AROUND THIS TIME of year, as he makes his commute from home in Blennerville to Dingle along the Conor Pass and notes the homesteads becoming festooned with Christmas tat, Éamonn Fitzmaurice’s thoughts turn to the madness of North Kerry regional championships past.
Twice, maybe three times, he found himself lining out for Finuge in a final that was fixed for 26 December.
2004 stands out as a particular memory. He and his brother in law Paul Galvin had been on the go a long time that year. They won Sam Maguire with Kerry and went on to win the county and then Munster junior football championship.
At the back of all that was the regional championship. They were beaten in the Stephen’s Day decider by Listowel who had the help of returning AFL star Tadhg Kennelly. The crowds would flock from all over the county, hungry for even more football and fresh air having had their fill of turkey and family time.
A few days after, he packed his suitcase for the Kerry team holiday to Australia. On their return, they were straight back into training.
“Paul’s (Galvin) uncle actually died suddenly on Christmas Day, with a heart attack. He was a young man. And the game still went ahead,” says Fitzmaurice.
“The way I always felt about it was it was a fantastic day out for the supporters. A great occasion to see and watch. But it was tough on the players. Christmas Day, you were getting ready for a big final the day after.
“It wasn’t about not over-eating, you weren’t indulging at all because you were getting ready. We used to meet up on Christmas Day and go for a kick-around.”
Evidence of the split season working in a way comes with his assertion that – and he stands to be corrected – that the North Kerry final replay that brought the title back to Listowel, played on 30 November, might have been the first time all regional finals were run off before December.
And for all that fanaticism, when Fitzmaurice started teaching in Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibne in 2001, he realised that North Kerry was almost wishy-washy in their commitment to Gaelic football by comparison.
Weeks like these, when An Ghealtacht are playing Cork’s Aghabollogue in the Munster intermediate final (Saturday, Rathkeale, 4pm throw-in) and Dingle are in Semple Stadium for the Munster senior final against more Cork opposition in St Finbarr’s (Sunday, 1.30pm), it becomes especially prominent.
“The big difference I would have noticed and felt was we played hurling first, growing up,” he says.
Advertisement
For sure, hurling with Lixnaw and Finuge were the chief concerns. But like many, they would tune into a diet of sports like basketball and American football along with Italian soccer on Monday nights.
The Six Nations, or Five Nations as it was back then, would be watched, enjoyed and discussed. When Wimbledon came round in the middle of the summer, the rackets would come out.
“People would have been talking about all these things as long as they were on terrestrial television.
“When I went to Dingle, I noticed that football was just on a completely different level in terms of interest and the way everybody was just completely obsessed with it, basically.
“It was noticeably different to me from my own background.
“There was still an interest in a lot of sports in Dingle, but football was way out on its own in terms of interest and the passion for it.”
Nowadays, there is Dingle Bay Rovers soccer club and even Europe’s most westernly rugby club called Rugbaí Chorca Dhuibhne.
But it still holds that football is number one. Anyone moving to the area can have their notions about importing some exotic practises, but eventually they have to go native.
There is the occasional exception. Take Deividas Uosis who won an All-Ireland minor medal with Kerry in 2017 in goal, though he would play much of his football in midfield. He was brought to Australia and spent a few seasons with Brisbane Lions.
His brother, Aivaras, stands at 6ft 6in and is currently on a basketball scholarship with Carson-Newman Univeristy in Jefferson City, Tennessee.
But they are the exceptions.
On the day of the county final when Dingle beat Austin Stacks, Fitzmaurice ran a finger through all the names of the players. And all but midfielder Billy O’Connor, who attended boarding school outside the area, had passed through the school and his coaching.
It’s almost the same for An Ghaeltacht, save their recent import of former Cork dual star, Aidan Walsh.
As is the way with the myriad competitions in the county, both clubs met in the West Kerry championship semi-final on the second weekend of November. An Ghaeltacht prevailed by a point, bringing an end to Dingle’s seven-year reign of the region.
While the 0-9 to 0-8 scoreline didn’t scream classic and there was enough talent on show, the soundings Fitzmaurice got was that it was something of a phony way.
“I think if that was being played and it was finishing off the season for both clubs, you’d have expected a more full-blooded affair because there is an intense rivalry still there,” he says.
“But I think to be fair to both clubs, they had their eye on the bigger picture. It was a case of playing the final and getting it done and dusted ahead of the Munster finals.”
While South Kerry was the focus this week of an RTÉ news item on rural depopulation and how it is affecting the GAA clubs in the area, it’s not as if west Kerry is faring any better at holding on to its young people.
“It isn’t reversing,” says Fitzmaurice, “But the thing is that nearly everybody plays football. That’s what saves it.
“We actually had a couple of groups that went through the school recently that rugby would have been their number one game.
