Sport
O’Connor facing unseasonable scrutiny over backroom team overhaul
by Adam Moynihan
Apart from the odd throwaway remark about an in-form player potentially catching his eye, Jack O’Connor really shouldn’t be on our minds right now. Within the new split season model, September should be a time of rest and relaxation for the Kerry manager, albeit with a bit of research at club matches thrown in for good measure.
Kerry haven’t played in two months and we are four months away from the start of the 2025 season. The pressure should be off, or at least a bit less intense.
That is not the case, however, as the overhaul his management team has undergone in recent weeks has left O’Connor facing unseasonable scrutiny.
Eyebrows were raised when O’Connor’s two selectors, Mike Quirke and Diarmuid Murphy, both walked away from the set-up. When confirming his decision, Quirke gave no reason for leaving after what he termed “three largely enjoyable years”. Murphy doesn’t appear to have made any statement at all. For their part, Kerry GAA and the manager have been quiet on the double departure too.
Given the lack of a proper explanation, fans are naturally wondering if all was rosy in the Kerry management team’s garden. Was there tension behind the scenes? The second-hand information doing the rounds at the moment is that all was not rosy and the outgoing selectors did not feel that their input was 100% valued. Maybe some or all of the relevant parties can come out and contradict that, but that’s the prevailing story for now.
Once it was known that Quirke and Murphy were out, the scramble to find replacements began. According to Tony Leen of the Irish Examiner, several candidates turned Kerry and O’Connor down, among them legendary former players Tomás Ó Sé, Kieran Donaghy, Eamonn Fitzmaurice (also a former Kerry manager), Declan O’Sullivan, Colm Cooper and Séamus Moynihan. If that is accurate, and Leen has suggested even more people were approached, it makes you wonder where the men who were eventually appointed as selectors, namely James Costello and Aodán Mac Gearailt, were on the longlist.
Costello managed the Kerry minors for four years between 2019 and 2022 and last year he was a selector under Mark Fitzgerald in Clare. Mac Gearailt was a regular starter for the Kerry seniors around the turn of the millennium and in recent years he is best known for his work as a co-commentator on TG4 (and a very good co-commentator, it must be said).
The pair might turn out to be shrewd appointments and their names don’t look out of place on a Kerry management ticket but when higher profile individuals were linked it is bound to affect the fans’ perspective. Perhaps more pertinently, that so many of those high-profile candidates apparently said ‘no’ can hardly be interpreted as a positive.
Hiring Cian O’Neill as a head coach is another move that does not appear to have been greeted with widespread enthusiasm by the green and gold faithful. From what I’ve seen and heard, it would be fair to say that the reaction locally has been mixed.
O’Neill has been around the block a few times having previously worked with Limerick, Tipperary, Mayo, Kerry, Kildare, Cork and, for the last three seasons, Galway. He helped Kerry to win the All-Ireland in 2014 in what was the second of his three years under Eamonn Fitzmaurice.
Revisiting the past and rehiring a previous coach is rarely going to generate massive excitement amongst a team’s fanbase. It’s a bit like sitting through an old movie you’ve seen before. (Jack O'Connor might argue that some movies are worth a second watch. And a third, for that matter.)
Whatever some supporters might think, players who have worked with O'Neill say he is excellent at what he does.
He also appears to have a sentimental attachment to Kerry GAA. As recently as last year he spoke to The Irish Times about how much he enjoyed his time here, saying he would have stayed for 10 years were he not tapped up for the manager’s role in his native Kildare. “I loved it down there,” he told Denis Walsh. “I loved the players. I loved the management, the county board. Everything they did was just class.”
Not many of those 2014 players are still around – just Paul Murphy, Paul Geaney and Stephen O’Brien from this year’s panel – but being familiar with the idiosyncrasies of Kerry football, and Kerry footballers, may work to his advantage.
The managerial shake-up also sees head coach Paddy Tally being repurposed as a performance coach (a role previously held by Tony Griffin); Brian Kelly replacing Brendan Kealy as goalkeeping coach; and Pa McCarthy coming in as an assistant coach.
All told it is a significant upheaval for the team and one that was not anticipated or necessarily desired. After the season ended in disappointing fashion with the largely unexpected defeat to Armagh in the All-Ireland semi-final, it was felt that a new voice – possibly a forwards coach – would be a welcome addition to the dressing room. But the feeling was that tweaks were needed, not major changes.
The fact that the entire management team has effectively been disbanded and reimagined, along with the manner in which it has all played out, heaps even more pressure on O’Connor to deliver an All-Ireland in 2025.
While it seems unlikely at this juncture that he will stay on beyond next season either way, coming up short again and signing off with just one All-Ireland in four years with this team will be considered a failure. Of course he will always be fondly remembered for the four All-Irelands he has won, but going out like that would put a dent in his legacy as a Kerry manager.
On the other hand, if he and his new helpers work their magic and deliver No. 39, he will go out a legend. Such is the fickle nature of sport, particularly in Kerry where that comical maxim from Talladega Nights - “if you’re not first, you’re last” – isn’t a joke at all.
After the recent spike in attention coming his way, O’Connor will be hoping that things cool down for the remainder of 2024 before he embarks on what will be one of the most challenging and most important seasons of his career.
