League of Ireland soccer has arrived in the Kingdom, and Kerry FC have no intentions of departing anytime soon

'It’s been in the making for a long time but you need the right people to take the final step,' said Willie Dennehy, father of manager Billy Dennehy. 

VITAL COGS: Steven Conway, Chief Operating Officer; Sean O’Keeffe, KDL chairperson and Kerry FC General Manager; Billy Dennehy, Head Coach; Gerardine Nagle, KDL Vice-Chairperson; Brian Ainscough, Chief Executive Officer.

Willie Dennehy is maximising the grand stretch to apply the final touches to Mounthawk Park before the Friday night glow projects Kerry into the League of Ireland spotlight.

Father of the county’s new senior team manager Billy, he’s giving a dig-out whichever way he can. Be it painting the extra seats green and white, mowing the pitch and generally ridding the venue’s nickname of Pallet Park, he’s making use of the additional daylight.

Welcoming the 1,400 punters fortunate to have gotten tickets for the visit of Cobh Ramblers will be the sight of 50 flags positioned intermittently along the road from Gallowsfield, the estate the Dennehys were raised in.

It was from here that Willie waved goodbye to Billy and his brother Darren as teenagers. They travelled respectively to Sunderland and Everton in search of a football career with no guarantees but with no alternative either.

Mounthawk won’t come close to the Stadium of Light or Goodison Park for glamour but this week's watershed lays the groundwork for something which may eventually provide another option.

“I never thought I’d see the day come that we’d have senior League of Ireland football in the Kingdom,” he reflected while taking a break from his maintenance work. “It’s been in the making for a long time but you need the right people to take the final step.” 

Little did he foresee that quantum leap being engineered by a Dub.

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Liam O’Brien and Ken DeMange ended up at Manchester United and Liverpool but Brian Ainscough’s path took him to the Land of opportunity.

All three were teammates at Stella Maris, the boys club from where Johnny Giles and later Keith Andrews would emerge, and life choices were limited as their adulthood coincided with the early 1980s.

Ainscough followed many of his peers transatlantic in 1983 and 40 years later is reconnecting with his homeland.

From earning American Professional Soccer League honours in 1990, he ventured into coaching and eventually the business side of the game.

For almost half his time Stateside, he’s been associated with the Boston Bolts, the first soccer club in the city dominated by Irish. As chief executive officer, he oversees operations at a club known for its team in the United Soccer League Two, part of the American structure, but whose reach extends to 2000 registered players across the state of Massachusetts. They pride themselves as the only club in the State with a full development pathway.

Miles Robinson – whose goal against Mexico clinched the US the 2021 Gold Cup – is their marquee graduate.

“I really enjoy my work in the States but was always looking for an opportunity in Europe – ideally in Ireland,” Ainscough said this week in Tralee.

Enter Steven Conway. A childhood friend of Billy and former Kerry U21 player, he began coaching with the Bolts under Ainscough and floated the concept of completing the circle.

National league football in Kerry was up and running – evidenced by Dennehy’s U17 team reaching the 2019 Mark Farren final against a Bohemians outfit led by one Evan Ferguson – but a cliff-edge awaited beyond U19 level.

Ainscough was receptive; not allowing Covid to hamper exploring an involvement.

Zoom calls were eventually followed by visits to Kerry and FAI headquarters, as a cavity was always probable once the entry of Shamrock Rovers reserves was restricted to a sole season. 

“There were a lot of moving parts,” notes Billy.

“It wasn’t easy but there was a general acceptance from all parties that we could make senior LOI football in Kerry happen.” 

The Kerry District League, as coordinators of the underage squads and custodians of Mounthawk, were centrally involved. They retain a small shareholding in Kerry FC, the new entity created and granted a 25-year lease on the ground.

Consensus decreed that Kerry would learn from others before them who’ve crashed and burned chasing the ultimate dream. Whilst the minimum wage in LOI is welcomed, Kerry’s model is fully amateur.

“I’m not someone who has landed here uneducated,” stressed Ainscough. “I know the history of LOI clubs starting out. We won’t pay what we can’t afford. That’s madness. I hope the fans understand that because it’s the only way to be sustainable.

“If we can build incrementally, I’ve no doubt that Kerry FC is here to stay. The market is such that Brexit creates the opportunity for Irish clubs to develop our own players and reap the benefits.” 

Monday’s itinerary brought Ainscough to the Ashe Hotel to meet parents of that next generation.

All in attendance could see and hear the intentions of the hierarchy, free to pose any queries. Some simple, yet pragmatic, ground rules are aired. Players will be admitted free to senior matches; their parents at a discount. Apparel dished out to the teens more than exceeds in value their annual subscription.

“The response has been hugely encouraging,” added Ainscough. “Whether it’s parents, fans or sponsors, there’s a great buzz around what we’re aiming to achieve.” 

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 Three miles away at the Munster Technical University – with whom the club have arranged scholarships for six players – Matt Keane is reeling off the county’s GAA royalty.

“We had Shane Ryan in goal, Liam Kearney and Shane Cronin at the back, Paudie Clifford on the left side of midfield along with Tony Brosnan and Darragh Roche.” 

The man who’ll lead out Kerry’s team on Friday night sports a grin when reminiscing about his team that reached the SFAI U12 semi-final.

They might have gone to a different code but soccer isn’t forgotten in the land of the reigning Sam Maguire champions.

Keane doesn’t share the concern floated by the county’s only Premier Division player, Gary O’Neill, of a congested market for hearts, minds and euros of the public.

“Kerry people are sport mad and support their own,” said the midfielder, also a local secondary school teacher. "We're not competing against the GAA.

“No longer will lads have to leave Kerry, like I did at 18 to Limerick, for LOI football.

“The talent is there to represent Kerry on the national stage and I know we won’t be the whipping boys of the division.

“You can feel the excitement around the place. The reaction since we began pre-season training and signing players six weeks ago has been incredible – all the kids in my class are asking about players and fixtures – and we’re confident about making them proud.”