Part of Ó Cinnéide 'dies inside' every time a Kerry player heads Down Under

"The GAA doesn't seem to be the be all and end all for these lads."

Wed, 17 Jul, 2024 - 14:51

PJ Browne

Neither Tomás Ó Sé nor Dara Ó Cinnéide would begrudge Cillian Burke the chance to test himself at a professional level in Aussie rules but that doesn't mean they are not disappointed to hear Kerry's greenest shoot from 2024 season is likely to be heading Down Under.

The Irish Examiner reported this week that the Milltown-Castlemaine player has been offered a two-year deal by Geelong, the club of Kerry minor All-Ireland winner Mark O'Connor.

"The GAA doesn't seem to be the be all and end all for these lads," Ó Cinnéide told Ó Sé's Comhrá le Tomás podcast.

"It's athletic progress. You look at what Zach Tuohy, Mark O'Connor and Tadhg Kennelly before them achieved in the (AFL), you say 'Good luck to them' but on an association level, a community level, I prefer the Ciarán Kilkenny model where he went out, had a look at it and said, 'Nah, this isn't for me. I'd like to play my years with Dublin' and look at the career he's had.

"I remember talking to an 18 or 19-year-old Mark O'Connor at the time and saying 'Good luck to you but I can't say that we're not all going to be disappointed to lose you'.

"Anyone now with a bit of talent, with a bit of speed and agility that has been developed at club level, that has been developed over in Currans through a brilliant underage programme that we have here Kerry that produced five All-Ireland winning minor teams in a row (will interest AFL teams). On a very selfish level, I'd prefer to see them wearing the green and gold."

Ó Sé said Gaelic games players being amateur made the association "sitting ducks" for Aussie rules teams and "there's nothing that can be done". Ardfert forward Rob Monahan joined Carlton Blues last year while Tomás Kennedy of Kerins O'Rahillys, Dr Crokes' Charlie Keating and Ben Murphy of Austin Stack have all caught the eye of AFL clubs.

"I see it myself at club level here, that commitment to a tribe isn't there any more," said An Ghaeltacht chairperson Ó Cinnéide.

"It's certainly not a huge motivating factor for a lot of the young athletes. I call them athletes because that's how they view themselves. There's more to it (for them). It's not that tribal thing. Their canvas is a bit wider. The world has gone a bit smaller since we were their age. They view it as progress, personal development.

"Part of me dies inside every time I see it happening. I don't say that likely because I know the amount of time and effort underage coaches have put into these lads. It's very hard to watch it happening and be totally helpless in the face of that.

"I don't want to sound like I'm blaming the young lads here. Of course, your modern day 20-year-old in 2024 is going look at it and say 'This is for me. This is what I want. This a lifestyle choice'.

"I don't think it's money. I don't think it's financial. A lot of these lads just want to really test themselves at a professional level. To my mind, the GAA will never be professional and I would hope that it wouldn't despite all the trappings of professionalism that surround it now.

"When young lads make these choices, I try to put myself in their boots and think 'What are they thinking right now?' I get it and then there's part of me that says 'I don't get it. I don't understand it'. The menu wasn't as extensive for us as it is for them and maybe we'll never understand that thought process."