by Eamonn Fitzgerald

Yellow belly, yellow belly, yup yup yup. Who’s going to win the Munster cup?

Former students of the Sem will recall that war cry of years ago spurring on their classmates to win the Corn Uí Mhuirí. I’m sure the cohort of present students perched high on the terrace behind the town goal at the Fitzgerald Stadium for the recent Munster final have a modern rap version of this war cry. They were so encouraging and entertaining as St Brendan’s proved too good for age-old rivals Tralee CBS.

That support and humorous banter will be needed again tomorrow at… Well, I’m not sure of the venue or the throw-in time for the All-Ireland colleges semi-final. That has not been finalised as this column goes to bed.

St Brendans will meet St Mary’s of Magherafelt and the prize at stake is a place in the final and the coveted prize of the Hogan Cup for the outright winners. St Jarlath’s will meet Naas CBS in the other semi.

St Mary’s has a student enrolment of just over 1,000, but that huge pick will not frighten the Sem supporters. St Mary’s is a co-ed school with roughly 500 male students, whereas the Sem has a bigger base to choose from with up to 800 students.

Two weeks ago, St Brendan’s accounted for the Green on a 0-17 to 0-12 scoreline, but I felt that the local college were more superior than the five-point margin suggests. Will Shine was in sparkling form, scoring nine points.

MCMAHON

Earlier this week I spoke with Cian McMahon, the captain of the St Brendan’s team. First I put it to him that while they were well on top in the Munster final, they were well tested on the way to the final.

“We were, and we really only scraped home against Coláiste na Sceilge,” McMahon said. “That was a blessing in disguise because you need tough, close games to test you out if you want to win anything. That match in particular stood to us.”

McMahon is only still only 18 but he has for some time been one of the most promising underage players in the county. A former Kerry minor, he was awarded the U17 Young Munster Player of the Year, before COVID restrictions closed down games. He has already played senior with his club, Dr Crokes and he is also a member of Declan O’Sullivan’s Kerry U20 team. This modest, talented forward underplayed his achievements to date.

“This team is all about supporting each other. In the game against the Green, Will (Shine) was brilliant, but so many others played very well in support. You need everyone to play their part.”

McMahon realises that he, in particular, is going to be a marked man in tomorrow’s semi-final.

“Yerrah, we will have to deal with that. The rest of the lads will play their part. It all depends how we set up because we know how the northern teams get so many players behind the ball in a packed defence. Gavin White has been a brilliant help in that respect; he has to deal with that when Kerry play the northern teams.”

You need look no further than last Sunday’s Kerry versus Donegal league game at the Park. In the first quarter Donegal were quite happy to step back from any Kerry attack up to midfield, pack the defence, pass the ball laterally and hold possession, tippy-tappy, across the field. Early on I noted that in one passage of play they kept that ball for almost four minutes without a Kerry hand getting near it.

“We will have to deal with that style of play,” McMahon continued, “but we have a very solid team and if we push on for scores we can make it to the final. We need to focus for the full 60 minutes and keep the scoreboard ticking over. There is no one way to win; every game is different.”

GOOD PLAYERS

Apart from McMahon, St Mary’s will face many good players such as Will Shine, Harry Byrne, David Fleming, Dara O’Callaghan, Leo Randles, Kevin O’Sullivan, Cian Foley and Alex Hennigan, their youngest player and the only one of the probable starting 15 who is underage for this years’ Kerry minors.

The bench is very important in the modern game so Kevin Cronin will be hoping to have some of the injured players who were unavailable for the Munster final fit for action tomorrow.

Best of luck to the Sem and their management team of Kevin Cronin, Brian O’Mahony, Gavin White, John C O’Shea, Dr Gary Stack and also helping out Beaufort’s Garry McGrath, who has managed so many Sem teams over the years. And not forgetting Vince Cooper, the man who knows every young player in Kerry from his day job.