Lee Chin: ‘My career as a hurling goalkeeper didn't last long. We played a county final and conceded about six goals'
Growing up in Wexford, I was involved in football, hurling and soccer from an early age. I always played outfield in football and soccer but in hurling I had a short stint in goal at Faythe Harriers. I only lasted a game there at my age level but I sometimes played in goal if I was playing an age level or two up. We played a county final and I was in goal for it, but conceded about six goals. That sporting career didn't have any longevity! I made some early strides outfield in hurling but my first chance to play at Croke Park came as somewhat of a surprise. It was a Thursday when I got a phone call asking would I go to play for Wexford Under-14s. That call was from Joe Kearns, who was part of the Wexford panel when they won the All-Ireland Final in 1996. I told him that I might need to get hold of my mam to ask could I take the day off school. He said, 'I don't think she'd have a problem with that!' Sure enough, he was right.
I remember they had a bus arranged and off we set. Mam and my grandmother followed up in the car. This was a place that I had only ever dreamed of playing in. The dressing room, walking out from the tunnel — it is all so clear, even to this day. I scored a point at the Davin Stand end that afternoon. If you asked me now, I could still point out the exact spot that I scored it from. That game impacted me so much. It made me feel I was chasing the right thing.
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RTÉ News
10 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Kerry's 'little hero' Brian Ó Beaglaoich can provide a star turn against Donegal
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RTÉ News
25 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
'Outsider' Jack O'Connor looks to firmly cement place amongst footballing royalty
Donegal and Kerry lie at opposite ends of the country. Both share a picturesque countryside, made up of rugged headlands and imposing mountains, a vista that for centuries has stood up against the ravages of Atlantic storms. Different forms of the Irish language are spoken in each county, both possessing a lyrical lilt, a soothing quality. Two proud counties. In a sporting context, Kerry are certainly the standard-bearers when it comes to Gaelic football. Donegal's emergence, you would have to say, is a more latter-day occurrence. It was 1963 before Tír Chonaill contested a first Ulster final. A maiden title arrived in 1972, with a second success coming in 1974. Brian McEniff, a revered figure well before silverware was landed, was now directing operations as player-manager. A successful hotelier, McEniff was, quite simply, 'Mr Football' in Donegal. With his playing days over, he would eventually oversee Donegal's first All-Ireland triumph in 1992. His place in the annals of GAA within the county and beyond was assured. All told, McEniff had six spells guiding the fortunes of the green and gold. In 2003, he reluctantly took on the role for what would be the last time. He started the year as county chairman and was tasked with finding a replacement for Mickey Moran, who stood down after Donegal's loss to Dublin in the All-Ireland quarter-final replay the previous August amid rumours of player misbehaviour following the draw. McEniff wanted Martin McHugh to take on the job, but the Kilcar clubman could not be persuaded. Other names were also touted but in the end it was a case of McEniff being the last one standing. Donegal's championship campaign started slowly but they found renewed oxygen through the qualifiers. They would eventually reach the All-Ireland semi-final, where they lost narrowly to the reigning champions Armagh. No shame in that. McEniff was still having an impact, still sprinkling the gold dust. Footballing royalty. Jim McGuinness's arrival as coach would add a new layer to the Donegal story. In 2003, Kerry could not cope with the Tyrone swarm in the All-Ireland semi-final. Páidí Ó Sé's time as manager was up, the loss to the Red Hand following on from an ignominious defeat to Meath and the frustration of being pipped by Armagh in the previous year's decider. Yes, Páidí did oversee two All-Ireland wins but he had run out of road after Tyrone left him and his players in a daze on that August Sunday. The previous autumn, while on a team holiday in Cape Town, Ó Sé told journalist Paul Kimmage: "Being a Kerry manager is probably the hardest job in the world because Kerry people, I'd say, are the roughest type of f****** animals you could ever deal with". A subsequent interview with RTÉ's Marty Morrissey, who coincidentally happened to be in South Africa at the same team, was an attempt to smooth things over. The autumn of 2003 saw Jack O'Connor take over. Unlike Ó Sé and McEniff, O'Connor would not have been perceived as football royalty. The Dromid native saw himself as the 'outsider' in the Kingdom fraternity. He never got to wear the county jersey and never played for one of the county's top clubs. Yet he was always an astute observer of the game. He made his name coaching schools and colleges, before working alongside Ó Sé as Kerry ended an 11-year-wait, a famine in the Kingdom, when winning back Sam Maguire in 1997. Not many of the revered squad that conquered all under Mick O'Dwyer were on hand to wish Jack well. And as for the now departed Waterville maestro, O'Connor, when writing in his autobiography 'Keys to the Kingdom' spoke of how O'Dwyer "blanked" him prior to a match when he was Kerry selector. Also highlighted was when Páidí Ó Sé, via one of his newspaper columns, criticised the style of football Kerry were playing under O'Connor's stewardship. At an awards dinner attended by