Brothers in Sport

by Donal Keenan

  ‘The Oxford English Dictionary doesn’t have the word to describe what it meant for John and me, for the club, for the county and all the people,’ says George. ‘I had been at it for seventeen years and won nothing since the Oireachtas final of 1979. There was a sense of peace more than exhilaration. There was a strange sense of calmness. How important was winning? It was great, like getting absolution when in confession. It was fulfilment, the realisation of the dream that took so long. Then when it did happen life moves on. I wanted to go home on the Tuesday to milk the cows. I didn’t realise what was happening outside the dressing-room, the immediate squad. It took some time for us to understand that the victory meant so much to the people of Wexford. I was brought along on a cloud of euphoria. I think we were all struck by the elation of the people, the sense of

  relief.’

  John admits that, at the ages of thirty-three and thirty-six at the time, both he and George felt that they would never win an All-Ireland. Like George, once the title had been won he wanted to move on. ‘It was a moment in time. It happened and I will never forget it but I don’t want to dwell on it. I don’t even like to hear these days about the lads from 1996. I want us to move on in the county, to be talking about the lads of today. A lot of people are working very hard and we need that at under-age level. We need good minor teams every year. We need to get back to winning big games.’

  George left his helmet and hurleys in the dressing-room in Croke Park that evening. He played one more club game for St Martin’s. John continued playing for a few more years and won a County Championship with the club in 1999, lining out at full forward. Their love of the game never waned. Their children are now playing and John admits it is harder watching them than it was playing.

  George worked for many years on the family farm but in recent years has taken on a full-time coaching role in Wexford. His work takes him all over Leinster and beyond, spreading the gospel. His enthusiasm is infectious. He revels in the challenge of visiting schools where hurling is not played and introducing young kids to the sport. He marvels at the reach of the GAA. ‘Anywhere you go in Ireland, almost anywhere in the world you will find the GAA. There is always a connection,’ he says. His passion for the GAA emerges in a torrent of conversation.

  The GAA has enjoyed enormous success, he acknowledges, but he warns against complacency. ‘Maybe it is time to re-evaluate what we are all about, what the GAA is doing for young people, the foundation it is giving them going forward in their lives, how important it is that we properly coach the people who are looking after the kids; that we don’t willy-nilly send out any person to do the job – they have to be sweet, they have to be kind, they have to be facilitators and they have to be there for the children. Egos and self-interest have to be left at the door.’

  Though he enjoyed success himself as a young boy, he is unhappy about the early introduction of competition and the negative effect it can have. ‘At ages six to ten the kids enjoy the games immensely, the parents enjoy the games immensely. You meet parents from other clubs, it is social and the spirit is good. Then we introduce under-12 competition and a whole new world opens up. The kids aren’t ready for it and the parents aren’t ready for it. It is all about winning. Should we be doing that? I don’t think so. Once you put a jumper on the ground to mark a boundary there is competition anyway, there is stimulation and attention and that is how it should be. That’s the way kids operate. They want competition but not the way we parachute it down on top of them. It affects their skills, their wellbeing and their family. If a mother hears abuse being hurled at her son – we call it negative aggression – she won’t want that.

  ‘We need to look after our young people. As a society we lost our way. The Celtic Tiger years, look what it did to us. We had helicopters flying our children to their first Holy Communion. Were we cracked? God help us. How stupid it was. Helicopters and limousines. Where were we going? We needed to get a grip. We lost all sense of place.’

  He is not a fan of PlayStation, Nintendo and the modern playthings that occupy so much of young people’s time today. ‘Playing those games is easy. They don’t require organisation. It’s just pressing buttons. That’s all you have to do to get stimulation. But you won’t see a computer make a hurler out of a young lad. The only way to make a footballer or hurler is to get out on the park. And don’t text me to say we are going to meet somewhere. Ring me up and say hello. Modern technology is fantastic in its own right. But you can’t beat the personal touch, the man-to-man chat, the cup of tea at the end of a training session. We are going too far – it’s like the man who can’t go out and have a pint in the country. It has nothing to do with drinking and driving. He wants to have his one or two pints and a bit of social interaction and are they going to abolish this altogether? Are we living by extremes?’ he asks.

