Joe McMahon may have made up with Tommy Walsh after their altercation, but the midfielder knows neither Kerry nor Tyrone will have to look very far for ammunition this evening, writes ORLA BANNON
IN TERMS of Kerry-Tyrone relations, it was a fairly significant moment. Thrown together in Australia as team-mates in Ireland’s International Rules squad last October, it was the perfect time for Joe McMahon and Tommy Walsh to get a few things straightened out.
Time to discuss that moment and that picture. They had last been seen together in the early stages of the 2008 All-Ireland final with McMahon screaming at the young Kerry rookie. This most mannerly and likeable Tyrone man was sporting the wild man from Borneo look at the time. For a split second the bearded one was transformed into a caged animal in a fiery exchange which just reeked: “Welcome to Tyrone versus Kerry, son.”
McMahon and his younger brother Justin brilliantly toppled the twin towers of Kieran Donaghy and Tommy Walsh that day, restricting them to a combined total of 0-1, and one of the abiding memories was the elder McMahon’s mental destruction of Walsh. Three years on from their infamous joust and just about as far away from Croke Park as you could get, they sorted it. “It is something that will live with me and with Tommy I suppose,” says McMahon.
“Let’s just say it was a bad hair day! It was a crazy time with the beards but they served a purpose in that it took the hype away from the football. I have seen that picture many times since. It doesn’t look too good.
“It was good to get a chance to see Tommy and we chatted about it and we laughed about it and were able to make a joke out of the whole thing.”
One small step, maybe, in the gradual thawing out of hostilities between two counties who have gone to war three times in the last decade. Or maybe not.
Neither team will have to look very far for ammunition, if any were needed, ahead of the latest instalment of their absorbing rivalry this evening.
It is the first time they have met with Jack O’Connor at the helm since he famously described Tyrone as “nouveau riche” and “full of it” in his autobiography and wrote that losing to Tyrone was worse than losing to anybody else. Wonder if those relevant extracts have made it onto the bus when the Red Hand began the long journey south to Killarney yesterday?
The unsavoury club row between Derrytresk and Dromid Pearses in January opened up some old wounds too. Still, rivalries are at the most intense when teams are at the peak of their powers and the fact that these two are meeting in a third round qualifier is an indication of the slippage that has occurred in both counties.
The emergence of Cork and Dublin in the intervening years should have taken the edge off this contest, and just look at the team sheets. Tyrone in particular have undergone a massive overhaul since 2008. Just five of the players who started that All-Ireland final are available today. Kerry have nine. How they could do with having Walsh back from Australia now.
The faces may have changed, and people have moved on, so will today’s encounter be a new chapter in the Kerry-Tyrone story or the continuation of the old one?
“Probably a mixture of both,” McMahon says. “The rivalry that has been there in the past will be there in the future, I have no doubt. Teams build up their own rivalry and I think Kerry and Tyrone will always be rivals.
“No matter who is wearing the jerseys this weekend, it’s still the white jersey of Tyrone against the green and gold of Kerry. The boys wearing those jerseys will know that.”
Tyrone faced over-zealous appeals for retirements ever since they beat Kerry for a third time in six years, en route to a third All-Ireland in six years. It seemed to Mickey Harte’s men that a lot of it was premature and personal. When, for instance, was the last time you heard calls for 33-year-old Henry Shefflin to quit? Or 35-year-old Johnny Doyle? Yet Tyrone players were being hurried out the exit door.
The drastic overhaul that many called for as far back as 2009 when Cork dismantled them in the All-Ireland semi-final, came after last year’s capitulation to Dublin. Most of the players who quit were only 31.
The rebuild is already well underway. Peter Harte, Conor Clarke, Mattie Donnelly and, until injury ended their season, Kyle Coney and Ronan O’Neill, are proof of that. Then there’s 19-year-old Darren McCurry, who scored 0-4 as a sub against Roscommon last week.
Yet, Kerry are still stuck in ‘noughties’ mode. They haven’t moved on in this decade. In many ways they mirror where Tyrone were in the last couple of years, champions of old still hoping for one last hurrah before heading for the exit door. McMahon likes where Tyrone are now.
“We feel we have a nice blend of older and younger players now. It’s something we’re building towards. With the retirements we had, yes it left a hole in the team because they were great servants. Equally, the young fellas have done well.
