IT’S BEEN a whirlwind few months for Liam Kerrigan.
At the height of the pandemic last year, the young attacker found himself back home in Sligo.
When he mentions being a former GAA player, Kerrigan is asked whether he had any association with Sally Rooney’s acclaimed Sligo-based drama ‘Normal People’.
“Just the SuperValu,” he says. “I used to work there. Over in Lockdown, I was working in SuperValu and that’s where a bit of it was videoed.”
A UCD player and student who was coached by Sligo Rovers legend Raff Cretaro in his younger days, Kerrigan has made significant strides on the field since then.
On Friday, the Tubercurry native earned his first Ireland appearance at any level aside from schools matches, making an impact on this landmark day, as he showed good pace to escape his marker and draw a foul in the box to win the penalty for the hosts’ second goal during the victory over Luxembourg.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling, you know yourself. First-ever cap at any age group, so just happy the hard work has paid off. There’s obviously more to do, but I’ll be alright.
“I played a few schools’ games, the centenary shield. But this is the first game with a big crowd, it’s unbelievable, a proud moment.”
The youngster’s mum, dad, sister, girlfriend, three cousins and an auntie all attended Friday’s game, though he says the first time they discovered he would play was when the sides were officially announced, as he kept Thursday’s team news close to his chest.
“They were coming anyway and then they got that shock,” he says. “I didn’t tell them. [I decided to] just let them come and see what happens. [They needed to] just make sure they’re on time.”
Kerrigan’s journey highlights how some players more than others tend to take a circuitous route to get to the level he is currently at.
The League of Ireland youngster’s career trajectory is in stark contrast, for example, to team-mate Lee O’Connor.
The Waterford native, by comparison, has spent time on the books at Man United and Celtic and Jim Crawford recently revealed he is closing in on his 70th cap for Ireland at all levels.
Why does Kerrigan believe it has taken until now for his talent to be rewarded at international level?
“I didn’t really play all the time at Sligo, I was in and out. So I’m just happy to be here now, that’s the main thing.”
He also agrees with the suggestion that he was a late developer.
“I was very small until I was about 16 or 17. I’ve gotten stronger and quicker. So I would say I was a bit of a late developer. At UCD, I’ve played nearly every game since I’ve arrived so obviously first-team football makes a massive difference when you’re playing against men week in week out, rather than say at U19. You have to adapt quickly to physicality so I think that has helped, just playing men’s football for the last three years.
“Height-wise I was small, I would have only been about five foot four. If you look at pictures of me when I first walked into Sligo Rovers U17s, I was tiny. I was swimming in the jersey. But I was always a bit stocky, even though I was small. Obviously, I grew into myself when I grew up. I’ve still a bit of growing to do hopefully.”
With Christmas and summer exams coming up as part of his final year commerce degree as well as likely involvement in the First Division play-offs with UCD, Kerrigan faces another hectic few months.
A number of very talented players have been produced by the Belfield club over the past few seasons, with Liam Scales, currently, part of Stephen Kenny’s Ireland squad, one recent notable example, and Kerrigan hopes to ultimately follow suit.
“UCD’s a great place to play,” he adds. “There’s player freedom, no real pressure, you don’t have many fans, though you’ve obviously a few. But you get to play with freedom and express yourself. So hopefully now something might come up, I don’t know. I’m finished in UCD in May, so I suppose I’ll be looking from May on to see what the next step is.”