former Kerry greats, Jimmy Deenihan told the assembled crowd that he hoped Mick O'Dwyer would have another go at managing Kerry. That certainly angered O'Connor, who was present with his wife and family. Perhaps it was no surprise that O'Connor's late mother Sheila pleaded with him not to take the Kerry job. She passed away on the day he was appointed in October 2003. She told him: "Don't take it John". But it was something her son felt he had to do. His first year at the helm yielded a league and All-Ireland double, so starting a trend. After a similar haul was netted in 2006, O'Connor was told by some of the natives that he managed the team to "soft" All-Irelands. Mayo were cast aside easily on both occasions. There were some players on the panel that O'Connor felt he couldn't get through to; and others, like Darragh Ó Sé, who would question the manager's new-found methods. Some others were not prepared to give that little bit more in training. And there was one player, Tom O'Sullivan, who skipped training one night. He did not return O'Connor's text as to his whereabouts. Thick skin is required. And O'Connor does not lack confidence. He can be stubborn, has fallen out with many, yet is steadfast in believing his methods are right. There was talk of mid-season disharmony in the Kerry camp in '06, as was the case in 2009, with O'Connor into his second coming as manager at that point. Come the end of it all Kerry were champions, the manager basking in the glory again, while having a pop at the "supposed aura of this great Armagh side" and the "phoney and orchestrated" way Dublin march down to the Hill before the start of their games. In 2012, O'Connor ended his second spell at the helm, this after defeat to Donegal in an All-Ireland quarter-final. That reverse came after the Dubs struck late, by way of that Cluxton kick into the Hill, to land the ultimate prize a year previously and a surprise defeat to Down in the season before that. We thought that would be it. But within a year O'Connor was back on the sideline, overseeing the Kerry minors. Successive All-Irelands would follow under his stewardship before he took over the U-21s. And then a call came from beyond the Kingdom. The wheels of the car pointed towards Kildare. In a tenure interrupted by Covid, O'Connor oversaw promotion to Division 1 for the Lilies and a Leinster final appearance. It was the autumn of 2021 and much anger was being vented in Kerry by the manner in which they lost the All-Ireland semi-final to Tyrone. Then boss Peter Keane was under pressure. O'Connor, speaking on a podcast, admitted to "an allure" to taking the Kerry role once again. A case of Jack jumping the gun! "Who doesn't want to coach Man United?," he added. Keane was still manager of Kerry, however, while O'Connor had not yet vacated the Kildare hotseat. It was all a bit messy, an unsatisfactory crossover in the way O'Connor's third stint would come about. "A bit of a public grab" and "a little bit ugly" was how Kevin McStay described it at the time. On the back of Kerry's phenomenal run of minor success and with David Clifford standing out as a generational talent, the omens were looking good for the Kingdom again. And in his first year back, O'Connor duly delivered league and All-Ireland triumphs. Tyrone man Paddy Tally was part of the set-up; a Kerry ticket that welcomed some Ulster influence. Winning back-to-back Sam Maguires has so far eluded the manager, a blot that does standout on O'Connor's CV. The nature of the defeats to Dublin and Armagh in '23 and '24 respectively underlined a brittleness in the Kerry psyche at the business end of both games. This Sunday's showdown with Donegal is likely to be just as tight, the first All-Ireland final played under new rules where players can really express themselves. In a campaign where Kerry certainly hit the high note in that second half against Armagh and O'Connor subsequently faced down the critics, this would be a sweet All-Ireland for the 'outsider' to win. There won't be anything soft won at Croker. The chance then for Jack O'Connor to finally discard the self-styled outsider tag. Time then to take your place amongst the footballing royalty.
Irish Examiner
40 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
RTÉ and BBC confirm broadcast teams for All-Ireland SFC final
Darragh Maloney and Éamonn Fitzmaurice will provide the RTÉ commentary for tomorrow's All-Ireland football final. The game is being broadcast on RTÉ One as the women's European Championship final between England and Spain is being shown on RTÉ2. RTÉ's coverage gets underway at 2:15pm when Joanne Cantwell will be joined by an analysis team of Tomás Ó Sé, Peter Canavan, and Lee Keegan. Damian Lawlor will be the sideline reporter. Irish language coverage will available on the Sunday Game Beo, which can be watched on the RTÉ News Channel and through the RTÉ Player. Alongside presenter Gráinne McElwain will be former Clare footballer Gary Brennan and Galway All-Ireland winner Seán Ó Domhnaill, while Daráine Mulvihill will be the sideline reporter. Commentary will be provided by Garry MacDonncha and Dara Ó Cinnéide. The game will also be shown live on BBC Two NI. Their coverage starts at 3pm and will be presented by Sarah Mulkerrins. She will be joined pitchside by Oisín McConville, Philly McMahon, and Conor McManus. All-Ireland winning manager Mickey Harte will be alongside Thomas Niblock on commentary while Mark Sidebottom will have all the latest news and analysis from Brendan Devenney and Owen Mulligan pitchside. Jacqui Hurley will present the Sunday Game highlights show which starts at 9:30pm on RTÉ2 tomorrow night. Ciarán Whelan, Enda McGinley, Paul Flynn, Cora Staunton, Tomás Ó Sé and Mark McHugh will provide the analysis.
