Bred in the purple, Kerry's Teahan targets Shamrock Rovers scalp
Ronan Teahan poses for a portrait during a Kerry FC media conference at the Rose Hotel in Tralee. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
When Kerry FC run out on Sunday next at Tallaght Stadium to face Shamrock Rovers in the FAI Cup, nobody will expect them to conquer the 25-time winners.
It is the ultimate David v Goliath match-up, one that looked unlikely to occur when Sligo Rovers were coasting 3-0 in front on the hour mark in the quarter-final, thanks to an Owen Elding hat-trick.
It looked done and dusted, but Kerry somehow climbed off the canvas.
One of the main instigators of the comeback at Mounthawk Park was Ronan Teahan, playing in his 100th game for the club.
Teahan is a multi-faceted footballer and an inspirational leader in Colin Healy's side.
Teahan is now one of three centurions in the club with 103 appearances, and he has scored five goals and registered six assists for the club.
The 21-year-old's back story is one of the most interesting in Kerry and perhaps even Irish sport as a whole.
In fact, Teahan could easily have been playing basketball down the road in Tallaght Basketball Arena, or he could have run out onto Croke Park with the Kerry senior footballers last July.
He is bred in the purple, with an illustrious pedigree of winning parents and grandparents, uncles and siblings.
His father, John Teahan, played basketball for Ireland and won three Super Leagues and two National Cups with Tralee Tigers.
His mother, Marie, won an All-Ireland LGFA medal with Kerry in 1993 and was also an All-Star.
Ronan’s grandad was Ned Fitzgerald, who won an All-Ireland SFC medal with Kerry in 1955; Ned's son was the great Maurice Fitzgerald.
“I suppose my uncle Maurice Fitzgerald was a pretty good GAA player as well," Ronan quipped at the pre-match press conference.
Ronan’s older brother Sean is a talented Gaelic footballer with Reenard and South Kerry and scored 1-1 in South Kerry’s extra-time SFC win over St Brendan’s.
His younger sister Muireann is an Irish underage basketball star and also plays LGFA with Southern Gaels, who will face Na Gaeil in the county final next weekend.
His dad, John, is the South Kerry team physio, who are down to play Spa in the SFC on Sunday next at 2pm, which will lead to some tough decisions on which game his father will attend.
So, will it be Glenbeigh or Tallaght for John?
“Yeah, we'll see which brother he prefers!” laughed Ronan.
The squad is excited about playing Shamrock Rovers on Sunday, an opportunity not be passed up for Ronan and his teammates.
“Excitement, really. We're all probably quite excited as a squad. We're going to be playing against the best players in the country and that's what we want to do as a player.”
When asked was the Kerry squad was looking forward to the clash with trepidation or fear, Ronan ensured it was more nerves - part of the game, he noted.
“I wouldn't say fear, no, but nervous, that's part of the sport, like, you know, of course you're going to feel nervous before a game, but no, I think we're looking forward to it and I wouldn't say we're in fear of it at all.
"Well, I mean, there's a reason we're playing them, you know, we're here on merit, like, so, hopefully we can show them Sunday that we're good enough to go toe-to-toe with them.”
Ronan - vice captain of the side - was quick to heap praise on manager Healy.
“His influence has been massive, really. He obviously has a lot of experience in the game, he played at a high level himself and he's a really good manager and he's probably brought all of us on to another level.
"You can probably see that in our performances, he's made a huge difference."
Ronan insisted the Leesider's impact cannot be underestimated.
“Yeah, definitely confidence, he's turned us around really, I mean, he's just brought every player on to another level, I mean, the standards in training have gone up levels really and you can see it in our performances," he said.
But Ronan, despite knowing that Rovers have played more European games than Kerry have played LOI games, wants to meet this challenge head-on.
"I want to challenge myself against the best and they are the best so it's something I'm looking forward to.”
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