Clifford and Sherwood first in line for Kerry captaincy

THE Kerry senior football team captain for 2020 looks more than likely to be either David Clifford or Jack Sherwood as a result of East Kerry winning the county senior football championship title last Sunday.

As county champions, the East Kerry team now have the honour of nominating the Kerry captain for the year ahead. However, the East Kerry Board executive is due to meet in the coming weeks to discuss how exactly the nomination will be handled in order to avoid any controversy over an issue that has been problematic over the years.

In the case of a divisional team winning the championship it usually falls to the winning club of that district’s local championship - in this case the Dr O’Donoghue Cup to have the first and final say in who the Kerry captain will be. However, only six clubs make up the East Kerry football team this year, while there are 13 clubs in the East Kerry Board and 10 clubs eligible to play with the East Kerry team when they are not competing in the County SFC as senior clubs.

This year Dr Crokes, Legion, Rathmore and Kilcummin played separately to East Kerry in the county championship, and in the event of one of those four clubs winning the East Kerry Championship they wouldn’t have a say in who the next Kerry captain will be.

East Kerry chairman, Johnny

Brosnan, told The Kerryman this week that the executive officers will be meeting in the coming days or weeks to discuss the matter.

“Our priority was to win the county championship first so the whole issue around the captaincy wasn’t even discussed,” Mr Brosnan said. “Obviously Fossa, Firies and Spa had players in the Kerry panel this year, but we’ll have to see who will be in with Kerry next year, and see how the O’Donoghue Cup plays out as well.

“It’s twenty years since East Kerry won the county championship so this is all new to a lot of us. The main thing is that all the clubs involved with the East Kerry team this year are consulted and included in the process.”

If one of the six clubs on the East Kerry team wins the O’Donoghue Cup next month the situation could be made easier by simply giving them the nomination, whether or not they have a player in the Kerry squad next year.

Sherwood could be the most senior and experienced East Kerry player in the Kerry squad, though there mightn’t be a guarantee of him starting games regularly for Kerry in 2020.

David Clifford was the only East Kerry player seen as a guaranteed Kerry starter this year, but there might be some resistance to handing the captaincy to a player who turns 21 in January.

Spa’s Dara Moynihan and Liam Kearney were also part of the Kerry panel in 2019.

East Kerry captain Dan O’Donoghue and his team-mates celebrate with the Bishop Moynihan cup after their County SFC Final win over Dr Crokes at Austin Stack Park, Tralee last Sunday. Photo by Sportsfile