When Kerry goalkeeper Declan O'Keeffe was a youngster, himself and his cousin, Denis Moynihan, would spend hours watching the Kerry golden years video.

To both youngsters it offered an endless flow of enchanting images, always fresh. Those O'Shea fetches. Liston's goal raids. That chip by Sheehy. They could visualise every detail of each sequence, had the commentaries off by heart. Virtually every kid in Kerry did.

"We still have a look at it the odd time," says Moynihan. "Just for the fun of it."

The Rathmore man, who will captain the Kerry junior side in Saturday's final against Roscommon, has been studying his cousin's form between the posts for longer than he could remember. O'Keeffe was never one for far-reaching predictions, never chained himself to vows of greatness but there was never that much surprise about his journey through the underage system to full senior Kerry honours.

O'Keeffe was solid, serious about where he wanted to be and remained unfazed when it began to happen for him.

"Even when he was a minor, he was beginning to establish himself and was known for that savage kick-out. But the other thing about him was that he worked incredibly hard. Still does.

"He would have found the training hard at first with Rathmore but put in more than anyone else and attained a level of fitness that was equal to any of the outfield players. But he was always in goal, as far as I can remember. He'd probably get sent off too much if he played outfield, anyway," laughs his cousin.

Seamus Cooper, the current manager of the Rathmore senior club, used to train the under-13 side when O'Keeffe was on the verge of breaking through at senior level. He grew accustomed to see the goalkeeper's frame at dusk, long after the other players had retired from the field.

"He'd get a young fella to stand out field and would practise kicking the ball to him, over and over, different positions, different lengths. He always had a natural accuracy but really put in the hours to polish it."

Mention O'Keeffe to anyone familiar with his game and they will instantly laud his kicking abilities. Capable of putting monstrous distance between himself and the ball - he is the John Daly of kick-outs - he has developed a fine understanding with the midfield duo, particularly Donal Daly.

The Kerry pair are strong fielders anyhow but O'Keeffe's accuracy ensures an added flow of possession.

"His kick-outs were probably the main thing that prompted us to select him for Australia," says John O'Keeffe, now a selector with Kerry and also a member of the management side that guided Ireland to success in the International Rules series last autumn.

"We knew quick restarts were going to be of vital importance to us and after trying out a number of excellent goalkeepers, Declan distinguished himself in this regard. And he was also a very good shot-stopper. It was no easy thing, the standard of goalkeeping is very good, but I think he more than justified his place in Australia. He was outstanding."

For Declan O'Keeffe, 1999 was a mixed year. In May, he put in a great performance in the Railway Cup final for Munster. Word of a succession of astonishing saves spread and set him up for the championship. That competition proved less enjoyable. On a greasy day in Cork, Kerry and their old adversaries struggled through a quarrelsome and fractured game. In the end, Cork broke the stranglehold with a pair of goals.

The first came after O'Keeffe failed to hold a lobbed free from Podsie O'Mahony, allowing big Fachtna Collins to fist to the net. The second was also a bit untidy, a low, squirting effort speculatively hit by Fionnan Murray.

"We had a few pints after the game and he was very down about it. He came in for a fair bit of criticism afterwards, people looking for someone to blame," remembers Moynihan.

"It was unfair, but things were looking bad for him. I was half wondering would that be the end of it for him. But the following Wednesday night he turned out for an east Kerry challenge game. Just three nights after all this criticism. That is typical of him, so resilient and determined."

O'Keeffe served his apprenticeship for three years as understudy to Peter O'Leary, of the Legions club. Paidi O Se gave him a crack for a National League game against Donegal in 1996 and such was his instant command and presence that he made the position his own. That summer he lined out in the All-Ireland senior semi-final against Mayo while his brother, Kenneth, kept goal for the minor side, also against Mayo. John Maughan's side stopped the Kerry seniors' gallop at that point but it was clear that the young side would be back, that the days in the doldrums were ending. By the end of the next championship, O'Keeffe had an All-Ireland medal and finished the year with an All Star award, edging out Mayo's Peter Burke.

"It would be hard to describe how much the All-Ireland meant to him. It was a very special thing for all Kerry people. But Declan, funnily, doesn't talk so much about good games he has," says Moynihan. "It's when things are troubling him that he likes to air it."

Even on bad days, he exudes authority, remains a very vocal and reassuring presence in the heart of the defence.

"We communicated very well, had a good understanding about what the other wanted," says Barry O'Shea, Kerry's regular full back who is currently undergoing a long period of rehabilitation after severing ligaments. The relationship between the goalkeeper and his full-back line is vital and O'Keeffe has helped shape the new set up, which has Seamus Moynihan filling the gap left by O'Shea.

"I was up at a few sessions when Seamus was just getting used to it and his natural inclination is to attack so there were plenty of times when Declan would call him back in with a shout," says O'Shea.

Off the field, O'Keeffe is said to be a boisterous, cheery sort.

"He's great to have around a dressing-room, good fun, uplifting, popular," says Rathmore's Seamus Cooper.

"But for all the jokes, it isn't hard to spot how deadly serious he is about his football. He works as a garda in Cork and puts in an awful lot of time travelling to training and manages to feature consistently with the club.

"I feel he is very conscious of his role within the club and is great with youngsters - all the local kids here would look up to him and he is happy to give them whatever time they want. He used train underage sides as well before work took him away from the locality."

At club level, O'Keeffe's kicking abilities have frequently been used for attacking purposes. Cooper regularly dispatches him upfield for long-distance frees and penalties. He has hit 1-3 in the Kerry championship to date.

"He'd take the head off you with his penalty shots, has a vicious kick altogether," says Denis Moynihan.

O Se had him kick a penalty in a league game early in the season but O'Keeffe failed to convert; such is the wealth of dead-ball specialists in the Kerry attack, using the goalkeeper probably seemed like an unnecessary novelty anyway.

But as John O'Keeffe, who acted as trainer with the Kerry team this year, explains, he doesn't shirk the physical work.

"Stamina work would not have been his forte but he applied himself to it with astonishing zeal. Representing Kerry is a huge thing in his life and I think we can expect to see him maintain the standards he has set himself for the considerable future."