Kerry U20 boss Tomás Ó Sé: 'right thing has been done' with All-Ireland final weekend slot

The Kerry manager does not know if he will have key player Killian Dennehy available for Saturday's All-Ireland U20 final against Tyrone

Kerry U20 football manager Tomás Ó Sé had pleaded with the GAA to schedule the All-Ireland final against Tyrone on a weekend date. Pic: Paul Phelan/Sportsfile

Kerry U-20 football manager Tomás Ó Sé doesn’t feel any way personally vindicated by the GAA’s decision to fix Saturday’s All-Ireland final against Tyrone at Croke Park (5pm) as a weekend fixture.

After his side’s extra-time semi-final victory over Roscommon on a Wednesday evening in Thurles, the Kingdom boss had implored the powers-that-be not to play the decider midweek.

“I just hope that the GAA do the right thing now, and give the final date the respect it deserves. We had six lads sitting exams today. They talk about well-being for players, and this shouldn’t be happening,” he stressed at Semple Stadium.

“It’s an All-Ireland final. You have teams in that final now, from one end of the country to the other end, and there’s going to be a huge amount of travelling, and an overnight.

“That game cannot be played midweek. I don’t know what they’re going to do with it, but they’d want to show a bit of respect to lads, and take that into account.” 

The An Ghaeltacht man has got his wish, with Kerry and Tyrone enjoying a 17-day gap between their semi-final triumphs. This was never about Ó Sé though. This was about the players.

Kerry's Killian Dennehy is an injury doubt for the All-Ireland U20 football final. Pic:  ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne

“It was that one specific fixture (the final) I think that was going to happen a week later, and I’d imagine that if it was two counties that were located closer together, the fixture would have gone ahead,” he said.

“You couldn’t, realistically, play Tyrone and Kerry midweek for an All-Ireland final. I don’t agree with All-Ireland finals, or All-Ireland semi-finals, being played midweek anyway.

“I don’t want to have a dig or anything, but it’s a huge game, and a huge game for young fellas, who have been training all year, for months and months. A weekend game is what it should be.

“I get the midweek stuff with the provincials, but the same length of travel isn’t involved there. After that Roscommon game, after extra-time, for us to even prepare for an All-Ireland final, and the turnaround, would have been difficult.

“People don’t realise what’s involved, and the logistics of the whole thing. It would have been just bedlam. I’m not saying we wouldn’t have done it. Of course we would have got on with it, as Tyrone would have had to get on with it.

“It’s gone to Croke Park now and all that, and I think the right thing has been done. We weren’t looking for two weeks, we weren’t looking for three weeks. We were basically just looking for a non-midweek game.” 

Kerry lined out against the Connacht champions without key midfielder/forward Killian Dennehy. The Cordal clubman is recovering from a hamstring issue, while vice-captain David Mulvihill remains on the injured list.

“We still have another week so, hopefully, he (Killian) will be right," said Ó Sé. "He hasn’t done a lot of training, so he’s still not back to 100% but, hopefully the week will tell a lot. Hopefully we will have him available for selection, but we don’t know yet."