he was in goals with Kerry, and I think his form dipped a bit. There is no doubt that this is the best form I have ever seen Shane in. It’s not his ability to score, but it’s his all-round play, especially against Feale Rangers.

“He was out around the field winning breaks, tackling, making space. There is a lot of speculation around the county that if he was on the other side of (David) Clifford in the county jersey, that they would be quare hawks to handle, the two of them.” 

Rathmore are likely to again be without key forward Chrissy Spiers, who is struggling badly with an ongoing groin problem. Defender Andrew Moynihan, currently studying in Canada, requires shoulder surgery, but youngsters Fionn Murphy and Ciarán Collins have taken their chances to shine.

“After the club championship, we sat down, and our aim was, and is, to get to a quarter-final. It would be disappointing if we didn’t get there. I know we’re just up to senior ranks, and we’re safe for next year, but I just think we’re good enough, at least to get to a quarter-final, and then we can build from there,” stressed the Rathmore boss.