Andy Merrigan heads for Dingle, winter is officially over in West Kerry
Mark O'Connor of Dingle with the Andy Merrigan Cup. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile
The circus comes to Dingle town on Monday. The trapeze artists are native but their death-defying feats are now known the country over.
Andy Merrigan will meet Bishop Moynihan and when Paul Geaney crosses the Blennerville Bridge with the former, it will feel like the country’s latest sunset on the peninsula is even more tardy. The clocks have been put forward. Winter is officially over in West Kerry.
Mikey Geaney made sure of that with his winning score in a final that filled the senses. It was a result cruel on a terrific St Brigid’s side but not too kind on Dingle to say they weren’t deserving champions.
Time and again they have prevailed in this campaign because they stood the longest and they did so again. To win a second game in extra-time, to undermine another deficit as they did in the Austin Stacks, St Finbarr’s and Ballyboden St Enda’s game, you can’t say they haven’t been consistent.
Two of Tom O’Sullivan’s five points came after St Brigid’s had opened up another lead of two going into the closing minutes. How he eased himself through for those scores was as much about his steadfastness as a St Brigid’s defence creaking with fatigue.
O’Sullivan was involved in Geaney’s score too, first as a provider but more importantly as a decoy as the substitute benefitted from the fear the roaming defender would strike again. Under that cover, Geaney profited, his shot just clearing Conor Carroll’s bar to complete another comeback.
Shane Cunnane and substitute Charlie O’Carroll points had opened the gap prior to O’Sullivan’s brace. It doubled the edge St Brigid’s had at the turnaround in extra-time, 1-17 to 0-19.
In the opening 10 minutes, RuaidhrĂ Fallon, whose two-pointer forced the 20-minute period, carried on where he left off with three points including a second orange flag inside the first four minutes.
Brigid’s didn’t score for the rest of the half but it was enough to remain ahead as Dingle’s return was two single-point contributions, a Conor Geaney free and a wonderful curler from Dylan Geaney.
Dylan was off the mark seconds into the new half to tie matters for a seventh time before St Brigid’s moved ahead once more only to be caught by O’Sullivan and Geaney’s interventions.
St Brigid’s might have led for most of extra-time as they did at half-time of normal time (0-9 to 0-7) but Dingle were ahead for longer swathes of the regulation period.
They were the only team performing in the opening 10 minutes. St Brigid’s looked sluggish. Tom O’Sullivan was slaloming his way through their defence with relative ease, kicking two points and teeing up Conor Flannery for a seventh minute two-pointer.
A post denied Dingle a goal in the fourth minute. A move that began with Niall Geaney feeding Dylan Geaney ended with the former taking a pass from Billy O’Connor and his shot striking the metal work and going wide.
Billy O’Connor was left to his own devices by the St Brigid’s on a number of occasions in the opening half. He struck a 12th minute wide from a handy position but may have been half-minded to go for goal.
Dingle were 0-5 to 0-1 to the good by that stage. St Brigids’s opener came from Cunnane in the 10th minute and he landed a fine two-pointer in the 15th minute, the second of five Brigids’s scores without reply.
Conor Hand exploded into the game and his 17th minute score put the Roscommon men ahead for the first time. After that, Dingle threatened for scores through Dylan Geaney but he kicked a free wide in the 22nd minute and Fallon intercepted at the perfect time to deny a Billy O’Connor pass to him.
Ben O’Carroll doubled St Brigids’s advantage in the 23rd minute as Dingle struggled to get a foothold on their kick-outs. However, Tadhg Browne ended a 16-minute spell without a score in the 26th minute following a succession of passes.
O’Sullivan meandered his way up for a third point in an attack he helped initiate to square the game. However, their opponents went into the break two to the good as Bobby Nugent curled over a point and then supplemented it with a converted free.
The difference disappeared with Mark O’Connor’s two-point effort in the 36th minute. His midfielder partner and namesake Billy then squandered a scoring chance when he blasted against the post from close range. From the rebound, Brian Stack blocked Aidan O’Connor.
Doubly foiled, Dingle sure were cursing it three minutes when Brigid’s found the net. Conor Hand’s two-point attempt fell short and Mark Daly managed to get a hand to it and it came off the crossbar and Fallon followed up for the green flag.
Dingle, who were grateful at least for O’Carroll’s erratic shooting, ate into those three-point arrears with a Dylan Geaney two-pointer. Their equaliser was twice the punishment for Brigid’s as Pearse Frost was sin-binned for tripping Paul Geaney, who sent over the free.
Geaney may have been a tad fortunate not to follow him off for a suspicious third man tackle on Brian Stack in completing a one-two for Dylan Geaney’s 45th minute point and Dingle just as lucky that the score was allowed to stand.
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Hand’s third point levelled the final once more but then accuracy escaped Brigid’s as Dingle snared it. Browne sent over a point either side of substitute Ronan Stack being denied by Gavin Curran with only the Dingle goalkeeper to beat and out-of-sorts O’Carroll dropped a free short.
As Paul Geaney cancelled out a dubious Cunnane 45 after Mark O’Connor had stretched to deny Brian Stack, Dingle were clearly in the ascendancy. All danger seemed averted when Conor Carroll’s additional time two-point free attempt fell far short but the ball was recycled back by Brigid’s and Hand was able to play the ball diagonally over five Dingle defenders to Fallon whose beautiful outside-of-the-boot kick forced extra-time.
After Paul Geaney had converted a similar two-pointer in the semi-final against Ballyboden to the same, it appeared the shoe was on the other foot. Turns out Dingle simply discovered another way not to die.
D. Geaney (0-6, 1 tp); T. O’Sullivan (0-5); T. Browne, P. Geaney (1 free) (0-3 each); C. Flannery (1 tp), M. O’Connor (1 tp) (0-2 each); C. Geaney (free), M. Geaney (0-1 each).
R. Fallon (1-6, 2 tps); S. Cunnane (0-5, 1 tp, 1 45); C. Hand (0-3); B. Nugent (0-2); B. Stack, B. O’Carroll, C. O’Carroll (0-1 each).
G. Curran; B. O’Connor, T.L. O’Sullivan, P. O’Connor; T. O’Sullivan, C. Flannery, A. O’Connor; M. O’Connor, B. O’Connor; N. Geaney, M. Flaherty, T. Browne; P. Geaney (c), D. Geaney, C. Geaney.
N. Ryan for B. O’Connor (50); M. Geaney for M. Flaherty (58); S. Moran for T. Browne (inj e-t h-t); M. Flaherty for A. O’Connor (78).
C. Carroll; R. Dolan, S. Trundle, P. Frost; R. Fallon, B. Stack (j-c), P. McGrath (j-c); S. Cunnane, E. Nolan; B. Nugent, C. Hand, C. Sugrue; M. Daly, B. O’Carroll, B. Derwin.
R. Stack for B. Nugent (48); C. O’Carroll for B. O’Carroll (55); S. Kilbride for M. Daly (58); E. Derwin for C. Sugrue, B. O’Carroll for B. Derwin (e-t h-t); E. Sheehy for P. McGrath (76).
P. Frost (44-55).
M. McNally (Monaghan).
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