Kerry: I just didn’t quite get there

LOONEY played for the Kerry minors in 2004 and 2005, and came on as a sub in the 2008 All-Ireland Under-21 Final victory over Kildare. Yet, despite being such an effective and inspirational club performer for Dr Crokes, his only experience as a Kerry senior was being introduced off the bench in one National League game against Mayo at Austin Stack Park in 2010.

Why did things never work out for him in the green and gold jersey?

“I’ve been asked that once or twice down the years. It’s a funny one,” he admitted. “I would have loved to have the opportunity to wear the Kerry jersey more often, and I was given plenty of chances to come into the set-up at different times, but it just didn’t work out for me for whatever reasons.

“The chemistry that I had with the players in the club, that brought out the best in me. But it just didn’t translate into the Kerry set-up. It was disappointing, but it was never the be-all and end-all.

“When I was trying to get onto the Kerry panel in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, around that time, we were having great success with the club. Then you were going into Kerry later than others and trying to make an impression, maybe coming off the back of losing an All-Ireland semi-final, the mental sharpness would have taken a hit.

“But there are no excuses from me. What will be will be. I have my All-Ireland Under-21 medal from 2008, and would still be friends with a lot of the lads on that team. The Kerry senior level is a very high level. I just didn’t quite get there.”

THE COVID-19 Pandemic has caused an awful lot of heartache in Ireland and throughout the world over the last couple of months.

Sadly, many people have lost their lives, many others are suffering in hospitals and care homes, while businesses have their doors bolted, and some may never re-open.

All the things that we took for granted in everyday life have been stopped in their tracks. The joy of meeting friends for a coffee, of having a sociable pint in the local pub, bringing your partner to a cinema or a concert, going to Sunday Mass, even getting a bloody haircut.

All gone. For now. Grandparents cannot see their grandkids, parents cannot hug their children, the over-70s have been virtual prisoners in their own homes.

And, of course, there has been no sport. There is some light at the end of the tunnel since Monday with golf courses and tennis courts dusting off the cobwebs. But, for GAA players like Dr Crokes’ Brian Looney, the roadmap for the future return of Gaelic football is dotted with uncertainty and confusion.

Good job so that the 33-year-old Killarney man has a lot more on his plate at the moment than kicking a ball around...

Iris Looney is just over three months old. For Brian, and wife Gina, she is their little bundle of unadulterated joy that banishes the worries of the dreaded Coronavirus. Iris has no interest in any of that negativity. She is just happy being loved.

“Yeah, she is keeping us very busy