David Moran: Kerry players disrespecting Mayo won't be an issue

O’Connor last week intervened to remove a roadside sign outside Tralee that he felt was insulting to the county’s All-Ireland final opponents on Sunday.

NO DISRESPECT: Former Kerry Star David Moran alongside Joe Wallace, Ruth Wallace, Marie Wallace, Jason Wallace, Niall Hourigan, Dara McCarthy, Micheal McCarthy and Bella the dog. Pic: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Disrespect for Mayo may be apparent in some quarters of Kerry but David Moran doesn’t sense it is an issue in the Kerry set-up.

Jack O’Connor last week intervened to remove a roadside sign outside Killarney that he felt was insulting to the county’s All-Ireland final opponents on Sunday.

It comes as Kerry are heavy favourites to successfully defend their All-Ireland SFC title for the first time since 2007. With the likes of Seán O’Shea involved, former midfielder Moran feels O’Connor won’t have to do much to ground players.

“Maybe in, say, 2022, when a lot of guys were winning their first medals, after beating Dublin in the semi-final, dramatically or whatever, with the free at the end and that kind of stuff, maybe he was trying to keep a lid on it going into a final but I think it's a little bit different.

“I think he's going to lean on the Seánies and the other leaders in the group to try and make sure, and he'll have a very good sense of during the week, if he feels that people have kind of taken their foot off the gas.

“He'll be very experienced in that regard. He'll check the mood and he'll be pulling people up if he says, 'Lads, we're not as tuned in as we were last week'’.

“I do think that he'll have a good sense of that, and they'll have a very good barometer because going from Armagh to Tyrone to Dublin, you'll have a fair barometer of, 'Okay, how are we feeling going into this game? Are we as tuned in or are we taking everything as serious?' He'll be very quick to pull the squad up. I don't think he's going to have that issue.”

O’Connor’s move was reminiscent of 2016 when Jim Gavin, on foot of Stephen Cluxton’s demand, requested AIG’s “Dublin – Home of Sam” billboard, overlooking the N7 at Rathcoole coming into the capital, be taken down in case it riled their opponents.

Former Kerry Star David Moran alongside Joe Wallace, pictured in Tralee for AIB ahead of the 2026 GAA All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Finals. Pic: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Moran thinks Mayo may use the bridesmaid image of Andy Moran the same way some Kerry players did in 2014 when Joe Brolly claimed the county’s conveyor belt of talent had come to a halt.

“I'm sure some people might use it, I'm sure Mayo would probably use it as motivation, but we've used that before, some of the Joe Brolly stuff, that some guys would use that at the time that people are being written off.

“I think it'll affect the Mayo side of things more than the Kerry side for the players in the sense that this is maybe perceived, it isn't, but ‘below in Kerry, this is perceived how we're thought of going into finals’ and that we want to prove that wrong and stuff.

“But it wasn't from the county board or it wasn't a representation of a group. I don't think the Kerry players would pay too much attention to it.”

*David Moran, along with David Clarke, was speaking at an event to promote All-Ireland SFC sponsors AIB ahead of Sunday’s showdown. This year marks a significant milestone as AIB celebrates its 11th year supporting the competition.