SOME OF THE Kerry and Derry players who will be appearing in Croke Park on Sunday have a shared history that goes way back. Further back than you might believe.
There will be a group out there who can recall colliding with each other in the 2014 Hogan Cup final. Others will recognise faces from their memories of playing in the 2015 Hogan Cup final. And then there’s the crop who drew swords in the 2015 All-Ireland minor football semi-final, the 2016 All-Ireland minor quarter-final and the 2017 All-Ireland minor final. Crossover aplenty.
St Patrick’s, Maghera. Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne. St Brendan’s College, Killarney. The Kerry minors. The Derry minors. They were all cubs then, believing that those underage games were the biggest games of their lives. The stakes would get appreciably higher in time. Some stayed the GAA course. Paths diverged down different roads for others. Three players lost to the AFL. One came back to bolster the Derry midfield. The others opted to remain Down Under leaving their respective counties to go without.
But they surely had no inclination of just how many times they would cross paths with each other. Not that they’ll say much about it on Sunday. Unlikely that there’ll even be a nod of recognition should a Conor Glass meet the eyes of a David Clifford somewhere on the pitch during the warm-up. Maybe someone will give it a mention when the fighting is over, and palms touch palms to mark the end of another chapter in a peculiar rivalry.
Remember when…
2014 Hogan Cup Final: PS Chorca Dhuibhne 1-8 St Pat’s, Maghera 1-6
First enemy contact. St Pat’s of Maghera in Derry were the defending Hogan Cup champions and PS Chorca Dhuibhne were chasing their first Hogan Cup under the management of their Principal, and Kerry great, Éamonn Fitzmaurice.
At half-time, the Dingle school was trailing by five points thanks in part to the 1-1 scored by Conor Glass. This was before his AFL switch to Hawthorn, but the hallmarks of a future Derry senior were certainly evident. The Irish Independent reported that Glass’s first-half tally left Fiztmaurice “fuming on the sideline.”
By the break, Chorca Dhuibhne had just two points on the board from Séamus Ó Muircheartaigh and Tomás Ó Sé. That surely infuriated their manager and future All-Ireland winning boss all the more.
The Kerry school seized control of the tie in the second half though, as Roibeard Ó Sé scored goal a minute after the restart. Tom Ó Suilleabain — another core member of the current cast of seniors who will feature on Sunday — switched from corner-back to corner-forward which also contributed to the shift in momentum. (An interesting call considering we are more accustomed to seeing him playing closer to the Kerry goal as an inter-county senior.)
Barry Dan Ó Súilleabháin, who is also on the current Kerry squad, also played for the Kerry winners that day, kicking 0-1 as part of a two-point victory.
Mark O’Connor was part of that victorious Kerry outfit, and co-captained the school to as they defended their Hogan Cup title along with Brian O’Beaglaoich. O’Connor later went to Australia to pursue an opportunity with AFL side Geelong in 2016, a journey that delivered Premiership success last year along with fellow Irish man Zach Tuohy. Ó Beaglaoich stayed within the Kerry system, where he now excels as a senior.
2015 All-Ireland Minor Football Semi-Final; Kerry v. Derry pic.twitter.com/lXLMdJ6GDM
— GAA Programmes (@ProgrammesGaa) June 28, 2023
2015 All-Ireland Minor Football Semi-Final: Kerry 1-11 Derry 1-6
The rivalry enters the inter-county arena. More familiar faces are introduced to the Derry-Kerry saga as Jack O’Connor aims to guide the young Kings to back-to-back All-Irelands. Jason Foley was the Kerry full-back for that quarter-final clash with Tyrone. Gavin White lined out at half-back while Seán O’Shea started at centre-half forward. All three played in the same positions when the Kerry seniors dominated Tyrone two weeks ago. Mike Breen, who came on in that 12-point Tyrone win, lined out at centre back in the 2015 minor semi-final.
Downey and Glass combined on the Derry half-forward line, scoring two points between them. Shane McGuigan was in at corner-forward and finished with two points but was also dismissed with a black card.
