Two teams who a lot of the experts felt might meet in the All I reland are now poised to meet in the quarter final on the first Monday in august. In a year in which we have seen the emergence of Wicklow; Limerick; Sligo and the resurrection of Kildare by Ciaran Mcgeeney, the tie on Monday between Dublin and Kerry in a competition which is the most interesting one for years.
In 1959 as a teenager all of a half a century ago I stood on Hill 16 with thousands of supporter from all over Ireland and watched as Dublin and Kerry clashed in the All Ireland semi final of that year. Times were hard then as they are now and we did not have great expectations of the future and sport was a distraction and a good pastime to help people get through a bleak period in our history.
The Polio epidemic which had been raging a few years before was beginning to abate and thanks to Noel Browne and his Fore sight ten years previously T B was been slowly eradicated. !958 had been Dublin’s year when the beat Derry in the All Ireland, and Kerry had been in the doldrums since they won the 1955 all Ireland.
That day in 1959 I saw the best midfielder I have ever seen before or since. His name was Mick O Connell and that day in a tight math he showed all the skills of an outstanding footballer and athlete. His catching kicking of passes directly to a teammate sometimes forty to fifty yards away were the out of the top drawer and if we had the technology then that we have now it would still be used by coaches to show youngsters how the skills of their game could be improved.
Dublin had Des Foley at midfield and he also was a great exponent of the sport and the best dual player of any era, but that day belonged to the man from Valencia who on that day and countless others thrilled the crowds with his brilliance. The teams that we have today seem to be going in different direction.... in the Kerry camp we are told that all is not well and players are not pulling together. Dublin after their victory with 14 men for ¾ of the leinster Final against Kildare seem to have found a bit of steel and perseverance and the forward line is beginning to sparkle after a lot of false dawns over the last number of years.
If you look at the Dublin team that started against Kildare you would notice that there was no room for Shane Ryan Bryan Cullen or Ciaran Whelan usually players who would be automatic selections for most G A A teams. If you have players with that class ready to enter the fray when called upon you must have a strong panel to pick from.
So as we wait for the clash of two of the titans of Gaelic Footballs outstanding the consensus seems to be that Dublin are favourites and that all might not be right in the Kingdom and the hunger is waning. Anybody who thinks that knows nothing about the passion and commitment of Kerry teams when they clash with Dublin at this stage.
The sight of a Dublin jersey and the barracking they will receive from the Dublin fans on Hill16 will be more than enough to motivate the Kerry men and to prove the experts wrong. So before the battle begins I wonder is there a player on either team who might rise above every other player and be remembered for his performance in 50 years time as I and thousands of others remember Micko.
Studs