  He is not just concerned about the kids. While the elite at inter-county level are well catered for, George wonders if enough is being done for those who wish to play the game on a recreational basis. ‘We have people who play for the spoils at the very top and of course that is what everyone strives for. But not everybody gets there. What about the guy who does a hard day’s work and wants to play a game in the evening. Is there anything for him nowadays?’

  He wants to see an expansion in social hurling so that players of every age and every level of ability have the opportunity to play the game. George recalls some lively midweek evenings around Piercestown and neighbouring towns and villages. ‘The rivalry locally was fierce. Junior ‘B’ hurling was a great example. You had the guy who was only half trained and you had the guy with the beer belly. Then you had the guy playing in goal who was smoking a fag and he’d be coughing and snorting. The sidelines used to be packed. Then a row would break out and there’d be a bit of a shemozzle. They weren’t fit enough to fight. The ball would drop in around the goal and some fella would get a stick at it and the ball would end up in the back of the net. And he would end up in the pub that night and he would have the bragging rights. And it was great. We need more of that.

  ‘I remember when it was first suggested we play hurling on the quays in Wexford and we were told it couldn’t be done. We said why not; let’s have a go at it. Some people said we would lose the ball into the sea or on the road. We needed insurance so we got it. We caged it up and let them off and it’s great fun with 400 young people playing there during the summer. Hurling is there to be enjoyed and played. We need to develop our games so that everyone at every age can enjoy them even if they cannot aspire to playing in Croke Park on the first Sunday in September. We need to bring back the magic.

  ‘I am not arguing against the elite; I admire the guys who set the standards at the highest level. They are training to professional levels. Their dedication is amazing. There is no comparison between the game of the 1970s and the 1980s and the game now. If you don’t get your first touch now you’re gone. And the fitness levels are gone out to the stratosphere. Everything is different, nutrition is better, structures are better and training is much more professional. There are disadvantages because of the pressure on managers and County Boards, especially from a financial point of view. We must keep a balance. It is index linked. It is the dream to play for the county, to play in an All-Ireland. But not everyone will achieve that so they have to be catered for. We need to give the junior ‘B’ player every opportunity to play the game.’

  At the highest level of the game he recognises the enormous demands that burden the modern inter-county hurler and footballer. Some counties are better than others in looking after these players and the GAA need to constantly monitor what is happening. But he warns: ‘For the GAA to survive we must hold on to our amateur status. If we went professional we would see the demise of the GAA because it would create false hopes and people would play the game for all the wrong reasons. We play because we want to enjoy the games and want to be part of the community. We would erode one by one all the values we have [by going professional]. Look at rugby
. You have the provinces that are successful, but no one is talking about local clubs or their national League. Rugby can survive because it has an international outlet. We do not have that. So we must look after the original philosophy of the GAA which is to cultivate the games and create the environment in which people play them for enjoyment. It cannot be about becoming wealthy or anything like that.’

  The O’Connor brothers look to the future. They both yearn for the time when Wexford will have new heroes to replace those of 1996. The longer the county waits the harder it is to make the breakthrough. But they look at the work being done at under-age level in the county and they are re-assured. ‘I would love to see Waterford and Limerick coming through to win an All-Ireland as well,’ says John. ‘The game needs those counties and it needs Wexford. The GAA must be careful to ensure these counties stay competitive.’

  He believes the game has changed dramatically from their own playing days. ‘Every facet has changed. It is all about the ball now. The skills of the players have improved and the speed of the game has changed. The players are also mentally tougher. When you look at videos of the 1970s and 1980s the games look pedestrian compared to today. This Kilkenny team has brought the game to another level. Their fitness and skill is amazing; they have developed everything to a very high standard – hooking, blocking, aerial catches. The only possible weakness that might creep in is hunger. It is hard to keep going at that level for so long. But there is no sign of that hunger disappearing yet,’ he adds.

  They enjoy reminiscing because they had good days. There was even something to be enjoyed about the bad ones. But they don’t want to dwell on the past. There is too much to look forward to.

