Latest news with #JackOConnor
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Jack O'Connor resisted urge to quit Kerry in 2024 but now he is at peace with his next move
Jack O'Connor contemplated stepping down as Kerry manager at the end of last season. He admits the All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Armagh last year, followed by the break-up of his management team, led to him giving serious consideration to walking away. 'I did certainly, yeah,' he says. 'Around this time last year we suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Armagh in a game that we appeared to be in control of. Then I had my whole management broken up, so I had to try and put the management together while I was dealing with the personal heartbreak of losing an All-Ireland semi-final. 'That can be a tough and lonely place to be when you're trying to do that, so right from this time last year I found the going tough and there were times when I felt like packing it up. READ MORE 'I'm glad I stuck with it and saw the year out because we got the reward on Sunday. But it was a tough year.' O'Connor lost selectors Mike Quirke, Diarmuid Murphy and Paddy Tally during the off-season. Tally only left in November to take on the role of Derry senior football manager. The return of Cian O'Neill to the Kerry management team was seen as a boost but O'Connor had to find several other new selectors and eventually completed a backroom team that included Aodán Mac Gearailt, Pa McCarthy and James Costello. And O'Connor says the encouragement of the players persuaded him to remain in charge for 2025. 'I would have been conversing with some of the players and they would have said to hang in there. It's tough going when you lose your management team, lads that you soldier with and that you trust and confide in. 'Then you have to try and gel with a new management team. That can be tough at times. As it turned out, the lads have been brilliant. Cian, James, Aodán and Pa were absolutely brilliant. I'm not sure I can put myself through that stuff again because when you reach a certain age, your priorities change a bit — Jack O'Connor 'They brought real freshness and real new ideas to the setup. I think the players relished that.' O'Connor's current term is now up. He has indicated several times since Sunday's All-Ireland final win against Donegal that there might be a new man on the sideline for the Kingdom next year. The 64-year-old has made no definitive public declaration, but all of the soundings since the weekend suggest O'Connor is unlikely to return – although Kerry county board officials will probably try to convince him to stay on. He rejected suggestions that he might be sending out mixed messages. 'No, it's not like that at all,' said O'Connor. 'It isn't like I'm playing hard to get at all. I'm a long old time at this thing now, lads. I found last year particularly tough, I have to say, and I'm not sure I can put myself through that stuff again because when you reach a certain age, your priorities change a bit. [ Kerry were on a tried and tested path to Sam Maguire that escaped the attention of everyone Opens in new window ] 'There are a lot of other things I like doing. I like playing a bit of golf, I like spending time with my grandson, Jack, who's mad for golf as well. 'I live in a nice part of the country and I enjoy being out in nature and going out at my old homestead in Dromid. Stuff like that. We'll see, I'll leave it settle for a couple of weeks.' O'Connor's emotional outburst after Kerry's quarter-final win over Armagh in June appeared to be the moment the pressure valve was released as the Kerry manager hit back at criticism of the team. Kerry football manager Jack O'Connor had to put a new backroom team in place ahead of 2025. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho 'Ah, it wasn't about me personally. It was just that we were putting in an incredible effort but on the back of one bad day out we were getting written off and disrespected,' he adds. 'Sometimes you just get p**sed off with that because the people who are doing the criticising are most of the time hurlers on the ditch who don't put in the same effort themselves with teams. 'I'm normally not like that. You've listened to me a long time; I normally give stock answers at these press briefings. But I had reached a point where I was just up to my tonsils with it. I had a bit of a rant and sure there is no harm at times to leave off a bit of steam.' For O'Connor, watching his side set the tempo and dominate Sunday's game from the off was incredibly satisfying. 'What pleased me was that on the biggest day of the year, we had probably our best performance. And what pleased me was the way that the lads took the game to Donegal from the off. 'I think Gavin White winning the breaking ball from the throw-in, driving on, slipping it to Dylan Geaney, a young forward in his first All-Ireland kicking a great score off his left foot, that's the start you want. There was a lot of good stuff happening in that move.' Whether or not O'Connor will be on the Kerry sideline next year, he hopes most of the trial rules will now be kept on a permanent basis. However, his support of the various changes is not universal. 'By and large, they've got an awful lot right,' he says. 'I'm still not convinced about handing the ball back, though. I think dropping the ball on the ground where the foul occurs is a good enough show of respect.' As for respect, there was some criticism of Donegal for breaking early from the pre-match parade prior to Sunday's final. O'Connor says Kerry had planned to complete the parade behind the Artane Band, irrespective of what Donegal decided to do. 'We spoke about it on Thursday night, that regardless of what happened, we were going to finish the parade. That's what we did. I know Donegal broke a bit early, but sure that's their business. We can only deal with our side of it.'
