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‘Kevin O’Brien was an All-Ireland winner and All-Star. Hugh Kenny, without a doubt the best full-back in Wicklow football history, for my money anyway. These guys were different, like. Donal Jr. was calm, cool, collected. It didn’t matter what you threw him into, he’d be the calmest man in sport. Even some of the guys who came in; Shane Corrigan, from Dunlavin, was electric every time he played; Stephen Miley, from Dunlavin, same thing. All very, very good.’
All of this came together on August 5, 2002. Kerry went into the final in Portlaoise as outright favourites up against the seemingly outmatched Garden men. Mike Cooper, brother of the legendary Colm ‘Gooch’ Cooper, appeared to have set the Kingdom on their way with a goal inside just five minutes. A pair of Kevin O’Brien points set the stage for Wayne O’Gorman to fire them into the lead with his first goal of the day, from the penalty spot. Kerry finished the half the stronger and took a 1-6 to 1-5 advantage into the interval.
Where a rousing, inspirational half-time speech would have usually been the expectation at this point, there was no need for that to be the case for Wicklow. This was a team that knew how to get the job done when the going got tough. Clive Davis was credited by Doyle as a man who frequently found his way up the pitch to grab a late score, while the talent that Wicklow had at their disposal meant that they could never, ever be dismissed out of hand.
Two minutes into the second-half, Wicklow were ahead once again, and it was once again through the boot of O’Gorman, who was putting on an irresistible performance at corner-forward. Kerry responded swiftly and with devastating effect; Brian Scanlon’s goal was followed by points from Kieran Foley, Ross Sullivan, Jack Ferriter, and Austin Constable to leave Wicklow with a hill to climb at 2-10 to 2-6 down midway through the second-half. McGillycuddy Jr. was brilliantly set up by O’Gorman for a goal of his own, before Kevin O’Brien brought the sides level with a free.
Although Ferriter restored Kerry’s advantage, Wicklow just about found that extra gear.
Straight from the kick-out, Alan Byrne found O’Gorman, who smashed the ball home to seal his hat-trick and to send Wicklow on their way. After Ken Quirke denied Kerry a goal and Brian Scanlon was shown red, Clive Davis did what he did best by securing the monumental 4-9 to 2-12 victory for the Garden. Just like that, their 66-year wait for another Junior All-Ireland was over and, for the first-time since the Kevin O’Brien-led, Nick Rennick-managed county side won the All-Ireland ‘B’ title in 1992, they were national champions.
‘It was a bit surreal. I actually had a speech written out and I don’t know where it went. I had forgotten it,’ Doyle confesses with a shy giggle.
‘I don’t think it was the greatest speech that anyone has ever had in an All-Ireland. I probably rambled a bit but, when you get up there, no matter what you say, you have the cup.’
McGillycuddy, who managed An Tochar to a county title in 1995, directly in between Baltinglass and Rathnew’s respective eightin-a-row runs, remembered how, after so little was expected of them around the county, the emotions were widespread and abundant.
‘There were grown men crying, what can you say? I was delighted but I had a fair idea that we would be able to beat them.
‘It was crazy now, to be honest with you. Absolutely crazy bringing the cup through the county. It was ironic, as it happened, Kerry Radio were the first to get to me. It was a bit embarrassing, but it just goes to show what their interest was like.
‘It was a miracle ride but, at the end of the day, I was involved with Wicklow for the club and all that stuff. It was an easy one for me, in essence, because I was in the middle of it anyway, picking teams in football was easy. Sometimes you come in raw and have to do trials and all that sort of thing but, for me, it was easy.’
It remains to be seen whether any Wicklow team will ever return to success on a provincial or national level. One of Donal’s regrets that he laments from that time was that, in the years that followed, they weren’t able to capitalise on the Junior title and build a foundation that could elevate the football teams to a higher pedestal. Until such time that such potential is realised in the future, we can look back fondly on a time when a team from the Garden County won an All-Ireland, and went through Dublin and Kerry to do it, no less.
Robert Doyle: The captain is a grandson of one of the stars of 1936, Bob Elliot.
John Mooney: Grandnephew of Joe Deering from the 1936 team and nephew of Willie Deering, corner-back on the 1969 Wicklow team.
James Doyle: His grandfather, Kevin, was on the first post war team in 1946.
John Paul Davis: His father, John, was on the 1969 team and his nephew Clive was in the halfback position on this team in 2002.
Cormac O’Sullivan: Grandson of the late Hugh Byrne, former President of the GAA who was Wicklow GAA Chairman in 1949.
Hugh Kenny: His uncle, Jack Flynn, was on the panel in 1949.
Seamus Hatton: His father, Jimmy, the All-Ireland referee, was a selector with the 1969 team.
Mick Mangan: The then President of the Bray Emmets club, claimed to be the oldest Kerry man in Portlaoise that weekend in 200 and probably for the first time was not shouting for the Kingdom.