Save for his great mentor Mick O鈥橠wyer in this newspaper and one or two other hardy annuals who predicted Kerry would come good, O鈥橩eeffe wasn鈥檛 alone. Jack O鈥機onnor鈥檚 side were being written off as they were ahead of the same stage three years later against Dublin. Didn鈥檛 anybody learn?
Up to a point, the parallels between this All-Ireland quarter-final and their previous one against Armagh 19 years ago are tantalising for Kerry: unfancied, Division 1 champions, O鈥機onnor at the helm, and coming off a goal-drenched win in Killarney the previous weekend.
The disparities are the current yawning injury list, which is hardly comparable to Declan O鈥橲ullivan鈥檚 middling form which was of chief concern to Kerry in 2006, and the fact that Kieran Donaghy, the pearl they shucked in that victorious championship, is now a charm for the opposition.
In Fitzgerald Stadium last weekend, there was no lightning in a bottle moment as there was there in 2006 when Donaghy was stationed at the edge of the square against Longford and laid off two of Eoin Brosnan鈥檚 three goals. 鈥淛ack鈥檚 eyes lit up,鈥 recalled Se谩n O鈥橲ullivan, who started against Armagh the next day with the intention of maintaining the supply to Donaghy.
鈥淚 came on late in the Longford game and in training the following Tuesday, Jack called me and Galvin over. 鈥楽e谩n铆n, I want you on that side there, Galvin, or Galavin as he used to call him, you go over to that side. I want you to start sending every second ball as a floater into Donaghy.鈥
鈥淚 didn’t read anything into it but after training he called me over and said they were going to give me a shot on Saturday. They wanted that type of ball going into Donaghy, not all the time but that type. We didn鈥檛 have much time to practice it; it was just like 鈥榯his is it, we鈥檙e going with it.鈥 But we did have a good feeling about it.
鈥淚t came at a time when we were being a little dismissed, not only by the rest of the country but our own gang as well because we were just not going well. Even though we’d won the league, very similar to this year, and in the championship we just couldn’t get going.鈥
Close to the end of the first half against Armagh, Donaghy touched down O鈥橲ullivan鈥檚 delivery to Colm Cooper whose shot was saved by Paul Hearty. However, a goal came from his 39th-minute kick into Donaghy when the Austin Stacks man rounded Francie Bellew, blasted to the net and then asked Hearty what did he think of that.
O鈥橲ullivan recognises the similarities between then and now. There was a thickness and a conviction among his crew even when the chips were down. He wonders if the same exists in the camp now.
鈥淭he only worry I have at the moment for this current group is that as iffy as we were going, you could look around the dressing room and Jesus, you just felt, 鈥楩uck, there’s a big one in us today.鈥 Seamo [Moynihan] and Darragh [脫 S茅], Galvin, Donaghy, Mike Frank, Gooch鈥 there had to be a big performance in us somewhere and it came out. There were huge leaders in there.
鈥淎re the leaders in this group? I really believe they are. Is there a big performance in the group? I think there is. You just hope it comes out Sunday. The worry I have is off the pitch. I think 15 against 15, we go toe-to-toe with anyone left. That’s including Armagh. But I just feel from 15 to 20, 21, they have the edge. And you’ve got to give great credit to [Kieran] McGeeney for that. He’s really built a panel.鈥
As for Donaghy, O鈥橲ullivan reckons he will be forgiven whatever happens. 鈥淜ieran is a Kerry legend and always will be. The guy was given an opportunity and it’s just so happened he’s gone in with a county who beat us last year, and will fancy themselves to do it again and that鈥檚 not Kieran Donaghy’s fault.
鈥淚 certainly think that if they were to beat Kerry, it’s another little feather in his cap and he would definitely be on the radar for a role in Kerry football and I think he鈥檇 jump at it.
鈥淟ast year, I think I left it to the Monday or Tuesday, and I sent him a text congratulating him. If he beats us again Sunday, I’ll be doing the same because look he went to further his coaching career. He knew at some stage he was probably going to meet Kerry and I think Kerry people will recognise that he’s doing a good job up there.鈥