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Kerry welcomed home by a sea of green and gold as Jack O'Connor backed for President
Rathmore Railway Station in Kerry was not the final destination for the newly-crowned All-Ireland champions on Monday. However, in keeping with tradition, the Kerry footballers stopped off there. Fog horns blasted and roars of approval sounded as it was announced that the team's train was pulling into the station. The first two people on the platformwere local heroes – Kerry goalkeeper Shane Ryan and wing back Paul Murphy. Deafening cheers rang out and a sea of green and gold flags were raised as the team and management – wearing biscuit-coloured polo shirts – lined out for the crowd. READ MORE 'We are tired and a bit shook after the night but you have lifted our spirits,' manager Jack O'Connor told the crowd of several hundred who assembled from east Kerry and Sliabh Luachra. Kerry fans welcome the team home to Tralee. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho A Kerry fan dressed in the county colours for the team's homecoming. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Paul Geaney, Paudie Clifford, Joe O'Connor, Dylan Casey and Shane Ryan with the Sam Maguire Cup at the team's homecoming. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho The Rathmore contribution to Kerry football 'goes back a long way', O'Connor said. He recalledpast victories with Declan O'Keeffe on the team of 2000, as well as Tom O'Sullivan and Aidan O'Mahony in the great Kerry team of the 2000s. 'This club has made a massive contribution to Kerry football and long may it continue,' he said. Goalkeeper Ryan said both he and Murphy were indebted to everyone who had supported them in Rathmore. It brought great joy to see all the young people and plenty of goalkeeper jerseys, he said, referring to the children in attendance. Murphy recalled how, as a young boy, hewelcomed O'Sullivan and O'Mahony home 19 years ago. He then spoke of his belief that some of the children present for the team of 2025 would star for Kerry in the future. Football expertise is nurtured young in Kerry, as Patrick McDonnell from Rathmore shows. He may only be seven and in first class, but his football knowledge is already very impressive. Not only can he name the entire Kerry team by name, he correctly predicted Gavin White as man of the match. Patrick was also able to name all the Donegal players from Sunday's final. . Rathmore's claim to fame is about more than producing great footballers. Last Saturday night, the club's bingo machine correctly predicted the 10-point winning margin for the Kingdom. There was a busy trade in '25 KY Sam' number plates. At €5 each , the county board-produced plates were for a good cause. The funds are going towards the Kerry team holiday, as was announced by MC and chair of Rathmore GAA, Kieran O'Keeffe. He thanked Irish Rail for continuing with the customary Rathmore stop on the victors' way through Kerry. The team received a massive cheer as the train pulled away following the 20-minute stop-off. The rain started on the way to Tralee but it didn't dampen anyone's spirits. Young Kerry fans out in force for the team's return home. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Kerry fans celebrate as the team returns to Tralee. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Led by a garda car, the Kerry players – now soaked to the skin – was paraded on an open-top bus through Tralee, as per tradition. Thousands of people came out to welcome them. Supporters gathered along Castle Street and packed out Denny Street all the way to the Ashe Memorial Hall. There, the players were introduced one by one to huge cheers. Waiting in Tralee to welcome home Sam Maguire was Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Norma Foley. Mayor of Tralee, Terry O'Brien, was also in attendance to celebrate the newly-crowned champions. 'Jack is going for President of Ireland – and we'd be in safe hands,' said O'Brien of the Kerry manager. His remark was greeted with warm approval from the crowd. A special roar of welcome was reserved for local Austin Stacks hero Joe O'Connor. Meanwhile, in Killarney, home of the Clifford brothers, David and Paudie, and team captain Gavin White, one of the town's big car parks was cordoned off. The team made their way by open-top bus from Fitzgerald Stadium to the Glebe where huge crowds gathered.