  The Ó Sé

  Brothers

  16 February 2010: In the coffee bar of the Imperial Hotel, on Tralee’s Denny Street, two legends of Gaelic football meet in mid morning. It has become a ritual in recent years. Darragh Ó Sé represents the current generation for another day at least. Mikey Sheehy represents the Golden Years, 1975 to 1986. They talk football, rugby, soccer, business and politics. And they laugh and joke. Sometimes serious; very often not so serious. On different days some others will drop in. Eoin ‘Bomber’ Liston is a regular. Seán Walsh too. In the old days they used to meet in Harty’s with men like John Dowling. Harty’s is gone now, but the tradition is maintained, the baton handed on.

  Darragh is enjoying this morning. Tomorrow will be very different. He will be the focus of attention, the talk of the town, the county and even the country. Most people are still unaware of his intentions. On Radio na Gaeltachta the following morning Darragh will confirm to his old friend and team-mate Dara Ó Cinnéide that he has decided to end his inter-county career. The oldest of the three Ó Sé brothers is leaving Kerry’s destiny in the hands of his younger brothers, Tomás and Marc, and a host of friends made over the years.

  After sixteen years in the Kerry colours during which he has won six All-Ireland Championships and earned a place in football’s hall of fame, Darragh still looks fit and healthy. But he has known for a while now that the body is rebelling against the exacting toll of preparing for and playing football at the top level. In recent years he has delayed and delayed his return to the punishing schedule. It gets harder every March when he is supposed to make his return to the training ground. All winter he has mulled over his decision, spoken at length to Amy, his wife, and his family. The time has come.

  ‘I’m lucky, I have had a great career and I can have no complaints,’ he says simply. ‘The timing was perfect. I came along at the right time to play with and against some of the greatest players ever to play the game – the lads I played with like Maurice Fitzgerald, Séamus Moynihan, Colm Cooper, Michael McCarthy; lads I played against like Pádraic Joyce, Ciarán Whelan, Peter Canavan, Kieran McGeeney. To test yourself out against players of that ability is a huge privilege; it was just a privilege to play for Kerry and I was lucky because I had longevity.’

  In Full Flight: Darragh Ó Sé soars into the air to win possession for Kerry against old rivals Cork. © Brian Lawless/SPORTSFILE

  Across the town, in the local CBS, Marc Ó Sé is also pondering the future without his older brother in the Kerry team. ‘It is going to be a massive change for Tomás and myself,’ he says a little ruefully. ‘He has been such a massive presence in the team. He was such a major figure in the dressing-room and on the field obviously, but he was also one of the great characters. He was mighty craic. In the last few years I travelled to training with him every evening, the two of us and Paul Galvin. The craic started the minute you sat into the car and didn’t end. There were evenings when you might not have felt like training, but the thought of the fun we would have would keep you going. We’re going to miss him in a lot of ways. But we’ll just have to get on with it.’

  Tomás absorbed the news at his home on the outskirts of Cork. ‘He’s the best midfielder I’ve seen and I’m not just saying it because he is my brother. He will be a huge loss for his leadership alone. Yeah, we’ll miss him around the place.’

  * * *

  Marc Ó Sé was just five years old, but his memories of the arrival of the open-top bus in his home place of Árd an Bhóthair in the west Kerry Gaeltacht in September 1985 are vivid. His uncle Páidí was Kerry’s captain that year and stood at the front with the Sam Maguire Cup raised aloft. Little Marc was hoisted from the crowd to stand alongside his uncle and the other great heroes of the golden years. His dreams of one day bringing such joy back to his home place were already forming.

  They were a privileged group, the youngsters of the Dingle peninsula. Páidí entrusted care of the famous trophy to the school teachers Maureen Geaney and Seán Keane at Scoil Caitlín Naofa, Cillmhicadomhnaigh. Each evening as classes ended a pupil would be given the trophy to take home for the evening. ‘That was some thrill,’ says Marc, a sense of wonder still apparent in his voice. ‘People in Kerry were so used to the Sam Maguire coming back at that time that there wasn’t much demand for it. Lucky for us.’