“In ’03 Mickey had a clear out and he brought in the young fellas and they won the league, Ulster and All-Ireland. These new boys are fitting in under the Tyrone umbrella of success and hopefully that experience can only serve them well for the future.”
McMahon missed the 2003 breakthrough year, establishing himself during the 2005 season, but in 2008 he showed his astonishing versatility. As a wing-forward he scored 1-1 from play in the All-Ireland quarter-final against Dublin. By the time the final came around he was at corner back, hustling Tommy Walsh.
His versatility shamefully cost him an All Star nomination, but the Omagh St Enda’s man is an invaluable asset to Mickey Harte.
Now 28, he is a leader. Released from full-back duties this year to play in his more favoured midfield role, he is scoring points, kicking 45s and playing the football of his life.
“As one of the older players, I have more responsibility and with Stevie missing it was nice to lead the team out last week against Roscommon. It has to be a case of actions speaking louder than words. The players see you leading by example – but there are other leaders there too. Players are challenging each other, different men are doing it at different stages.”
The ‘R’ word doesn’t pass McMahon’s lips, but revenge will be on the minds and in the hearts of Kerry. Forget about how poor they were or how lucky they were to get out of Mullingar last week.
Without a championship victory over Tyrone since the 1986 All-Ireland final, too many players remain from 2003, 2005 and 2008 not to produce something special now. McMahon knows it.
“People say this is a good time to get Kerry because they were lucky to get through against Westmeath, but they will raise their game for this.
“They will be looking back at games in the past and know they haven’t performed against us as they would like. They will be targeting this game, but we have something to prove ourselves after the Donegal defeat.”
Even if they win today, McMahon won’t rank it alongside their previous victories over Kerry. There is no Sam Maguire on offer, he argues, but it’s a significant prize all the same. A big scalp and all-important momentum.
“It would still be a good achievement because it’s in Killarney, we have all the travelling to do and the ball’s in their court.”
‘“They are expected to win, being at home, and whoever wins will be a force to be reckoned with. There are points in the season that can make you or break you and there is no better test than this.”
HEAVYWEIGHT BOUTS: Kerry and Tyrone's last three championship clashes
2003 All-Ireland semi-final
Tyrone 0-13 Kerry 0-6
Kerry didn't know what was coming. This was the game when Tyrone announced themselves on the national stage with a hustling, fearsome performance. Páidí Ó Sé's Kerry were stunned by the ferocity of Tyrone's tackling and blanket defence.
Mickey Harte had been quietly fine-tuning the blueprint which would become widely criticised, yet also copied, but there had been no real hint of it against Down in the Ulster final or in the All-Ireland quarter-final against Fermanagh.
This was the day they were saving it for, and Kerry got caught in the headlights. Both sides have four players who started that game still available to play this weekend.
2005 All-Ireland final
Tyrone 1-16 Kerry 2-10
Tyrone were match sharp in what was, incredibly, their 10th championship game of the summer, including an absorbing All-Ireland semi-final with Armagh, who had beaten them in the Ulster final replay.
Peter Canavan's late free put them through to the final and they had all the momentum by the time they met Kerry in the final. Jack O'Connor's side had hammered Cork in their All-Ireland semi-final and it proved scant preparation.
Diarmuid Murphy was beaten for the only time that summer by Peter Canavan's superb goal into the Hill. Kerry were unhappy about an off-the-ball clash involving the Colm Cooper. Dara Ó Cinnéide and Tomas Ó Sé scored goals for Kerry but it wasn't nearly enough as Mulligan (0-4), O'Neill (0-4) and McGuigan (0-3) made sure the final was a fitting tribute to the late Cormac McAnallen.
2008 All-Ireland final
Tyrone 1-15 Kerry 0-14
This game was billed as "the game of the decade" after both teams had dominated the decade winning five All-Irelands between them.
Kerry were going for a three-in-a-row, while Tyrone were determined to maintain their winning streak against the Kingdom. Kerry pinned their hopes on the "twin towers" of Kieran Donaghy and Tommy Walsh, as well as Cooper. However, Seán Cavanagh lit up the final, scoring 0-5, including two in a crucial purple patch from Tyrone in the last quarter. Declan O'Sullivan had a goal chance well saved by Pascal McConnell, and Tyrone reeled off the last four points of the game.
Orla Bannon