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Kerry were on a tried and tested path to Sam Maguire that escaped the attention of everyone
Everything becomes clearer in retrospect. Potential influences, which were dismissed before the match is played, become obvious factors in the outcome. They might even have been identified but simply not accorded the appropriate weight when calculating the balance of possibilities. Sunday was considered in advance as likely to be a tight contest, very hard to call. As the final turned out, it shouldn't have been. What got overlooked or overestimated? Jack O'Connor was managing Kerry for the eighth time in an All-Ireland final . That's a lot of experience of both the highs and lows of the occasion, although his style is not to go overboard in either direction. A year ago, after losing the All-Ireland semi-final to Armagh , O'Connor sounded a bit tired by it all if kind of dismissive of the suggestion that he might call it a day. 'Are you trying to retire me? Ah sure we don't know. This management has another year in its contract or whatever so we'll hopefully see that out.' READ MORE His final year didn't get off to a promising start, as he struggled to engage people with the concept of refreshing his backroom team after the departure of a few of his selectors. It was probably seen as a short-term arrangement in a manager's final year. On Sunday, he appeared to be signalling that he was finished now that the term of his appointment is over, but the closed door didn't entirely click shut. Maybe the management team convened for this year can be persuaded to take things on a little longer. Of O'Connor's previous four All-Ireland wins, two came through the old qualifier system, which meant that defeat had to be processed along the way. It's a challenging task and in his memoir, Keys to the Kingdom, he wrote vividly about the dynamic of taking a team bruised by losing and restoring it with all the strained interpersonal relationships that entailed. That year, 2006, was about restoration and reinvention. Kieran Donaghy was deployed as a full forward. The signature win came against Armagh in the quarter-final, a comprehensive reassertion of Kerry after the All-Ireland defeat by the same opponents four years previously. Kerry's Diarmuid O'Connor, Paul Murphy, Killian Spillane, Gavin White and Tadhg Morley with Chloe Jarrell during the newly-crowned All-Ireland champions visit to Temple Street Children's Hospital, Dublin. Photograph: Dan Clohessy/Inpho The same happened in 2009 after another defeat by Cork in Munster and an alarmingly high-wire progress through the qualifiers during which retired All Star corner back Michael McCarthy was brought back as a centre back. That year's reset also came in the quarter-final, against Dublin, a realignment that took all of the few seconds required for Colm Cooper to score a goal. [ The great David Clifford delivers his most complete performance when it matters most Opens in new window ] Fast forward to last month and Kerry, stigmatised by a nine-point beating from Meath, arrived to face All-Ireland champions Armagh. In the second half, they ran off the now famous 14-point sequence and stormed to victory. O'Connor's blast at former Kerry players-turned-pundits was an unusual departure from his generally measured approach, but presumably it had a purpose. In Sunday's aftermath he pushed back at the idea that his anger had been in any way contrived. 'There was a lot of steam coming out of my ears. It wasn't faked or it wasn't put on. It was authentic because I felt that we were getting a lot of unfair stick and we were trying our butts off and have been from the start of the year.' That's now three of his five All-Irelands won in a campaign that featured a fairly traumatic defeat. The adversity appears to bring out the best in him. Already this year, Kerry have had to juggle injuries to important players but the reset and response have been brilliantly executed. Kerry manager Jack O'Connor during Sunday's All-Ireland SFC final victory against Donegal at Croke Park. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho Speaking to Denis Walsh on these pages only a fortnight ago , in advance of the semi-final against Tyrone, former county captain Dara Ó Cinnéide summarised O'Connor's strengths in these circumstances. 'Jack is exceptionally good in these situations with his back to the well,' said Ó Cinnéide. 'He doesn't get to use that chip often. Kerry are always favourites and usually come out with a good result. But he's really, really good with his back to the wall. 'His instincts are really strong. You know, 'Who'll do well for me this week? Who'll do right for me here?'