O'Brien relishing Kenmare's crack at the 'standard bearers'

Two time All-Ireland medal winner Stephen O’Brien is happy with full immersion back in club football  

Stephen O'Brien of Kenmare Shamrocks. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

For Stephen O’Brien, the novelty of tomorrow’s Kerry county final is tinged with apprehension about Kenmare Shamrocks’ task.

It’s a first final as a standalone senior club for Shamrocks, and they face Dr Crokes, top of the Kerry honours roll.

“Obviously, Crokes are the standard-bearers of Kerry football,” says the two-time All-Ireland winner.

“They’re so consistent year-on-year and there’s so many good young players coming through every year, so there’s definitely anxiety about playing them. We just want to give a good account of ourselves and perform to the max of our abilities and see where that takes us.

“You just kind of have to enjoy the build-up too and the occasion, as well, because obviously this is the first one for our club. So it’s no guarantee it will ever come around again, so you go out there and enjoy it and just give it all you got.

“If that’s not enough, that’s okay too you know as long as you put everything into it. That’s kind of the attitude we’re going to go into next Sunday.”

O’Brien was part of the Kenmare district side beaten by Crokes in the 2016 final. And with players like Seanie O’Shea in the ranks, it’s something of a surprise it’s taken Kenmare this long to return to a county final.

“It was a bit of a bugbear that we hadn’t made a semi-final before,” O’Brien reflects.

“I guess, since we’ve been senior, a lot of focus has been on the senior club championship, with just how strong some of the district teams were, and I suppose we’re trying to first secure our senior status and then hopefully get silverware.

“We’re disappointed to have lost a couple of club finals over the years, but everyone knows the County Championship is the main goal.

“It’s nice we had a break this year after a disappointing exit in the Club Championship, a break to really prepare for the County Championship. Whereas there were a couple of years we’ve kind of gone further in the Club Championship and then had that disappointment.”

O’Brien stepped away from Kerry two years ago, and has enjoyed full immersion back in club football. He works as a chemical engineer in Astellas in Tralee and is home living in Kenmare.

“I’ve really enjoyed my club football,” he says. “It’s been great to kind of reconnect with the lads you kind of grew up with playing with and maybe it’s lads who you grew up playing with their fathers and things like that as well maybe a bit, but no, it’s been great.

“I’m lucky that I’m still able to play at this age you know and with the injuries I had maybe earlier in my career, so I’m just embracing it now and enjoying it.

“It’s a lot easier to train in a group and to keep fit just for your own health as well. It’s a lot more enjoyable to hang around with all the young lads as well. Hopefully I can give another few years.”

He is lavish in his praise of this year’s manager, Peter O’Sullivan, who arrived with an impressive CV.

“Peter’s been excellent,” he says. “He’s made a huge commitment to be travelling over from Glenbeigh. He has really given us a lot of confidence, know-how and knowledge of the club game around the county. He’s definitely added a lot and how we’re perceived around the county. He’s been an excellent addition. We had a very good county league as well under him.

“I think that was the first time winning it since the 70s or something for Kenmare as well. So, that was a big achievement.

“We’re disappointed with the club championship, we kind of let Peter down too as well because he’d done everything for us really; it was on us as players.

“We owe it to him to put a bit more into it, to give a better show of ourselves, and for him, for the county championship. We’re just glad to have done that, and looking forward to Sunday.”