His absence all but wrecked their chances as Derry failed to cut the deficit to any less than four points as Kerry progressed without much fuss.
Derry minor boss Damian McErlain said to the Belfast Telegraph in the aftermath of their exit that his side had reached this stage “on the basis of one year’s work.” He added that “the structures within our county are not what they are in Kerry so the big worry is whether this team can move on to make a smooth transition to U21 and hopefully senior level or not.”
They had more work to do, but more Kerry meetings were on the way.
2016 Hogan Cup Final: St Brendan’s College, Killarney 2-13 St Pat’s, Maghera 2-6
The birthplace of the David Clifford legacy? Quite possibly. In the quest to secure a first Hogan Cup crown since 1992, the reigning Footballer of the Year contributed 2-5 to his side’s match-winning margin of seven points in Croke Park.
His performance received viral video social media treatment, such was the extent of his impact. It wouldn’t be the first time we would be scrolling to the retweet button where this player is concerned. Both of his goals arrived late in the game to see the Sem win with a flourish. His second net-hitter is the one you’re most likely to find online; a fine demonstration of fielding and patient forward play to riffle a shot into the top corner.
Gary McGrath was the manager of the Sem at the time. He told the Irish Examiner after that game that Clifford “reminds me everyday of no-one else but Maurice Fitzgerald.” There would be more of those comparisons to come too.
Again, it was a green tick for a Kerry outfit in a showdown with Derry opposition. And again, stars of the future were taking their first steps into the spotlight. Lining out for St Brendan’s that day was Dara Moynihan along with Clifford. Moynihan finished with a haul of four points.
Glass was once again filling out the blue and white jersey along with Shane McGuigan and Shea Downey. It was a day to forget for Glass however, as he was sent off in the 45th minute of the game. McGuigan kicked 1-3 after previously shining in the semi-final with an impressive 1-8 against Sligo’s Summerhill College, including a late match-winning point.
2016 All-Ireland Minor Football Quarter-final: Kerry 1-24 Derry 2-10
Back in their county colours again for another Kerry-Derry arm wrestle. Having completed their minor back-to-back mission, Kerry were now targeting a three-in-a-row under Peter Keane.
Graham O’Sullivan lined out at corner-back for Kerry that day. Seanie Shea was back at 11 to captain the side, with Dara Moynihan slotting in beside him as a wing forward. David Clifford slotted into the inside forward line. Mike Breen was at midfield.
Conor McCluskey, Pádraig McGrogan and Shea Downey were the future senior stars playing for Derry in that game too.
By this stage, Glass had joined Hawthorn in Australia after concluding his secondary school education.
First-half goals from Patrick Quigg and Feargal Higgins kept the Derrylings in touch, but in truth, it was another routine for the emerging Kerry stars. An impressive feature of their win was that 1-23 of their 1-24 came from play. O’Shea led the charge with 1-6, while Clifford swung over five points from play.
2017 All-Ireland Minor Football Final: Kerry 6-17 Derry 1-8
The final curtain. The David Clifford exhibition to crystalise the emerging talk about the promise he’s been showing. This was the day we all agreed that this guy is for real. Kerry picked up their fourth minor All-Ireland on the bounce with an emphatic victory over Derry, slamming six goals past their northern challengers.
In this strange rivalry that covers the schools and inter-county landscape, Kerry had now completed a flawless run. And how.
Clifford plundered for 4-4 with ruthless efficiency. He grabbed his first from the throw-in as he fetched a long ball in and swivelled around to boot the ball in off his left. That set the Kerry machine rolling and it did not stop.
Clifford also showcased his vision with a super pass to set up a goal for Fiachra Clifford later in the first half that only he could have conjured up. Sometimes the assist is better than the goal.
Callum Brown came on at half-time in the 2017 minor All-Ireland final, before later signing a rookie contract with AFL side Greater Western Sydney Giants as an 18-year-old in 2018.
Conor McCluskey and Pádraig McGrogan surely had nightmares for a time after that slaughter, and will have their chance to conquer those demons on Sunday afternoon.
The 42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