. He'd have watched training the following week and he'd almost have known by a fella's body language who's genuinely up for it. He has great sensibilities around people like that.' Sunday's All-Ireland triumph was a particularly memorable achievement because of how well Kerry played, regardless of Donegal's tactical missteps which made it easier. The trinity of forwards, the Clifford brothers and Seán O'Shea, were exceptional but there were performances everywhere: Shane Ryan in goal, Jason Foley plugging away on Michael Murphy, RTÉ man-of-the-match Gavin White tearing up and down the field, Mike Breen's presence and presence of mind, Joe O'Connor maintaining his push for the Footballer of the Year shortlist – all combining for a form-driven blitz of attacking execution. Kerry's David Clifford delivered another big performance in the All-Ireland final. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho Another aspect of his successful years is the now-maintained track record of winning both league and championship in the same season. Should the consistency of that double achievement have made the All-Ireland final outcome more predictable? As can be seen from the precedent, those league wins in April or, latterly, March didn't always trigger a clean sweep through the summer. If a spring title is so important, why have there been down years when his teams don't appear to be chasing the league? The answer is that, for the most part, Kerry do turn up for the league. Eleven years ago, during one of his hiatus periods – O'Connor was managing the minors rather than the seniors – he spoke to The Irish Times about the importance of going as far as possible in the league. 'I think it is critical. The bottom line, even as late as 2012 when we were beaten by Mayo in the semi-finals, I really felt we could have done with another match. 'Andy Moran was saying it after the weekend – how big it was to play Dublin in Croke Park and to experience the pitch and the atmosphere. It plays different to any other pitch in the country because of its size and fast surface.' That desire to familiarise with the stadium also ties in with the belief that their natural game, now enhanced by the Football Review Committee's new rules, is especially well suited to Croke Park. After rearing up on Dublin in the 2009 quarter-final, O'Connor explained the turnaround. 'We felt we had worked very, very hard in the last five or six weeks since the Cork game and somewhere along the line we would click,' he said. 'No better place than here, where we have the space to play our natural game.' You'd sometimes wonder how does anyone beat them there.
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
‘Tough old year' ends sweetly for Kerry manager Jack O'Connor
At the end of a tough old year, the last word goes to Jack O'Connor . And if it is to be his last act as Kerry manager, as he intimated afterwards, it will be a sweet way to go. The sweetest. O'Connor entered the press conference room with the easy gait of a man released from the pressure of a difficult year in the trenches. He might be done with all of that stuff now. 'Well, all I know is I was going out the door Thursday evening with the bag and my missus took a picture of me going out the gate,' said O'Connor when asked if he will be returning to the Kerry sideline in 2026. His latest term is now up. 'I have a fair idea now that will be up on the wall as my last hurrah, I'd say now she'll be framing that one. READ MORE 'I think I was on record earlier in the year there that it would probably be my last hurrah, do you know.' This is O'Connor's fifth All-Ireland senior football triumph as Kerry manager; his first was achieved 21 years ago. His place in the pantheon of GAA managers was never in doubt but this success elevates all that has been achieved before. The renaissance man. He freshened up his back room team over the winter; the return of Cian O'Neill was seen as a big coup and so it proved as Kerry finish the season as National League, Munster and All-Ireland champions. But it wasn't as smooth and polished a campaign as that array of silverware suggests. In the aftermath of their win over Armagh, O'Connor let loose in response to criticism of his team. He was measured and tranquil on Sunday evening. Not bullish, more relieved and reflective. 'It was a tough old year. I found this a tough year,' he exhaled. 'I was inside here a month ago and there was a lot of steam coming out of my ears. It wasn't faked or it wasn't put on, it was authentic because I felt that we were getting a lot of unfair stick and we were trying our butts off and have been from the start of the year. So, for us to finally get the reward is great.' Kerry manager Jack O'Connor and his son Cian O'Connor celebrate at the final whistle. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho O'Connor's first Sam Maguire triumph at the helm was in 2004 with a team that included Liam Hassett, Tomás Ó Sé, Paul Galvin, Colm Cooper and Johnny Crowley. He added to his collection in 2006, 2009, 2022 and now 2025. Three terms, five All-Irelands, spanning more than two decades: O'Connor's ability to evolve and mould new teams in different eras will surely define what, up to Sunday, had strangely been an occasionally underappreciated managerial record. The fifth might well in time be regarded as his greatest achievement. 