The Madness of Football: How the Examiner saw the 1981 All-Ireland final

Kerry saw off Offaly to complete the four-in-a-row

Mon, 15 Jan, 2024 - 20:41

Examiner Sport

In the Madness of Football, a podcast about the past, present and future of Gaelic football, we'll re-examine pivotal games in the history of the game and put them into context using modern stats, expert insights and new interviews with key players. This week, Paul Rouse, Maurice Brosnan and James Horan discuss the 1981 All-Ireland final which saw Kerry beat Offaly to complete the four-in-a-row. This is how the Examiner's much-respected GAA writer Jim O'Sullivan saw the game.

Jacko's gem is Kerry's clincher

KERRY 1-12 Offaly 0-8

by Jim O'Sullivan

THE difficulty experienced by Kerry in winning and the low standard of play were the primary factors which made yesterday's All-Ireland football final at Croke Park almost as disappointing as last year's. But in the context of Kerry's achievement of the four-in-a-row after a lapse of almost 50 years, they were insignificant.

On the day, Offaly had the will, but not the skill, to bring off the more elusive senior double and any outside chance they might have had of causing a shock vanished after a gem of a goal from Jack O'Shea two minutes from the end.

To an extent, the swirling wind and the 'slippery conditions contributed to the game falling well below expectations, like the surprisingly small crowd of 61,489.

However, by no means could it explain why Kerry struggled for so long to stamp their authority after it became apparent from an early stage that Offaly, just weren't strong enough to put up a serious challenge.

In short it was the least impressive of Kerry's four All-Ireland victories, and also their poorest championship display for many years.

HANDICAP

What did handicap Kerry a great deal was the absence of Pat Spillane (introduced two minutes from the end), even though his replacement, Tommy Doyle, played an important part in the victory and the fact that Michael Sheehy, who had to have a pain-killing injection before the game, and at half time, was severely restricted by his injury.

Added to that was the fact that several of the team played below form, and that Eoin Liston was also limited by his inability to get scores off the hand.

The absence of Spillane, while predictable, was a little unexpected in the sense that it was reported that he had come through a fitness test on Saturday satisfactorily. In the circumstances, Kerry were fortunate that Doyle, a direct replacement at left half-forward, was quick to settle and played a splendid first half. But, at the same tune, it was obvious that Spillane's enormous work-rate, and in particular his usually vital role as a link-man with the defence, were missed. Indeed it was the lack of combination between defence and attack, and among the forwards, which more than any other factor, was responsible for reducing the overall level of performance.

Kerry, having won the toss, played against the wind, and were under pressure - for, perhaps the only time -- in the opening 10 minutes, Matt Connor kicked a great point from 45 yards after two minutes and in Offaly's early raids he seemed to have a definite advantage over Paudie Lynch.

FOUND HIS FORM

But just as the crafty Lynch began to find his form and settled to play an outstanding game, the Kerry side showed a gradual improvement, with the; brilliant Paudie O'Shea making an invaluable contribution.

Liston had the chance to goal in the sixth minute, but was crowded out when he was not permitted to hand-pass to the net, and unable to kick. It was to be typical of several other situations in which the big full-forward — who actually failed to score — would find himself involved. After an attack inspired by Doyle, Ogie Moran had the first point for the champions in the 10th minute. Paud O'Shea, up in support, added another almost immediately afterwards and in the 13th minute Michael Sheehy pointed a free from the left side, having earlier missed two.

From there on, progress in attack wasn't so great, because Offaly enjoyed an amount of success in defence. Richie Connor, who was far and away their best player, dominated at centre-back and marking in the full-back line was tight and effective. Kerry depended a great deal on Ger Power, who was sharp, but finished poorly, and Doyle in the half-forward line, and John Egan in the left corner, but although all three players won the ball regularly, they had little to show for their efforts.

As an example, Power thundered down the middle in the 19th minute and with a few options open to him, he kicked the ball harmlessly towards Martin Furlong. The 'keeper's intended pass for wing-back Pat Fitzgerald went to Tommy Doyle and he, in turn, blazed the ball wide on the far side. For a team noted for its devastating attack, it was the rule more than the exception, and at the end, it was no surprise to note Kerry finished with 16 wides (10 of them coming in the second half).

It was significant that Offaly made a reasonably strong impact at midfield. Sean Walsh, who tended to be inconsistent, until he starred late in the second half, bettered an obviously unfit Tomas Connor, but, surprisingly, Jack O'Shea did not dominate against 19-year-old Padraig Dunne. In fact some of O'Shea's best work was seen deep in defence, but even this wasn't anything as much as in either the Munster final or the game against Mayo. As a consequence, the forwards' task was made more difficult Offaly came more into the game in the 15 minutes before the interval, but they were also guilty of the same poor finishing as Kerry; in fact they were worse. The attack rarely penetrated and it was minus selected left halfforward Aidan O'Halloran, who mostly adopted a roving role behind the half-back line (without achieving any real success).

