The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Magnificent seven are honoured
THE Kerry GAA gala presentation night at the INEC on Saturday last to honour the seven Kerry Teams who won senior All Irelands between 1997 and 2014 was billed as a night to remember and the occasion certainly lived up to the billing.
In all there were 87 medal winners and 25 management team members in tin that period and a surprisingly high percentage of those made it to the Killarney venue. Master of ceremonies, Marty Morrissey welcomed the players on stage in groups of three and there for all to see in the flesh were players who would have graced any of the great Kerry teams in the Kingdom’s glorious history.
It was indeed a who’s who of Kerry football with icons such as Maurice Fitzgerald, Seamus Moynihan, the three Ó Sé brothers who got a mighty welcome, Declan O’Sullivan, Mike McCarthy, Colm Cooper and Kieran Donaghy to mention but a few.
The management teams led by the likes of Jack O’Connor, Pat O’Shea and Eamonn Fitzmaurice were also introduced and all those honoured were presented with a painting of Kerry and Cork in action on Munster final day in Fitzgerald Stadium by Kerry Group CEO Stan McCarthy and the Chairman of Kerry County Committee Patrick O’Sullivan. Replying on behalf of players and management, Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice gave a passionate speech and promised to return the Sam Maguire to the Kingdom.
Linnane honoured
WHILE there were players with various numbers of All Ireland medals, All Star awards, Players of the Year, and managers with equally high profiles, at the Kerry GAA Gala night on Saturday last, the only man to get a standing ovation on the night was a quietly spoken Mayo man!
Vincent Linnane, or Vince to all those who know him, started off as kit man for the Kerry Minor hurlers and soon after came on board with Charlie Nelligan and the Minor footballers in 1993.
Very soon his brief expanded to the Under-21s and the Seniors and since then he minds the various team kits with meticulous attention. The Kiltimagh native, who has made Ballyduff his home since returning from Manchester in the early 80s with his Kerry born wife Noreen, picks out the 2008 All-Ireland quarter-final with Galway for special mention.
“It was an absolutely desperate evening and if we hadn’t had the second set of jerseys that evening, we’d have been in trouble. Normally, the second set would be thrown on at half-time if the weather was very bad, but on this occasion they were put on before the throw-in as the players were drenched during the warm-up. We probably could have done with a third set, now that I think of it,” he recalls.
Vince is also the caretaker of the Austin Stack Park, a role he has filled since 1989 and has seen many great Kerry footballers and managers come and go in his time involved with the senior team.
“It was a privilege to be involved with them all. They were all very genuine people. The biggest character of the lot was my old friend Páidí. I always had the craic with Páidí. He was a character. I always had great conversations with Maurice Fitzgerald, he wasn’t as quiet as most thought. Seamus Moynihan, the three Ó Sé’s and Declan O’Sullivan, too, were very easy get on with. I’m privileged to be able to call all of them my friends.”
Anyone who thinks that Vince will hand in the keys of Austin Stack Park or fold away the Kerry jerseys for the last time any day soon following this special presentation would be very much wide of the mark.
“I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing for all this time if I wasn’t enjoying it. I’ll stay at it as long as the Lord lets me.”
Long may he continue to share in the glory of successful teams.
Kerry’s Magnificent 7
THE follow on to the very successful video ‘Kerry’s Golden Years’ covering the period from 1988 to 2016 was launched by Kerry Group CEO Stan McCarthy and County Committee chairman Patrick O’Sullivan at the Kerry Gala evening on Saturday night.
“Kerry Group is delighted to be associated with the launch of ‘Kerry’s Magnificent 7’ DVD and book, Kerry football means a huge amount to all Kerry people and this is a fitting tribute to the great teams that have given us so much enjoyment over this period of time,” Mr McCarthy told the audience.
Patrick O’Sullivan said the DVD and accompanying book were fundraisers for the Centre of Excellence at Currans and for the strategic alliance with Tralee IT in the development of the Kerry GAA High Performance centre.
“The Currans development is nearing completion and will be operational in 2017 and it is envisaged that the development of the Tralee IT Project will be completed in 2018,” he said.
The commemorative 40-page book, priced at €5, is currently on sale in the Kerry GAA Store in Killarney while the DVD will go on sale from Monday next also in the Kerry GAA Store and in other outlets at a later stage and is also available on line at www.kerrygaa.ie
County SFL Final
DR Crokes retained their Credit Union Senior Football League Division 1 title with a rather facile victory over Austin Stacks at Lewis Rd on Saturday afternoon last.