“But that was unusual, whereas in general, nearly all of the boys play football.”
He continues, “Dingle had big challenges for a number of years to keep the thing going. Because it’s so hard to get housing in Dingle because of the tourist industry, how successful it is as a tourist town. For locals it is difficult to get housing, it is very expensive.
“And it’s how housing is used in the area. It wouldn’t have been as challenging out west in the Ghaeltacht where there would be more housing available.
“But again, there are challenges around planning and building, especially for locals.
“So there are challenges, but the local clubs at the moment seem to be weathering the storm and they are managing it. There isn’t any talk of amalgamations or anything like that. I am not sure how that would work because the rivalry is pretty ferocious still.”
What keeps it going is the ferocious pride in doing things the time-honoured way.
Related Reads
'It's player-driven. The culture is fantastic' - Ballygunner the Munster masters once more
Dingle storm into Munster final with 19-point win over Limerick's Mungret
'I'll stay until we're finished' - Ex-AFL player O'Connor vying for club's dual Leinster hunt
An Ghaeltacht manager Fergal Ó Sé has had a couple of goes at managing his own. INPHO
INPHO
In Michael Moynihan’s recent book ‘More Than A Game’, examining the direction the GAA is heading in, he had a typically revealing chat with An Ghaeltacht’s Dara Ó Cinneide, who has worn all the hats there is to wear with his club and is currently in the backroom assisting manager Fergal Ó Sé.
Ó Cinneide said, ‘Recently enough I was chatting to a few lads in the club and we were discussing a management team for the seniors.
‘One of the lads said, “Would you not just go outside the club?” And I said we could quite easily, but it would break my heart because if we did I’d have to cut all ties with the club after all these years. I’d walk away because I’d be betraying everything I believe.’
An Ghaeltacht’s management is entirely in-house with Conall Crowley adding to the mix.
Dingle’s is headed up by Pádraig Corcoran. He might have been a Dub but his roots are sunk deep into the town as the grandson of Muiris Dan of the famous Dingle pub, that he re-opened with selector Tommy Griffin.
As his day job, he is the Principal of Scoil Iognáid Rís. Sure, they take in Aidan O’Shea and James Weldon to assist with the preparation of the team, but people will accept that as long as the front of the house is local produce.
“There is great people involved all the way down the line and there always has been,” says Fitzmaurice, who brought Corcoran in as a trainer with the Kerry team a decade ago.
“I suppose both clubs, we are talking specifically about Dingle and An Ghaeltacht and the runs we are on at the moment. They are lucky they have great people involved and getting the local lads to do their bit.”
West Kerry may struggle with the same issues that have always been there, but character conquers all.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
West Kerry's awake: How Dingle and An Ghaeltacht are conquering rural depopulation
AROUND THIS TIME of year, as he makes his commute from home in Blennerville to Dingle along the Conor Pass and notes the homesteads becoming festooned with Christmas tat, Éamonn Fitzmaurice’s thoughts turn to the madness of North Kerry regional championships past.
Twice, maybe three times, he found himself lining out for Finuge in a final that was fixed for 26 December.
2004 stands out as a particular memory. He and his brother in law Paul Galvin had been on the go a long time that year. They won Sam Maguire with Kerry and went on to win the county and then Munster junior football championship.
At the back of all that was the regional championship. They were beaten in the Stephen’s Day decider by Listowel who had the help of returning AFL star Tadhg Kennelly. The crowds would flock from all over the county, hungry for even more football and fresh air having had their fill of turkey and family time.
A few days after, he packed his suitcase for the Kerry team holiday to Australia. On their return, they were straight back into training.
“The way I always felt about it was it was a fantastic day out for the supporters. A great occasion to see and watch. But it was tough on the players. Christmas Day, you were getting ready for a big final the day after.
“It wasn’t about not over-eating, you weren’t indulging at all because you were getting ready. We used to meet up on Christmas Day and go for a kick-around.”
Evidence of the split season working in a way comes with his assertion that – and he stands to be corrected – that the North Kerry final replay that brought the title back to Listowel, played on 30 November, might have been the first time all regional finals were run off before December.
And for all that fanaticism, when Fitzmaurice started teaching in Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibne in 2001, he realised that North Kerry was almost wishy-washy in their commitment to Gaelic football by comparison.
Weeks like these, when An Ghealtacht are playing Cork’s Aghabollogue in the Munster intermediate final (Saturday, Rathkeale, 4pm throw-in) and Dingle are in Semple Stadium for the Munster senior final against more Cork opposition in St Finbarr’s (Sunday, 1.30pm), it becomes especially prominent.
“The big difference I would have noticed and felt was we played hurling first, growing up,” he says.
For sure, hurling with Lixnaw and Finuge were the chief concerns. But like many, they would tune into a diet of sports like basketball and American football along with Italian soccer on Monday nights.
