Needs context

ship, then what possible influence can the McGrath Cup (and other pre-season provincial competitions) have on the meaningful stuff up ahead? Well, it’s context really. Players, especially new, young players, and management have to start somewhere, so for Tom O’Sullivan, Jason Foley, Jack Savage and Jack Barry – perhaps even new selector Maurice Fitzgerald – isn’t it better that their first experience of being involved with the Kerry seniors is a win over Cork rather than, possibly, a defeat away to Donegal.

Aside from that 2014 All-Ireland final win, one of the most enduring facets of Fitzmaurice’s four years as manager was the way he handled those early League campaigns; losing the first four matches in the 2013 competition and the first three the year after. Fitzmaurice – perhaps privately he was concerned – never betrayed any panic in his public utterances, and stayed faithful to the players and the brand of football he wanted his team to play. In that context, winning McGrath Cups were never a priority for the manager, rather to use the competition as a window of opportunity for some new / fringe players to vault themselves into League matches, which would, in turn, afford them a chance to make a Championship panel.

The last time Kerry won the McGrath Cup was 2013; the last final they contested was 2014. Consider some of the names that featured in those two finals: David Culhane, Andrew Garnett, Breandan Kelliher, Shane O’Callaghan, Marcus Mangan, Brian Maguire and Barry Shanahan. Seven players who were deemed good enough to play senior inter-county football and, we assume, were being viewed as ‘the future’ of Kerry football. It’s doubtful we will see any of those seven players in a Kerry squad this year, just three seasons on.

Last Sunday ‘the future’ was Jack Savage, Jason Foley, Tom O’Sullivan, Jack Barry, Gavin Crowley, Ronan Shanahan, Adrian Spillane and Conor Geaney. To one degree or another they all impressed. Their pedigree as footballers – underage and club footballers – is obvious. Last Sunday in Mallow they were able for their Cork equivalents in Mallow. They previous Sunday a Kerry U-21 team took apart a Tipperary ‘senior’ outfit clearly way behind them in terms of training and conditioning. But it’s all relative.

Next Sunday a Kerry team much like last Sunday’s will play Limerick in the Gaelic Grounds. On the basis of who they are the assumption is Kerry will win. Just because they’re Kerry. Maybe they will. Maybe Limerick will.

Apart from accepting the McGrath Cup and saying a

the title will mean little to either county. Already, Kerry’s focus this week is building to that trip north to Letterkenny. Limerick’s new manager Billy Lee only has eyes for their trip to Wexford on February 5 where the real work of getting the Shannonsiders out of Division 4 begins.

Sunday’s McGrath Cup final is a useful match in preparation for those League openers, no more and no less.