UndaUnted

IT feels strange to be talking about ‘firsts’ for Stephen O’Brien at this stage having experienced Munster Finals and Croke Park for both club and county. Now, however, he gets his first taste of County Final day with Kenmare District one he agrees is not usually expected in that part of the county. “I think a lot of the problems that the district have had in the County Championship is that people had been talking about what was to come in the future a bit too much and not focussing what was in front of them at the time. “Losing to South Kerry in the semi-final like we did last year told us that the potential was there to achieve something if we put our minds to it and we’re here now with a chance to achieve it,” the district captain said. How did the players of both O’Brien’s own club, Kenmare Shamrocks, and Templenoe deal with finding out they will be facing each other in an Intermediate Final on one Sunday and turning around and playing with each other the following Sunday? “The key thing was the Intermediate Final being put back until after the district were finished. It’s taken all our thoughts away from it. The rivalry between the clubs is competitive but it is a healthy one and regardless of who wins the intermediate we all know this is the best chance of the district winning a County Championship with one of us having to go Senior next year,” he said of the situation the Kenmare Shamrocks and Templenoe players find themselves in. He rates the victory over Austin Stacks in the Quarter-Finals as one of the best Kenmare District performances he has ever seen while at the same time agreeing that the team got out of jail somewhat with the manner of the win over Rathmore. The Kerry forward also says the team are very happy with how John Galvin’s time with the team has gone so far. “He’s been a breath of fresh air with what he has brought. Tactically he is very aware of the game and he has a good knowledge of football in the county. The trust he has put in the clubs with the players while we have had all these different matches with different teams is something everyone appreciates in the district. “The sessions we have had are ones we have all got great benefit from as well,” O’Brien said of the 2009 County Championship winning manager. On the challenge of Dr Crokes, O’Brien admits that it will require another massive performance from the district if they are to prevail while at the same time not being too daunted by the prospect of playing them in Fitzgerald Stadium. “Crokes are still a class apart in the county. When they appoint someone like Pat O’Shea to be their manager you know how serious they are about what they want to achieve. “Playing them in Fitzgerald Stadium will be difficult but we’re not daunted by going there because for a good share of us it will be our fourth week-in-a-row playing there between the Intermediate Semi-Finals and the County Championship. “It’s given us a great deal of familiarity that you need before a Final much like with Kerry playing in Croke Park and we’re looking forward to the challenge now.” O’Brien said he often hears the stories of what happened in the 1987 Final between Sunday’s opponents, a time that pre-dates his own birth, but this Sunday gives both him and his team-mates the chance to write their own bit of history 29 years later.