Best Kerry Players Ever

Tomthepost

The Sunday Tribune are publishing something this weekend on the best Kerry players ever. Probably trying to boast sales in the Kingdom after many readers decided to boycott the paper because of 'That fool from Meath (or is it Carlow)'
What will be the top five
Im going with
1: Mick O Connell
2: Jack O Shea
3: Pat Spillane
4: Seamus Moyihan
5: Mickey Sheehy

I'm sure the top five will probably feature so guy for 50 years ago that I would not know anything about but we will see.
I just hope Gooch is not featured. I hate when a guy gets picked on these things when he is only half way through his career. These kind of honours should be for only those that happy proved themselves over a full career

Kerry On Tour

Tomthepost wrote: »

The Sunday Tribune are publishing something this weekend on the best Kerry players ever. Probably trying to boast sales in the Kingdom after many readers decided to boycott the paper because of 'That fool from Meath (or is it Carlow)'
What will be the top five
Im going with
1: Mick O Connell
2: Jack O Shea
3: Pat Spillane
4: Seamus Moyihan
5: Mickey Sheehy

I'm sure the top five will probably feature so guy for 50 years ago that I would not know anything about but we will see.
I just hope Gooch is not featured. I hate when a guy gets picked on these things when he is only half way through his career. These kind of honours should be for only those that happy proved themselves over a full career

Hhahahaha biggest display of covering their tracks ever!!! But I would imagine it would be seomthing like that. Micko Dwyer's name will probably be in their (great player as well as manager by all accounts). Can only go by clips and stories from the relatives about Mick O' Connell but apparently they say he was a freak of nature he was so good!
Ahhh now Tom, Gooch is only 24 and has already proved himself year in year out to be a special talent. See where you are coming from though, I don't think they should have current players in list's like this as they should have all their playing done for all things to be equal.

Debate will be red hot, very hard to only pick 5. . . . even from my own lifetime. there have been players like Maurice Fitz, Páidi, John O Keeffe, John Egan, Sean Walsh, Bomber just to name a few who are not on your list there. In fact, it's damn near impossible to pick only5

johnnyrotten123

Tomthepost wrote: »

The Sunday Tribune are publishing something this weekend on the best Kerry players ever. Probably trying to boast sales in the Kingdom after many readers decided to boycott the paper because of 'That fool from Meath (or is it Carlow)'
What will be the top five
Im going with
1: Mick O Connell
2: Jack O Shea
3: Pat Spillane
4: Seamus Moyihan
5: Mickey Sheehy

I'm sure the top five will probably feature so guy for 50 years ago that I would not know anything about but we will see.
I just hope Gooch is not featured. I hate when a guy gets picked on these things when he is only half way through his career. These kind of honours should be for only those that happy proved themselves over a full career

Kerry, Kerry, Kerry - bloody hell! Ego-trippers!! :rolleyes:

Oh go on then - Spillane, Sheehy, Jacko, Maurice Fitz and Shane Brick...

yahoo_moe

Kerry On Tour wrote: »

it's damn near impossible to pick only5

True - I think Maurice Fitz was obviously a very special talent but I'm wondering whether *just* the two All-Irelands might count against him (it is Kerry after all!)? Great individual, though - probably deserves a spot.

I think Gooch would be a dead cert in 5 years' time (and would probably make the list now in any other county) but think it might just be too early to displace some of the old guard. Bear in mind that Ogie Moran, Spillane, Páidi, Sheehy, Jack O'Shea, Liston and Ger Power have 7/8 AIs each! :eek:

Don't think O'Dwyer gets anywhere near making the list as a player - gun to head, I'd probably go with (in no particular order):

Mick O'Connell, Maurice Fitz, Jack O'Shea, Pat Spillane and Páidi - but I'd be far more comfortable naming a Top 10 with Moynihan, Power, Sheehy, Cooper and Moran also included...

DAC

I would propose
1. Spillane
2. Bomber
3. Paudie Lynch
4. Moynihan
5. John O' Keefe

Tomthepost

johnnyrotten123 wrote: »

Kerry, Kerry, Kerry - bloody hell! Ego-trippers!! :rolleyes:

Oh go on then - Spillane, Sheehy, Jacko, Maurice Fitz and Shane Brick...

Its not my fault or the fault of Kerryontour that the media are always writing about Kerry. I guess there is alot to write about. We are quite a modest bunch to be honest and don't go on and on about any one victory.
Unlike in the 90s when Wexford won an All-Ireland.

Tomthepost

The Official top five according to the Sunday Trib

1: Mick O Connell
2: Jack O Shea
3: Paddy Kennedy
4: Colm Cooper
5: Pat Spillane

Of interest
6: Seamus Moyihan
10: Dara O Se
11: Maurice Fitzgerald
15: Paidi O Se
26: Eoin Liston

johnnyrotten123

Tomthepost wrote: »

Its not my fault or the fault of Kerryontour that the media are always writing about Kerry. I guess there is alot to write about. We are quite a modest bunch to be honest and don't go on and on about any one victory.
Unlike in the 90s when Wexford won an All-Ireland.

See? You are so obsessed with the big ball that you can't even tell us the year of one of the passionate, stirring and against-the-odds All-Ireland hurling victories of modern times, can ya?

It was 96 before you Google it

yahoo_moe

johnnyrotten123 wrote: »

See? You are so obsessed with the big ball that you can't even tell us the year of one of the passionate, stirring and against-the-odds All-Ireland hurling victories of modern times, can ya?