Sport
Jack O’Connor’s Kerry squad is looking deeper and stronger (but the proof will be in the eating)
As we reach the midway point of the 2025 season, Adam Moynihan takes a close look at Kerry’s strength in depth
As the Kerry players, management team and backroom staff huddled together for a photo with the Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh Cup in front of the Hogan Stand, one of the photographers raised his fist in the air, trying to illicit something resembling a celebratory scene. No joy.
Victory over Mayo had been secured in convincing enough fashion but winning the league has never been grounds for buoyant celebrations as far as Kerry are concerned. Retaining Division 1 status and unearthing some new talent is generally enough to tick the springtime box ahead of the serious business of the championship. Once that has been achieved, anything else is gravy.
Going by the disappointing loss to Armagh in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final, the need for new blood was especially great heading into the 2025 season. The team faded badly down the stretch and into extra time against the Orchard County with overdependence on core players glaringly obvious. It wasn’t the only reason they lost but Kerry simply didn’t get enough from their supporting cast on the day.
With that in mind, Jack O’Connor knew he had to work on the depth of his squad during this league campaign, and you’d have to say he made a pretty good fist of it.
Starting in goal, the situation here is clear with Shane Murphy providing back-up to Shane Ryan.
Moving out the field, in recent years Kerry have generally gone with Jason Foley at full back, Tom O’Sullivan at left corner back, and one of Paul Murphy or Graham O’Sullivan at right corner back.
After making his debut in the league in 2024, Damien Bourke has emerged as a genuine right corner back alternative with some strong performances that have vastly enhanced his reputation. Not many Kerry players came out of the Dublin defeat with extra credit to their name but Bourke was brave and tenacious, bursting out of defence and using the ball wisely. He was replaced as a starter by the experienced Murphy in later rounds but the Tralee man capped his league with a goal off the bench against Galway in Salthill.
Dylan Casey also got extended game time in the absence of Tom O’Sullivan and he acquitted himself professionally. He has a solid head on his shoulders and you get the impression that Jack O’Connor would now be comfortable throwing him into any given situation without hesitation.
The versatile Graham O’Sullivan is also an option at corner back and it looks like he’ll need to slot in somewhere other than his natural position of half back as Brian Ó Beaglaoich and Gavin White are nailed on starters at 5 and 7. O’Sullivan lined out at half forward against Galway and Mayo, underlining his flexibility and importance to the team.
There could be a changing of the guard taking place at centre back with Mike Breen seemingly shaking off the injury woes that have held back his progress with Kerry to date. With regular number 6 Tadhg Morley unavailable for selection for most of the league, Breen slotted seamlessly into that crucial central role, and he looked really confident against Mayo on Sunday. As things stand, Morley will be doing well to displace Breen but either way Kerry should have two good centre back options heading into the summer months.
Midfield has been a head scratcher for Kerry for a number of years but in Diarmuid O’Connor and Joe O’Connor they appear to have found a winning combination. Diarmuid was playing the best football of his career up to his injury against Armagh in Round 6 so getting his shoulder right for championship is of paramount importance to Kerry’s chances.
Joe is a guaranteed starter too but his assured display at wing forward against Armagh was interesting in that it opens the door for a third midfielder to start. Seán O’Brien and Barry Dan O’Sullivan both applied themselves admirably when called upon in the league and the manager should feel like he can trust them more now than he did 12 months ago.
Joe O’Connor’s arrival as a half forward candidate has improved Kerry’s options to the extent that it’s difficult to predict how they will line out from 10 to 12 in the Munster Championship. Micheál Burns has done quite well upon his reintroduction to the team after being dropped from the panel in 2024, and Paudie Clifford is looking sharp at centre forward. Tony Brosnan and Dylan Geaney are options along this line too, although Dylan has been operating as a withdrawn inside forward to date – a role Tony is also capable of playing.
Of course, Seánie O’Shea will have to fit in somewhere in this department when he fully recuperates from his knee ligament injury, so it will be interesting to see how Jack O’Connor works this conundrum out. File under ‘good problems’.
Dara Moynihan is still recovering from a hip injury and has not yet featured in 2025. He would naturally be an option at 10 if he can get back up to speed. Meanwhile, Darragh Lyne, Ruairí Murphy and Cathal Ó Beaglaoich all featured at half forward in the league.
David Clifford and Paul Geaney will play at 13 and 14 with Dylan Geaney in pole position to start at 15 on the back of a really good run of form, perhaps excepting the league final in which he was relatively quiet. Tony Brosnan is a prime candidate to challenge Dylan for that spot; the Dr Crokes player has kicked some fantastic scores in each of his last three appearances as a substitute.
As for out-and-out inside forwards, Conor Geaney and Killian Spillane are likely to be used as impact subs.
All told Kerry do appear to have better depth than they had last year, particularly with the emergence of second season players like Bourke, O’Brien and Dylan Geaney as legitimate options, and with Breen beginning to fulfil his potential. Burns’ comeback and Joe O’Connor’s newfound ability to play the 12 position also help.
As always, though, the proof will be in the eating. We will have to wait for the suffocating heat of do-or-die championship matches to find out if this squad is as deep and dependable as it looks on paper.
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