It really is a festival of football for Kerry fans at the minute. The senior men’s team brought Sam back to the Kingdom after an eight-year absence, but bubbling behind the scenes is the actual famine of when the Brendan Martin Cup last crossed the county boundaries. It’s been 29 years since Kerry last won and 10 years since they made an All-Ireland final. Mismanagement, relegation battles and pure survival mode were the order for the last few years. But under Declan Quill and Darragh Long, there seems to be a Kerry yerrah oozing from this group.
Accidentally, Long’s connection to ladies’ football is probably generational. Father, Dinny, a Millstreet man and All-Ireland winner with Cork, refereed a sort of Munster final between Cork and Kerry in Banteer, Cork, in 1973. That same year Dinny Long won an All-Ireland medal with Cork. That same year, and in fact that same day, Mary Geaney would announce her arrival to the big stage, kicking two goals and six points and bringing Kerry over the line. The score was 5-10 to 4-11 at the final whistle.
Now, Mary Geaney is enjoying life in Killarney Golf Club, keeping fit and keeping up to date on all things sports. She’s achieved more than she’d actually let on — ladies’ football All-Ireland winning captain with Kerry, All-Ireland winning captain with Cork camogie, national and provincial success in badminton, 61 international caps with the Irish hockey team and managing a young Killarney team to the Irish Senior Cup with a 4-1 win over Royal Portrush in 2017, their first title.
[ Quill’s confidence in Kerry’s potential proving well-foundedOpens in new window ]
Either way, none of it really phases her. When she thinks back to that 1973 game and how it came about, it really comes down to perseverance and people dedicating themselves to the growth of the women’s game. “We started first with camogie. And the Kerry camogie clubs just started to filter out, and we were the only ones left. Then there was a share of carnivals that had ladies football matches at it. And luckily enough for us at the time, this man, Mick Fitzgerald, was very involved. I think he was president of the ladies football, and he was from Castleisland. He set it all up, and it took off from there”.
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Mick Fitzgerald is a Galway man who later moved to Kerry for work and was soon playing for teams in Ballyduff, Lixnaw and Castleisland. He quickly noticed a sizeable difference in hurling standards between Kerry and Galway, so he became involved in setting up a local camogie club in Castleisland. That camogie club and many others nearby helped establish a dominant Kerry team that won nine All Ireland titles in a row. Mick Fitzgerald was involved in Kerry’s domination of ladies football.
Interest in ladies football at the time was high. Football was an in-demand sport, and given it was played during neighbourhood festivals, people from outside the usual parts of GAA were watching. There were also those who grew up on football and hurling. “People were very interested, you know, because there was so much means football going on. People knew about football anywhere. Yeah. Most of my brothers played football, so then I played. We wouldn’t have the same support, obviously, as the men at the time. But there was good support.
“And, you know, we were grateful for it and to go on to play matches. Lots of us went on buses at that time as well. So there was good fun in it as well, and the training was interesting as well. And you’d always, both with the club [Castleisland Desmonds] and with Kerry, there was always a big crowd”, explains Geaney.
Right now, Kerry is on a revival that could be partly inspired by their opponents, Meath. Kerry are truly the OG of ladies football, playing quick lookup football that stretches defences. Erika McGlynn has shaken off her troubles that plagued her for the Munster final, while Kerry also found a creative centre forward who pulled the strings against Mayo in Siofra O’Shea. Yes, it’s terribly weird the parallels between the men and women.
Kayleigh Cronin is also proving to be a revelation at centre back as a sweeper, organiser and strong marker. Midfielders Lorraine Scanlon and Cait Lynch are also slick operators, dropping back if the option is needed or exploding forward, putting the opposition on the back foot.
Inexperience could be a factor on the day. Since that All Ireland final in 2012, there have been serious changes in Kerry. Only Lorraine Scanlon, Cait Lynch, Louise Ni Mhuircheartaigh, captain Anna Galvin and Louise Galvin were part of the 2012 side that lost out to Cork. Since 2020, there have been 15 debutants in this new look Kerry side.
Mary Geaney strongly believes this is Kerry’s time. “I think they have a great chance. They’re very strong. You know, they’ve got a great panel together. We’re lucky in the sense that our club team [Castleisland Desmonds] are actually on the starting 15. You know, so there’s great interest here for us in it. But I think they have a great chance. We were unlucky last year, there were one or two injuries which upset us, but they have come a long way from a couple years ago when they were cleared from relegation. Now they’re on the other side”.
The bonus of a potential All Ireland win isn’t lost on this current crop of Kerry team and also Mary Geaney. The club championships have been incredibly competitive for the last number of years, which have filtered on to the inter-county set-up. The health of ladies football is also looking good.
With Kerry going under the radar this year and Meath doing it last year, teams are now understanding the importance of a good set-up, investment and putting a ladies team first. Mary Geaney has broken down every barrier possible. Now, this Kerry team have the opportunity to lay a good foundation for the future to come.
So, what would a multiple All Ireland winner say to this current Kerry squad? “Again, so I think they have the football. They’re good enough, and they’ve good management. And I think if they just scored and believe in themselves, which they’ve done all year up to this point, I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t. They are good enough to win it. So, just go out and enjoy it!” beams Geaney.
