The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Bringing it all back home for former president Seán
SATURDAY afternoon brought it all back home for former GAA president Seán Kelly.
The Kilcummin club man had more reason than most to bask in the success of his club after their victory over Belfast’s Naomh Éanna in Croke Park after he was the inspiration for and driving force behind the introduction of these junior and intermediate club championships.
It was also on Kelly’s direction that the finals for the competitions are played in Croke Park. So for him to watch his own club and to watch Kilcummin captain Brendan Kealy climb the steps of the Hogan Cup had a very special resonance. “Unbelievable,” he says. “One day in the life of a club and it’s fantastic to be here. To win it obviously was great, but also it was a great game. Full credit to Naomh Éanna and to be able to play in Croke Park any day is wonderful, but for a club it’s only one day ever it happens for the vast majority. For us to be here, all family, all friends, the whole parish here, people from all over, England, Australia even, America, delighted for every one.
“At the back of your mind you’d always be hoping that your club would get there, but we were senior for twenty years and we won nothing and I was always saying if went down to intermediate we might get the chance.
“We went down last year and we won the intermediate and to actually go all the way, county, provincial and All Ireland is obviously the highlight for us in our long history in the GAA going back to when it was founded in 1910.”
For a man who’s been elected County Board Chairperson, who was there when Kerry ended the famine, who’s been elected president of the GAA, who over saw the opening up of Croke Park, last Sunday ranks amongst his greatest days.
“As good as any of them,” he says.
“Particularly it brings it all home because to be there in Croke Park with your own people, with the people that made you, with the club that I played for twenty years, it’s something like you wouldn’t even have dreamed of because it wasn’t even realisable to dream about thirty years ago, but actually now that’s it’s possible to play these games and to qualify is just a special memory and you’re conscious of the fact that this is a special day never to be repeated so yes it’ll be a wonderful memory forever more.”