Supporters Club is more pilgrimage than trip

Established in1989, the Kerry GAA Supporters Club had to wait almost a decade before they enjoyed their first trip to an All-Ireland final. JASON O’CONNOR spoke to some of those involved then and now

IT’S probably indicative of how much times have changed over the last two decades that the Kerry GAA Supporters Club are at the forefront of the upcoming ‘Night of Champions’ fundraiser in the Kingdom Greyhound Stadium with their involvement in the sale of ‘Buster Tickets’ as opposed to simply being a group of people united by a passion for Kerry Football.

Started in 1989, it would be eight years before the group made their first venture to Croke Park for All-Ireland Final day, with their secretary John King saying the organisation’s early years didn’t quite go to plan.

“Our formation coincided with what was a lean period for the senior set-up. In terms of the initial invites to the Supporters Club we ended up with a lot less than what was initially anticipated. We were probably spoiled during the 1970s and early 80s beforehand. I remember being in Dublin during the early 70s and knowing mad GAA people from other counties there who are still waiting for a big day out in All-Ireland Final,” he said of those formative years.

The background to the 1997 success was a defeat to Mayo in the 1996 All-Ireland semi-final and Supporters Club chairman Donie O’Leary recalls an incident coming home on the train that typified the nature of the expectations Kerry supporters had of the team.

“I remember someone on the train being very critical of the players and selectors coming home. It happened that Ger O’Driscoll, one of the selectors, was not sitting too far away and could hear what was being said. Upon being told that he might want to quieten down as Ger could hear him, he turned around and told Ger he could pick a better team coming out of 12pm Mass!,” O’Leary recalled of the trip home from the ’96 semi-final.

When Kerry returned to the same point 12 months later, they managed to get the better of Cavan to reach a first All-Ireland Final in 11 years and a return meeting with Mayo. Two coaches by the Supporters Club set off from Killarney with King explaining the different path taken then as opposed to now.

“It was probably an hour and a half longer to get to Dublin than it is now with the road network not being what it is at the moment with the new motorways. We stopped at the White House in Roscrea for breakfast before heading straight for Dublin,” he said.

Although memories of the match start to fade with the passage of time, O’Leary has two stand-out memories from the win.

“I vividly remember Billy O’Shea having to go off with a broken leg and Maurice Fitzgerald’s display was another memory. He gave an exhibition of kicking that day,” the chairman said.

For King it was Mayo’s consistency in kicking wides that was one of his memories from the final but the homecoming remains a bit of a sore point for O’Leary with the decision to fly the team down to Farranfore as opposed to getting the customary train home.

“I would say it’s the first and only time a Kerry team by-passed Rathmore on their way home from an All-Ireland Final. There was a lot of disappointment in the area at the time because win or lose a big crowd always came to the station to welcome the team home,” he said.

People who were there that September day in 1997 but are no longer with us remain in both men’s thoughts, with Supporters Club founder Cormac O’Leary, chairman at the time Jerry Savage, Leo Griffin, Jerome Daly and Kevin O’Shea just some of the many names there in Croke Park two decades ago.

With people having different habits and rituals in the aftermath of an All-Ireland final win (or loss), some heading home straight after the game, others staying up in the capital that night, the Supporters Club Social is always the big gathering for the group every year. February 20, 1998 saw 300 people attend the Ballingarry House Hotel with the Sam Maguire cup pride of place at the first such occasion when the cup was present following an All-Ireland win for the group.

Kerry manager Paidí Ó Sé’s motivational abilities were something that always impressed Supporters Club chairman Donie O’Leary, but for their secretary John King Páidí’s speech at the event was of special significance to the organisation. “He spoke of the lift it gave to the team seeing our buses pull into Croke Park, especially when they were on enemy territory on such an important day,” King said.

The speech the Supporters Club vice-chairman, Patrick King from Fenit, gave at that first social was also a memorable one.

“He said that he had been attending All-Ireland finals since 1953 and had never worn the team colours at matches and probably never would at that stage, but he said there was something stirring about seeing young supporters wear them on the day of a big match,” King recalled of the night. It’s an interesting view as the Supporters Club approaches its own 30th anniversary in a couple of years’ time.

Some things never change over the course of time, the scramble for tickets being amongst them. It is easier now, of course, to acquire them through initiatives like the GAA’s Season Ticket Scheme but the one thing that has been constant over the last three decades is the Supporters Club’s dedication to follow the Green and Gold in their endeavours near and far.

One constant over the last three decades is the Supporters Club’s dedication to follow the Green and Gold in their endeavours near and far