For Kerry selector Mike Quirke the biggest sense of achievement he will experience if the Kingdom get over the line against Galway on Sunday would not be for himself, but a sense of satisfaction for the current group of players, the majority of whom have yet to taste senior All-Ireland glory.
“The most rewarding thing would be the sense of satisfaction you’d get for the players, to be honest,” he says. “That might sound cliched but ultimately none of us are going to kick a ball; it is always the guys that have crossed the white line that are playing the game that will get the lion’s share of credit, and rightly so because they are the ones doing everything they can possibly do to improve themselves every night, and every day, whether it is their nutrition, work in the gym, or on the field.
“They are the ones that are putting in that massive sacrifice and putting themselves out there. So, the satisfaction would come from if you could help that group of players actually get over the line and win an All-Ireland.”
The four-time All-Ireland winning midfielder adds: “When you are on the outside, you don’t appreciate the commitment and the savage work that has to go into the whole thing. These fellas have been rocked and disappointed — 2019, and then above in Cork in 2020. They have gone through huge disappointment and when you look at that this team was your winning five-in-a-row Minors and they were the ones predicted to dominate and that never happened … maybe it will never happen, but all we want to do is see if we can tick every single box that we can possibly tick to make sure that when we are walking off the field after Sunday that as many guys as possible have performed and given themselves the best chance to win.
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“There is nothing else for us to take any joy out of it from. What am I going to get out of winning an All-Ireland? Nothing really. But the sense of fulfilment that you would get from playing a small part in helping that group over the line would be … that’s what you have!”
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However, the four-time All-Ireland winning midfielder is loving life as part of Jack O’Connor’s management team and admits the emotion he experienced when Seán O’Shea kicked over the winning point against Dublin in the semi-final is a feeling that makes all the hard work worthwhile, one that he’ll never forget. “The buzz after that free kick went over the bar the last day, I’ve never done drugs in my life, but I’d imagine that’s what it must feel like,” says Quirke. “And I am sure there were fans all over the stadium feeling the same thing, but it lasts a little bit longer when you are actually in the middle of it, and you’ve been stuck helping guys and talking to fellas … that’s what you get out of it and that satisfaction is all that we have.”
If you are involved in the management of Kerry in any capacity, it is a very privileged position
Quirke believes the unusual dynamic of having himself (a former intercounty manager with Laois) and coach Paddy Tally (a former Down manager) as understudies to O’Connor is different, but it works. He says he had no hesitation whatsoever going from being in the driving seat in the O’Moore County to becoming part of O’Connor’s extensive backroom team.
“If you are involved in the management of Kerry in any capacity, it is a very privileged position for people in Kerry and I felt obviously given the experience I had that I would be able to contribute something,” says Quirke. “It’s different and you go from being the bus driver to being the bus rider which is a little bit different I suppose.
“I knew from a selfish point of view that I was going to learn something from it, that it would be something that would benefit me moving forward, as well as being able to contribute in some way while I am involved. But to be fair to Jack he is very open to a collaboration really. He understands that people are coming with different ideas or with fresh ideas. He hears them out; if they are good ideas we will roll with it, if not [then it’s] ‘no I don’t think that’s a good idea’.
“It is probably a big sign of his management, that it is not just his way. Obviously, when you are manager, your name is above the door and ultimately you are responsible for results and everything else, but I think his approach is one of collaboration and it is one that’s easy enough to slip into.”
Quirke is equally impressed by O’Connor’s ability to communicate with his players.
Quirke dismisses claims that a win over Galway could be the catalyst for the start of a sequence of All-Ireland wins
“I would say one of Jack’s greatest strengths is that he is constantly talking to players,” he says. “His communication with players is as good as I have come across. The players know they can go and he’ll listen … and maybe it’s not a conversation about something serious, maybe it’s just something about tweaking this or that, or maybe they are not playing great in that situation and ask to look at something; he is very open to all that kind of stuff.
“I would see that as a real, real strength. That side of it is really, really important, that people understand that there is a personal connection there that they can go talk to people and they understand what they are going through.”
And Quirke quickly dismisses claims that a win over Galway could be the catalyst for the start of a sequence of All-Ireland wins for this Kerry side.
“That’s putting the cart so far ahead of the horse that I can’t even see the cart,” he says. “You just want to prepare as well as you possibly can to make sure we can perform as well as we possibly can against Galway. And then if you do manage to get over the line you can worry about all those things after that.”
