The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
50 years on, Michael gets his medal
ST MARY’S PLAYER GETS HIS SOUTH KERRY MEDAL – AFTER QUITE A WAIT
GOOD things come to those who wait.
Well, few things, if any, are as good as a south Kerry medal down this part of the world, so maybe even a 50-year wait is worth it.
That’s exactly how long Michael Lonegan had to wait. After moving from Cahersiveen to Newcastle West in 1970, he wasn’t around when his team-mates received their 1969 championship medals, but in recent days, that was finally put right at Keating’s Corner House as he paid a visit to the town he once called home.
Michael’s story would be amazing enough if you just left it at that – but there’s more, much more.
“I came on as a sub in that 1969 final against Skellig Rangers,” he told The Kerryman.
“The final was refereed by Peter Keane’s father, Tom, and I came on in the second half after a fella got a bit of a knock.
“Earlier that day, I had played in the Under-16 final, I was the captain of that team. So I won two south Kerry championships in one day!”
It took a while for the second of those titles to be confirmed, though, and he wasn’t the only man left waiting a while; everyone was in the same boat for a time afterwards, even if they weren’t in limbo for as long as Michael.
St Mary’s win, the club’s first South Kerry Championship in nine years, was heavily contested afterwards.
The players’ medals were delayed for some time, as there were question marks over the eligibility of some of the club’s Dublin-based players, Michael explained.
St Mary’s were eventually found to have done nothing wrong and were declared the 1969 champions – but by the time the players got their medals the following year, Michael had moved to Newcastlewest because his father was transferred there for work.
From 1978 onwards, Michael worked with an engineering and construction firm and was based in Clonmel, where he still lives today. His work, however, brought him a lot further afield than Tipperary; “I spent a lot of time in the Middle East through my work,” he explained.
“I have tried to get back to Cahersiveen regularly enough over the years, during the summer, to meet up with all my old friends,” he added. “It’s not home any more, of course, but I do always like going back there.
“From time to time, the question of my medal would come up. With the Golden Jubilee of the 1969 win coming around, the club said it was time to sort something out!
“So Junior Murphy, the club president, presented the medal to me lately.
“It was a nice occasion. Also, one of the fellas there, Johnny O’Connell, had moved up to Clonmel at around the same time as myself. Isn’t it funny how things happen?
“When I was in college, I started to get more interested in rugby, boxing,” he said. “I did play a bit of football in Clonmel, but with work, my time was a bit more limited, as they say.”
Not that it matters if he played or not after 1969; after he’d won the biggest prize in football, what else was there left to achieve?