'They're all good because they're all hard-earned,' he replied, declining to take the bait. 'The first one here, 21 years ago, was a great one because it's the first one. The first one gives you credibility, do you know? I wouldn't have come back the second time or the third time unless I had won something previously.' [ Jack O'Connor: 'Being involved in it so long now, I go off my instinct to know what is appropriate and what isn't' Opens in new window ] But there must be a deep sense of satisfaction in outwitting Jim McGuinness. This was an All-Ireland final played on Kerry's terms. They got their matchups spot on, they started the game on the front foot and they never relented until the final whistle. Much of the prematch talk centred on how Kerry would avoid getting overwhelmed by Donegal's hard-running game but the Ulster champions were simply smothered at source. Kerry manager Jack O'Connor commiserates with Donegal manager Jim McGuinness. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho Peadar Mogan and Finnbarr Roarty have been punching holes in opposition defences all year – but they hardly managed to get out of their own half in this final. Like a magnet drawn to a fridge, Gavin White's supernatural ability to inhabit the space where it seemed every single breaking ball landed sucked away so much of Donegal's energy. Kerry nullified Ciarán Moore; Shaun Patton's kick-outs were targeted. The Munster champions didn't just hammer the hammer, they nailed Donegal to the turf. 'I thought we worked the Donegal defenders and that in turn takes away a bit of their legs from going the other way,' added O'Connor. And of course there was the influence of Paudie Clifford. The Fossa man had 76 possessions during the game and, with Donegal opting not to man-mark the Kerry playmaker, he essentially had the run of Croke Park. It was a high-risk tactic by Donegal, who remained committed to their zonal defensive system; all the while, Clifford was able to pick passes and create chances at times from a walking pace. Kerry manager Jack O'Connor reacts to Joe O'Connor's late goal at Croke Park. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho Before Jarlath Burns handed over the Sam Maguire to Gavin White, the GAA president lavished praise upon O'Connor – suggesting his achievements in leading Kerry to yet another All-Ireland now put him in the same bracket as the late Mick O'Dwyer. 'Sure the rest of us are only trotting after Micko,' said O'Connor later. 'He has created a great history and tradition in Kerry and the rest of us are only trotting after. 'Bit sentimental for me because I brought the cup to him and to his house in 2022 and we had a nice half-hour chat there, and there was a nice photo taken, so I treasure that because he was an idol of mine. As I say, he's created the history and the rest of us are only trotting after him.' All future Kerry managers will now be trotting after O'Connor too. He's played his part in the proud story of Kerry football. And so it was no harm before he trotted out of the press conference room that he was able to land a little dig at the noisy neighbours, too. 'Our mantra at half-time was we weren't going to collapse like we saw with the Cork hurlers maybe last week.' Ouch. And with that he was gone, five All-Ireland titles and all the doubters silenced. Not a bad way for a tough old year to end.
BreakingNews.ie
5 days ago
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
Jack O'Connor to step down as Kerry manager after winning All-Ireland
Jack O'Connor has confirmed he is stepping down as manager of Kerry after winning the All-Ireland final. Kerry defeated Donegal in Croke Park to win their 39th All-Ireland, and a fifth for O'Connor across three spells in charge. Advertisement O'Connor previously won All-Ireland titles in 2004, 2006, 2009, 2022, and has now added a fifth after Kerry's win on Sunday. This season also included winning a league and Munster title. O'Connor described the win as his "last hurrah", signalling his intention to step down at the top in an interview with RTÉ Radio 1 following the final. Speaking after the game, O'Connor said:"If you take the year as a whole, we had a lot of adversity". Advertisement "We had a lot of injuries, we lost a lot of good men but we had a tremendous panel spirit. "We had men like Mark O'Shea and Seán O'Brien, lads like that that didn't think they'd be near the team, starting midfield in an All-Ireland final for Kerry. "It's the stuff of dreams so I'm delighted for them all. A massive team effort, panel effort, backroom team effort, so I'm thrilled for them all. "We'd two big performances here against Armagh and Tyrone. We felt that we were well tested coming into the game. Maybe the hammering that Donegal gave Meath two weeks ago mightn't have done them the same amount of good that our game with Tyrone did. "We felt we were well tested, we were in great shape leaving the hotel this morning. There was a great atmosphere in the room, just a great anticipation, ready for battle. "The boys fought on their backs out there."