Matt Connor cropped up at the edge of the square in the 28th minute and had a shot blocked down before he charged with the ball and was penalised, but he was the only one to cause any trouble, and only on rare occasions. Sean Lowry caused a lot of problems for John O'Keefffe, but it counted for little because of a lack of support and Kerry's vigilant play in defence.

After a Sean Lowry point in the 24th minute gave Offaly their first score following a long break, Brendan Lowry — the top forward in recent games, but out of his depth against Jimmy Deenihan — had another in the 32nd minute, and a minute later, Tomas Connor, who had _switched to centre-forward, had one to level the scores at 0-5 each. Just before that, Liston, from a well-placed Walsh ball, had had a low shot charged down by Furlong.

1981: A year that confirmed Kerry and Micko's place in the annals

It was Kerry's turn to be lucky two minutes after the resumption when Gerry Carroll, back at centre-forward, hit the crossbar after a very good run. But Offaly weren't to score for 24 minutes of the second half, and in the same period Kerry succeeded in adding only four points, three in the opening 10 minutes and another 10 minutes later. It reflected the way Offaly made even less impression in attack, and the manner in which Kerry, for all their territorial advantage, were continuing to experience difficulty in scoring.

Kerry were considerably strengthened by the dominant play of Tim Kennelly at centre-back and, considering that he might have been in danger of losing his place for the final, his brilliant second-half display was all the more impressive. Paud O'Shea wasn't as prominent, but Mick Spillane was very consistent on the other wing, and it was noticeable, too, that John O'Keeffe had more success in dealing with the threat from Sean Lowry.

Sean Walsh's gradual improvement was a further boost for Kerry and Jack O'Shea, while he didn't play to his potential, continued to work hard. Dunne's role was less effective, and after Johnny Mooney came on for Tomas Connor, the possession he won didn't really matter either because the attack suffered from a paucity of ideas.

There was no change in the trend as the game aged. Liston was frustrated in his bid to score several other times — on a few occasions he might have got frees for fouls from behind — and Furlong denied him again when he raced 20 yards off his line to make a vital interception. After Doyle went to centre-forward, having faced against an improved Pat Fitzgerald, the move to the wing benefited Ogie Moran, who achieved much more success.

ALL-IMPORTANT After coming to within four points (0-11 to 0-7) in the 63rd minute, Offaly again lost ground as Sheehy had a point from play three minutes later. Then followed the all important goal, which saw Kerry at their brilliant best. Kennelly set it up with a long clearance, Liston tnok a return pass from Egan to find Sheehy and he sent Jack O'Shea clear on the right for a powerful shot which gave the excellent Furlong absolutely no 'chance. Only then could Kerry afford to relax, and the selectors availed of the limited time left to introduce Pat Spillane, and then Ger O'Keeffe, with less than a minute to go.

Irrespective of the manner in which victory was gained, it was a memorable triumph for Kerry and a rich reward for the players' absolute dedication to the game. It was also a fitting prize for the work of Mick O'Dwyer and his co selectors. And on the day when the feat of the Kerry side which won four in a row between 1929 and 1932 was emulated, it was appropriate that team captain Jimmy Deenihan in his victory speech should remember recently deceased officers, Andy Molyneaux and Tim Linehan, both valued _members of the board and tireless workers for football in the county.

Kerry scorers — M. _Sheehy 0-5 (0-2 from frees), J. O'Shea 1-0. Moran 0-2, P. O'Shea, G. Power. S. Walsh, J. Egan and T. Doyle 0-1 each.

Offaly — M. Connor (0-3 from frees), S. Lowry 0-2, B. Lowry and T. Connor 0-1 each.

Kerry: C. Nelligan (Desmonds), J. Deenihan (Finuge) captain, J. O'Keeffe (Austin Stacks), P. Lynch (Beaufort), P. O'Shea (Gaeltacht), T. Kennelly (Listowel), M. Spillane (Templenoe), S. Walsh (Kerins O'Rahillys), J. O'Shea (St. Marys), G. Power (Austin Stacks), O. Moran (Beale), T. Doyle (Annascaul), M. Sheehy (Austin Stacks). E. Liston (Beale), J. Egan (Sneem). Subs: P. Spillne (Templenoe) for Egan (68 minutes), G. O'Keeffe (Austin Stacks) for M. Spillane (69 minutes).

Offaly: M. Furlong, M. Fitzgerald, L. Connor, C. Conroy, P. Fitzgerald, R. Connor (captain), L. Currams, T. Connors, P. Dunne, V. Henry, G. Carroll, A. O'Halloran, M. Connor, S. Lowry, B. Lowry. Subs: J. Mooney for T. Connor (47th minute), J. Moran for Henry (60th minute).

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