'We were just sick of it': An Ghaeltacht players refused to suffer another disappointing year

An Ghaeltacht had failed to emerge from their Kerry IFC group in the two years previous. Not alone that but they were out of the running for knockout involvement with a round of group fare still to run in both seasons. They’d had enough.

TAKE ME OUT: Franz Sauerland, An Ghaeltacht in action against David Clifford, Fossa Pic: Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus LTD.

An Ghaeltacht began the year and the season managerless.

While the local club executive busied itself during the winter months in attempting to put together a willing sideline team, those charged with roles inside the whitewash were quite within their rights to keep the feet up and hand in the Celebrations tin until such time as they had somebody to answer to.

The vacant lead role offered a free pass from January hardship and where-are-you-at bleep tests.

But what of being answerable to themselves? An Ghaeltacht had failed to emerge from their Kerry IFC group in the two years previous. Not alone that but they were out of the running for knockout involvement with a round of group fare still to run in both seasons.

From beaten finalists in 2022 to second round irrelevance. They were exiting the championship one week after it threw in.

Motivation and morale should have been on the floor entering 2025. The above-mentioned free pass should have been swallowed whole by the collective for as long as they were managerless. But it wasn’t. 

They’d had enough. They were “sick” of how they had underperformed in the years previous.

Éanna Ó Conchúir, injured at the time, assumed an almost player-manager role. The former Kerry forward runs a gym back that part of the world and drew up programs for his teammates.

He drilled them out in the lashing rain too. Still managerless for the opening round of the West Kerry League, they took to the field player led.

A sideline ticket of Fergal Ó Sé, Conall Ó Cruadhlaoich, Dara Ó Cinnéide, and Pádraig Ó Conchúir assumed the reins shortly after. House rules, though, had long since been written by the players.

“At the start of the year, we weren't sure who was going to be our manager or anything. We had a few player meetings at that time where we just said, look, we have to put down a few ground rules between ourselves, without a management, and set a standard for the year that we keep to,” explains An Ghaeltacht captain Franz Sauerland.

“In fairness to everyone, we stuck to that standard. We could trust everyone on the team that they weren't going to veer off on their own path. I don't know what was in the air this year but we all just had the same drive.

“We were just sick of it the last two years, getting knocked out in more or less the first round because it is so hard to crawl back if you lose your opening game. We knew how much better we were than what we did.

“I don't know how to describe it. We all just had the same thing in mind. It just clicked.”

Sauerland, who captains the team from half-back, is based in Cork City. Lives in Blackrock, teaches in Carrigaline’s Gaelcholáiste. A fellow staffroom member is teammate Steven Ó Conchúir. Add in fellow panelists Naoise Mac Gearailt and Bréanainn Ó Bruic, and there’s a tidy collection of West Kerry men making their way on Leeside.

Midweek, they come together and find a patch in Nemo’s Trabeg home to keep themselves accountable. On this midweek, they traveled the two and a half hours back to Gallaros.

Franz, a former Kerry minor and Corn Uí Mhuirí-winning captain, was half-back for the 2019 intermediate final defeat to Templenoe but was traveling for the 2022 decider loss to Rathmore. The son of a German father and Ghanaian mother returned home to West Kerry to different fortunes.

Self-responsibility and accountability is one feature in the improved form that has them back in a third intermediate decider in seven years. There’s also been new and additional faces.

An Ghaeltacht had three players - Aodhna Ó Beaglaoich, Cian Mac Gearailt, and Seán Ó Cuinn - on last year’s Kerry minor panel. Ó Beaglaoich and Ó Cuinn lined out at corner-back in the semi-final win over Legion, Mac Gearailt came off the bench. And then there’s Cork All-Ireland winner Aidan Walsh lending a calloused hand at midfield.

“We've gotten a massive amount of support back too because, as we've said, over the last few years we haven't shown our best at all, there's been a lot of doubt around,” Sauerland continued.

“But it was the Gneeveguilla quarter-final where you could really see that we had the backing again of the local supporters. We were at home that day but were five down with five minutes to go.

"Cathal Ó Beaglaoich kicked two monster two-pointers, we got a penalty, as well, that Éanna tapped over and we ended up winning by two.

“It was after that game where you could really feel the sense of community come back together.”

It began with the players by themselves. Their actions have brought the whole of Dunquin, Ventry, and Ballyferriter on board.