AFTER THE FINAL whistle on Sunday afternoon, having just conquered the favourites Meath in the Leinster quarter-finals, an Offaly forward kept coming back to the same explanation.
Some higher force must have had a hand in this win. Offaly entered this quarter-final clash as underdogs, and yet here they were, four-point winners in O’Connor Park. A Division 3 team trumping a Division 2 team. In front of their own in Tullamore. Offaly fans had been yearning for a day like this.
Of course, Meath have been wobbling lately, and yet, they could have stolen the victory too. If Cillian O’Sullivan’s second-half strike flew under the crossbar rather than over it, the trajectory of the game could have been altered. They were trailing by 1-8 to 0-2 at half-time, and the chase proved too much in the end.
Offaly fans didn’t dwell on that when they poured out of their seats and onto the pitch at full-time to celebrate with their players, who were utterly spent from their efforts. Little energy was spared in holding back Meath’s second-half charge. Their triumph was built on a superb first-half display.
Nigel Dunne hit four points for the victorious Offaly footballers, and he has been feeling the bruises of that win over the last few days. Morover, he’s still thinking about the power from above that gave them an extra kick to overwhelm Meath.
“It felt like you were playing for something bigger than yourself,” he says, reflecting on what is one of the biggest results for the county’s senior footballers in over 15 years.
“We’ve gone a good 20 years without anything for the seniors. The emotion was evident even in the crowd in O’Connor Park.
“There’s a lot to play for and it could open up a lot this year. You don’t want to stop now when there’s a chance to achieve more.”
It’s a Tuesday afternoon when we speak, and Dunne is on Daddy duty with his four-year-old daughter Stella. She just wants his attention to play on the swings in the park. The Offaly fever is having no effect on her as the world passes by peacefully.
Some people stop to salute Dunne. They’re telling him that he was right to go back to county football at a busy time in his life when he’s finishing a house and welcoming a new baby boy, Ógie, to the family. Jobs that need doing are reserved for busy people. Ultimately, they just want thank him for giving them a day of days at the weekend.
It has been a strange few weeks for this Offaly team to have experienced.
They had only known their manager Liam Kearns for about five months before his sudden death on 12 March. A well-known figure in GAA circles as both a player and manager, Kearns died hours after conducting a training session with the team. Dunne had seen him that morning, and by the evening, he was one the phone receiving the tragic news.
Dunne felt “a sickness” within him after hearing of Liam’s death. He had only just started repaying the faith that the new Offaly manager had placed in him. It was the Tralee native who had contacted Dunne about coming back to the Offaly squad at the outset of the 2023 season. Things hadn’t worked out for the Shamrocks forward during John Maughan’s term, and for the 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 campaigns, Dunne was absent from the inter-county scene. Kearns called him in from the wilderness and empowered Dunne to realise that he wasn’t done yet.
“It came out of the blue,” Dunne says about the first conversation with Kearns about a possible return.
“I thought my days [with Offaly] were numbered. Since I was 10 years old, all I wanted to do was play for Offaly. That was kind of my thinking that if there was chance to go back at it, to go back at it.
“You couldn’t have more respect for the man. He has an aura about him, a hugely respected figure in Offaly in a short time.
“One of the straightest men you could ever come across. He will give it to you between the eyes, whatever the truth is. He was a brilliant man and a brilliant manager. [It was] a devastating loss. It’s funny, we only knew him five months and I wouldn’t have had that many conversations with him, but I felt a sickness. You’d even feel sad thinking about it.”
In the wake of Liam’s death, the Offaly squad were trying to grieve for their manager and his family, while also continuing with their season. They had the rest of their league fixtures to fulfil and the championship would inevitably follow.
Martin Murphy of the Gracefield club — who had served as a selector under Kearns — was appointed as manager, while Tullamore’s John Rouse stayed on in his selector role. There is a difficulty in carrying on so soon after enduring such a loss, but Kearns had a vision for this team, and delivering on that is how Offaly players will honour him. He laid out the plans and it’s over to them to tick the boxes.
“Liam had a two or three-year plan laid out and we were very much in the early stages of that,” says Dunne. “Consolidating our Division 3 status, beating Longford [in Leinster SFC] and beating Meath were goals he mentioned.
“It’s hard to believe in some way that he wasn’t looking down on us. Before the league, we were probably one of the favourites to go down.
“Longford is a 50/50 game, always, and Meath were the favourites for that game. We have been battling the whole time and Liam would have wanted that because that was very much part of his plan.
“The emotion on the pitch afterwards was due to a couple of reasons: the passing of Liam Kearns and the other side of the coin was that Offaly football has been looking to cling onto something for a long time. We’ve gone a good 20 years without anything for the seniors. The emotion was evident even in the crowd in O’Connor Park.”
When he was outside the Offaly bubble, Dunne was happy to concede that his time with the county team was over. He carried no resentment towards the players who marched on without him. But at full-time on Sunday, he felt the relief and satisfaction rush through him. Not only had he returned to a standard that was worthy of a starting place in the team, he had also helped Offaly come to reach a first Leinster semi-final since 2007.
One more win brings them to both a Leinster decider as well as assuring them of a place in the Sam Maguire competition.
These are fruitful days for Offaly. Their minor hurlers reached the All-Ireland final last year, their U20 footballers captured the 2021 All-Ireland title, and their hurlers are challeninging in the Joe McDonagh Cup after winning the Christy Ring in 2021.
Now, it’s the turn of the senior footballers to enjoy some time in the sun. Their Leinster semi-final opponents Louth are also in the midst of an upswing. Their fine league form gives them the favourites tag, and both sides go into Croke Park clash next Sunday powered by winning momentum. Offaly, however, will still be feeling like they’re playing for a higher purpose.
Dunne has Kearns to thank for his second coming. And it was his resolve and self-belief that delievered that four-point display.
“There’s a huge opportunity here to go for it,” says Dunne. “If you get to Sam Maguire and you’re exposed to that higher level, I think there’s a huge chance to grow there. Imagine having a home game in O’Connor Park – stuff like that. It would be huge.
“It’s about building on what happened last weekend and getting up for the game [on Sunday]. I know lads have already switched their minds to that which is really encouraging.
“I’m so delighted for Martin and John [Rouse], and the players. It’s the tightest group I’ve known, and I don’t know whether it was Liam [Kearns'] passing that brought the group closer together but it’s extremely tight. What we achieved was bigger than ourselves. There’s one more game and you don’t know what could happen.”
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