The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
The 1970 World Cup provided real impetus to get club up and running in Asdee
THE roots of the beautiful game in Asdee goes back to the early 1970s and began in a small cherished piece of ground known as the School Field.
Part of the local national school it was only 60 yards by 40 yards in size, but it was the location where all the local teenagers and adults spent most of their recreational time as there was no other outside recreational place in the parish.
For local youngsters it was Lansdowne Road and Croke Park wrapped into one and it was here they spent most of their holidays from school. Then an annual fivea-side tournament was organised every summer and this was the catalyst that mushroomed the spread of the game and soccer became the fashionable game of that era in the Shannonside village.
Entries increased every year and the age bracket ranged from 15 to 60 and practically anyone that could kick a ball could participate. Friendships went out the window while a game was in progress as crunching tackles were the order of the day, but once the game was over what happened on the field was forgotten and the competition sponsors Jesse James Tavern was the venue for the post-match gossip over a few pints.
As the popularity of the game gathered momentum after the 1970 World Cup The Kerry District League was formed in 1971. In 1976 a two-line piece in The Kerryman seeking clubs to join the KDL was spotted by Jack
Hennessy and Mike Doyle. They forwarded an application which was accepted and they became the founder members of the club and the rest is history now.
They immediately began recruiting players and the formation of the club created a great buzz in the area. Many talented players emerged from the annual five-aside and went on to star for the club afterwards.
Asdee was the first club in the county to acquire and develop its own facilities, but in the early years they moved from post to pillar trying to get pitches to play in. Starting out they played all their games at a County Council field in Sandhill Road, Ballybunion.
In the 1980s they moved to play in Asdee when they rented a field from local farmer John Stokes (RIP) in the townland of Ballynoneen and it became their home venue right through the 1980s. The club went on three memorable trips to London in 1981, 1982 and 1999 and very amusing tales of those excursions are frequently told at social gatherings even to this day.
Initially the club did not have any funds in the kitty and the team manager would collect 20 pence from every player to pay the referee. The first fundraiser the club got off the ground was the weekly Take Your Pick competition and it proved to be a great success.
In the 1980s the main fund raiser for the club was the annual Lord Mayor of Asdee Competition. The format was that three candidates took part selling tickets and the person who sold the most tickets were crowned the Lord Mayor of Asdee. It was a hugely successful fundraiser which captured the imagination of the local community.
As the years unfolded the club were finding it difficult to rent a playing field and they decided to make a big effort to purchase a field. They organised a monthly draw, which was very successful and after this they were confident they could achieve their goal.
It came to fruition in 1995 when they purchased a seven and a half acre field at Craughdarrig from Billy Gilroy just a quarter a mile from the village. Luckily they were able to secure a number of lottery grants and they pressed ahead with their new project.
The field was drained and free draining sand was implanted into the surface. A new clubhouse was to follow and after that a second pitch was developed. In more recent years the club drained and sanded a training pitch and this is now fully operational and followed this up with the construction of dugouts and a spectator stand.
Jack Hennessy and Mike Doyle were the unsung heroes of the club for many years and they were at the pitch early for home games and they would line the pitch and put the corner flags in place. John Paul Galvin also made a huge contribution to the club in their early years.
The club got their first taste of success in 1978 when they won the Reserve Cup defeating Spa
Road in the final. The winning goal was scored by Ned O’Connor.
The Asdee line out that day was Jim Aherne, John Mc Carthy, Paddy Dee, Liam Horgan, Ned O’Connor, Jack Hennessy, Mike Doyle, Martin Sugrue, TJ McCarron, Rick Harty (RIP), Eddie Kearney. Subs: John Paul Galvin, David O’Connor, John Joe Healy, Mike Rice.
In 1992 they gained notoriety when the Kerry area final of the Munster Junior Cup was played at their Ballynoneen pitch and they defeated Tralee United 3-2 to claim a major trophy. The line out that day was Ned Moloney, Eric O’Neill, Tom O’Sullivan, Mike O’Connor, Sean O’Keeffe, Donie O’Keeffe, Barry Healy, Kevin Boyle, Billy O’Connor, Mike Purtill,
The following year they reached the regional final of the FAI Junior Cup but were defeated by Shannon side Newtown.
In the years that followed they were promoted several times and went all the way up to the top flight of Kerry soccer. After a lean streak silverware arrived again in 2008 when under manager John Gorman they were crowned Celsius Cup Champions defeating Ballybunion Celtic 3-1 in the final.
The squad for the final were Patrick O’Brien, Mike Long, John Long, Cillian Beasley, John Martin Horgan, Paul O’Carroll , Kieran Kennelly, Charlie Dalton, Noel Long, Liam McElligott, Eoin Kennedy. Subs: Liam Galvin, Maurice O’Halloran, Chris O’Sullivan, Brian Halon. John Divine, Jeremiah Tydings, Darren Russell, Padraig
Ruddle.
They reached the final again the following year, but lost to Classic FC in a replay after the first game ended scoreless. They did get into three league finals in recent years, but lost to Fenit Samphires, Killorglin and Listowel Celtic.
The club were greatly honoured when Seán O’Keeffe was elected the chairman of the KDL in 2005. The club have been well represented in the KDL as Mike Creed and Mike Rice were members of the Management Committee for a number of years.
Three years ago Seán O’Keeffe and Mike Rice were the joint recipients of the John Sherlock Services to Football Award and it was presented to both at a FAI ceremony held in Kilkenny.