  Micheál Ó Sé, Páidí’s older brother, was a good club footballer who played at junior level with Kerry and shared the family passion for the game. He and his wife Joan loved to see their four sons, Fergal, Darragh, Tomás and Marc out in the garden kicking football with friends and neighbours. ‘In west Kerry in those days,’ explains Darragh, ‘there was no soccer or rugby or any other sport. It was all football. It was boom time for us growing up because Kerry was winning All-Irelands nearly every year and we had Páidí on the team.’

  As ambitious as the youngsters might have been, they could not in their more fanciful dreams have scripted the events of the next quarter of a century. But when Kerry re-emerged in the late 1990s as All-Ireland contenders once again, the Ó Sé name would feature more prominently than ever. The statistics are staggering: Darragh won the first of his six All-Ireland titles in 1997; Tomás joined him on the victorious team of 2000; from 2002 to 2009 Darragh, Tomás and Marc would be team-mates in eight consecutive Championships, appear in six All-Ireland finals together (Darragh missed the 2004 final through injury) and would share All-Ireland senior titles in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009.

  They created a significant bit of history in 2007 when the three brothers from Árd an Bhóthair were named together on the All Stars selection, Marc at right full back, Tomás at right half back and Darragh in midfield. ‘You would have to say that for much of our lives we were ignorant of other things happening around us,’ says Marc. ‘Everything else took second place to football from a very early age. We just loved doing it.’

  Family Affair: For the first time in the history of the All Stars scheme, three brothers were chosen on the same selection when Marc, Darragh and Tomás Ó Sé were named on the 2007 Football All Stars. © Brendan Moran/SPORTSFILE

  Encouragement was all around them, though Micheál and Joan insisted that the boys spent sufficient time with their schoolbooks to ensure a solid education. As important as football might be, it would not provide the boys
with a living. But evenings always closed with the sound of a thump of a football and weekends were spent training and playing with the club where Liam Ó Rócháin and later the well-known broadcaster and former All-Ireland winner Micheál Ó Sé provided the structures, coaching and advice that would inspire future success. ‘Those men provided so much for us. I have great respect for them and everything they did for us’ is Marc’s tribute.

  ‘When we were growing up we had the Golden Years and our heroes were Páidí and the great players on that Kerry team of the 1970s and 1980s. But Micheál was so enthusiastic about football and about Kerry, and he would tell us great stories about the achievements of men like Mick O’Connell and Mick O’Dwyer, Tom Long and so many others. It gave us a sense of the history and tradition of Kerry football, an understanding of what the game meant to the people in the county.’

  Micheál, their father, was not a particularly demonstrative man. He didn’t push the boys. ‘He was delighted that we played football,’ says Darragh, ‘but if we decided we didn’t want to play he was okay with that. He was always there with a quiet word of encouragement. He wouldn’t be shouting it out.’ Fergal and Darragh were the oldest, so they got to go to Croke Park to see Uncle Páidí and Kerry. When the boys began to play for Kerry Micheál was always there ready to give advice when needed. Marc attended games with him when Darragh and Tomás were playing for Kerry. ‘He was very quiet at games, you knew he was nervous. He wanted the lads to do well not for his sake but for their sake and for Kerry.’ One of his proudest days was when An Gaeltacht won the Kerry Championship for the first time in 2001 when the three boys played on the team coached by their oldest brother

  Fergal.

  On 12 May 2002 Micheál Ó Sé travelled to Limerick to watch Darragh, Tomás and Marc play Championship football together for the first time with Kerry. They beat Limerick by 0–14 to 1–7. Just over a month later, on 16 June, he was in Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney as the three lads played in the Munster final against Cork. The match ended in a draw, 0–8 each. The replay was fixed for the following weekend. Micheál died suddenly on the Tuesday. ‘It is sad that he wasn’t around for all of the time we played with Kerry,’ says Darragh quietly. ‘But at least he did see us play for Kerry together.’ The Munster replay went ahead the weekend after Micheál was laid to rest. ‘We had to get on with it,’ says Marc. ‘He was a massive influence on us and it was a terrible loss.’