The Six Nations, or Five Nations as it was back then, would be watched, enjoyed and discussed. When Wimbledon came round in the middle of the summer, the rackets would come out.
“People would have been talking about all these things as long as they were on terrestrial television.
“When I went to Dingle, I noticed that football was just on a completely different level in terms of interest and the way everybody was just completely obsessed with it, basically.
“It was noticeably different to me from my own background.
“There was still an interest in a lot of sports in Dingle, but football was way out on its own in terms of interest and the passion for it.”
Nowadays, there is Dingle Bay Rovers soccer club and even Europe’s most westernly rugby club called Rugbaí Chorca Dhuibhne.
But it still holds that football is number one. Anyone moving to the area can have their notions about importing some exotic practises, but eventually they have to go native.
There is the occasional exception. Take Deividas Uosis who won an All-Ireland minor medal with Kerry in 2017 in goal, though he would play much of his football in midfield. He was brought to Australia and spent a few seasons with Brisbane Lions.
His brother, Aivaras, stands at 6ft 6in and is currently on a basketball scholarship with Carson-Newman Univeristy in Jefferson City, Tennessee.
But they are the exceptions.
On the day of the county final when Dingle beat Austin Stacks, Fitzmaurice ran a finger through all the names of the players. And all but midfielder Billy O’Connor, who attended boarding school outside the area, had passed through the school and his coaching.
It’s almost the same for An Ghaeltacht, save their recent import of former Cork dual star, Aidan Walsh.
As is the way with the myriad competitions in the county, both clubs met in the West Kerry championship semi-final on the second weekend of November. An Ghaeltacht prevailed by a point, bringing an end to Dingle’s seven-year reign of the region.
While the 0-9 to 0-8 scoreline didn’t scream classic and there was enough talent on show, the soundings Fitzmaurice got was that it was something of a phony way.
“I think if that was being played and it was finishing off the season for both clubs, you’d have expected a more full-blooded affair because there is an intense rivalry still there,” he says.
“But I think to be fair to both clubs, they had their eye on the bigger picture. It was a case of playing the final and getting it done and dusted ahead of the Munster finals.”
While South Kerry was the focus this week of an RTÉ news item on rural depopulation and how it is affecting the GAA clubs in the area, it’s not as if west Kerry is faring any better at holding on to its young people.
“It isn’t reversing,” says Fitzmaurice, “But the thing is that nearly everybody plays football. That’s what saves it.
“We actually had a couple of groups that went through the school recently that rugby would have been their number one game.
“But that was unusual, whereas in general, nearly all of the boys play football.”
He continues, “Dingle had big challenges for a number of years to keep the thing going. Because it’s so hard to get housing in Dingle because of the tourist industry, how successful it is as a tourist town. For locals it is difficult to get housing, it is very expensive.
“And it’s how housing is used in the area. It wouldn’t have been as challenging out west in the Ghaeltacht where there would be more housing available.
“But again, there are challenges around planning and building, especially for locals.
“So there are challenges, but the local clubs at the moment seem to be weathering the storm and they are managing it. There isn’t any talk of amalgamations or anything like that. I am not sure how that would work because the rivalry is pretty ferocious still.”
What keeps it going is the ferocious pride in doing things the time-honoured way.
In Michael Moynihan’s recent book ‘More Than A Game’, examining the direction the GAA is heading in, he had a typically revealing chat with An Ghaeltacht’s Dara Ó Cinneide, who has worn all the hats there is to wear with his club and is currently in the backroom assisting manager Fergal Ó Sé.
Ó Cinneide said, ‘Recently enough I was chatting to a few lads in the club and we were discussing a management team for the seniors.
‘One of the lads said, “Would you not just go outside the club?” And I said we could quite easily, but it would break my heart because if we did I’d have to cut all ties with the club after all these years. I’d walk away because I’d be betraying everything I believe.’
An Ghaeltacht’s management is entirely in-house with Conall Crowley adding to the mix.
Dingle’s is headed up by Pádraig Corcoran. He might have been a Dub but his roots are sunk deep into the town as the grandson of Muiris Dan of the famous Dingle pub, that he re-opened with selector Tommy Griffin.
As his day job, he is the Principal of Scoil Iognáid Rís. Sure, they take in Aidan O’Shea and James Weldon to assist with the preparation of the team, but people will accept that as long as the front of the house is local produce.
“There is great people involved all the way down the line and there always has been,” says Fitzmaurice, who brought Corcoran in as a trainer with the Kerry team a decade ago.
“I suppose both clubs, we are talking specifically about Dingle and An Ghaeltacht and the runs we are on at the moment. They are lucky they have great people involved and getting the local lads to do their bit.”
West Kerry may struggle with the same issues that have always been there, but character conquers all.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
An Ghaeltacht Dingle GAA GAA club Munster finals