Dublin move hasn't stopped Mikey Geaney helping Dingle cause
Mikey Geaney: "It's something you would be very proud of, being even just a small little speck on the history of Kerry. Pic:Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Mikey Geaney isn’t certain where he’ll rest his head on Saturday night. It might be at the Dingle team hotel in Castleknock. It could be at home in Portmarnock.
“I'll probably pop out to Castleknock for the free grub,” says Geaney, “and then I might go back to my own bed.”
The 36-year-old has lived in Dublin for the last three years but has still managed to contribute to his home club’s cause, coming off the bench in Dingle’s run to Sunday’s All-Ireland senior club football final against St Brigid’s.
Geaney works for FanDuel, the American arm of Flutter Entertainment’s business, as a college basketball trader. It’s not the sport you’d expect a West Kerry man to be an expert in but being able to talk about March Madness when serving American tourists at the family pub was always a lucrative source of tips.
“I've always had an interest in it,” he explains. “I've been watching college basketball for a long time. Obviously the family business is a pub and we had a bookies as well next door, so that kind of side of things has always been part of it as well.
“When I was coming up to Dublin, I saw the job on one of the recruitment ads. I think it's quite a niche for someone in Ireland to have such an interest in college basketball.”
Transferring to a Dublin club was never an option. The first two years went well but last year, he “mentally” took a break and fell down the pecking order. Eight-hour round trips for training in Killarney were necessary to work his way back up but most of the time, he trains on his own in Dublin.
“At 36, I'm not going to be or I'm not expected to be the game winner,” he says.
“I'm just coming on to do a role and it's probably given me more energy with the last couple of years. There's less pressure and a bit more freedom.”
The notion that moving to Dublin could hurt his chances with Dingle was never a consideration. He didn’t feel guilt which keeps many at home.
“I was based at home since I was probably 23 or 24, working at the family pub,” he says. “And my wife is from Dublin, so I was moving up pre-marriage and it was a case of we wanted to move for a couple of years out of Dingle. And football never really came into the equation, to be honest.
“I was 32, I'd been on the road a long time; it wasn't a case of ‘I'm sacrificing football to make this move’. It was a case of ‘I'm going to make this move and see how football works out’, without being too flippant about it.
“I have a background in S&C. I was confident enough that I'd be able to keep fit enough to play at least county league and then maybe keep my place in the matchday panel for championship.”
Geaney won an All-Ireland with Kerry in 2014, playing the second half of the final against Donegal, and started the National League final in 2017, scoring two points, when the Kingdom ended Dublin’s 36-game unbeaten run.
“It's something you would be very proud of, being even just a small little speck on the history of Kerry,” says Geaney.
“At the end of the day, it always comes back to the club. I grew up dreaming of winning county championships with Dingle rather than anything else.
“I've been playing for 20 years now with Dingle. We had a good few losses: three county finals lost and a Munster final lost as well.
“We had a few scattered wins in there with county leagues and club championships. But the last three and a half months have been fairly special. It's been a bit hectic, but the way the town has reacted, it's more personal, the club scene.
“Playing with your county can be different, more individual to a certain extent. Whereas this is all about family and friends. It's the heartbeat of the GAA and you see the last few months, the buzz it gets. It's different but it's special.”
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