It was 96 before you Google it

No, Clare won in 1995

As for the list, I was surprised with how low Páidi was myself (15). Far from an expert on the older players on the list (see my 1970s-present day list above!) but think he was worth a higher spot. Also surprised Dwyer was at 8 - knew he was respected as a player but never heard him referred to in those terms

Mweelrea

can someone please explain(without kerry people boasting) how year after year Kerry can compete for all irelands,its not as though you have a big population..perhaps your GAA has plenty of money to provide the best of facilities.
Either way give someone else a chance of winning for pete sake!!

Tomthepost

Had a discussion with a few people on this issue recently. Perhaps one of the reasons might be the structure of our County Championship.
Any player whether they are from a Junior or a Senior club has a chance to play in the Kerry Senior County Championship. If you are with a Junior Club you can play senior championship as part of a divisional team (South Kerry, West Kerry, Feale Rangers, St Brendans etc). This is an amalgamation of the best players from a number of Junior clubs.
This system is in play right down to U-14 level in Kerry and thus no stone goes unturned in finding the best talent.
If you look at the current Kerry team you will see that 8 to 10 clubs would have players on the first 15 alot who would play for Junior clubs.
Basically everybody that is good enough will get a chance to play for Kerry and being from a Junior club is no great disadvantage.

megadodge

Have to agree that the structure of local competitions certainly helps Kerry.

With regard to the best Kerry players ever, it's certainly not easy as there's a hell of a lot to pick from, but from reading an awful lot over the years and interviews with older players Mick O'Connell while a beautiful stylist was also well known as an 'on top' player. If Kerry were winning, he'd Lord it, but when losing he "lacked fire in the belly" as one ex-opponent described it. As I never saw him (only clips) play I can't comment but it is a commonly held view.

I personally think Maurice Fitzgerald is the best footballer I've ever seen, anywhere, he was just unlucky to have nothing around him for most of his career.

Paidi's record of conceding just ONE POINT from play to a direct opponent in 10 All-Ireland finals is one of the most amazing statistics in Irish sport not to mind Gaelic football and as a result there's no way he'd not be in my Top 5.

Seanie Walsh was a brilliant all-rounder who always seemed to be overshadowed by Jacko, but in my opinion he was a more rounded and consistent performer than Jacko - though not by much as Jacko was a hell of a player too.

Gooch. Genius. He has already proven himself to be an all-time great.

Moynihan. Very like Seanie Walsh. A consistent all-rounder, who almost never had a bad game.

johnnyrotten123

Tomthepost wrote: »

Had a discussion with a few people on this issue recently. Perhaps one of the reasons might be the structure of our County Championship.
Any player whether they are from a Junior or a Senior club has a chance to play in the Kerry Senior County Championship. If you are with a Junior Club you can play senior championship as part of a divisional team (South Kerry, West Kerry, Feale Rangers, St Brendans etc). This is an amalgamation of the best players from a number of Junior clubs.
This system is in play right down to U-14 level in Kerry and thus no stone goes unturned in finding the best talent.
If you look at the current Kerry team you will see that 8 to 10 clubs would have players on the first 15 alot who would play for Junior clubs.
Basically everybody that is good enough will get a chance to play for Kerry and being from a Junior club is no great disadvantage.

But there are two sides to that coin. Would I not be right in saying that for clubs like Valentia (for instance), they can never represent Kerry at Munster and All-Ireland club level as they cannot win the county championship because they become part of South Kerry who cannot represent Kerry as they are a divisional team??

I agree with the concept in a lot of ways though as it would certainly improve the standard of the senior county championship in a lot of counties. But another question that's just occurred - can the players who represent the divisional team in senior still play for their club at a lower-level championship?

Tomthepost

johnnyrotten123 wrote: »

But there are two sides to that coin. Would I not be right in saying that for clubs like Valentia (for instance), they can never represent Kerry at Munster and All-Ireland club level as they cannot win the county championship because they become part of South Kerry who cannot represent Kerry as they are a divisional team??

I agree with the concept in a lot of ways though as it would certainly improve the standard of the senior county championship in a lot of counties. But another question that's just occurred - can the players who represent the divisional team in senior still play for their club at a lower-level championship?

Outside of the Senior County Championship in Kerry you also have the following competitions
Club Senior Championship
Club Intertmediate (All-Ireland won by Kerry team Ardfert in 06-07)
Club Junior (All-Ireland finalist Duagh 06-07, won by Ardfert in 05-06)
Club Novice (Don't think this goes any further then Kerry)
Club Novice Shield (for teams that lose first round of the novice)
If you win the Novice you play Junior the following season and so on.
Strictly speaking if a Divisional team win the county championship the team that wins the Club Senior Championship would go on to represent Kerry in the Munster Championship.
This does not always work out particularly when Kerry get to an All-Ireland Final and fixtures get postponed.
This year was a little bit of a farce as Kilcummin represented Kerry in Munster having been beaten in the semi-final of the county championship. This was because all 3 other semi-finals were divisional teams.
Given the ridiculous situation in Wicklow this year I can't understand why the club provincial championships don't just start in Jan and run to Paddys Day.

Kerry On Tour

Tomthepost wrote: »

Outside of the Senior County Championship in
Strictly speaking if a Divisional team win the county championship the team that wins the Club Senior Championship would go on to represent Kerry in the Munster Championship.
This does not always work out particularly when Kerry get to an All-Ireland Final and fixtures get postponed.
This year was a little bit of a farce as Kilcummin represented Kerry in Munster having been beaten in the semi-final of the county championship. This was because all 3 other semi-finals were divisional teams.
.

That's not the situation anymore and since last year and for future years it will be the club team who remains in the county championship longest would go on to represent Kerry and no longer the team who wins the senior club championship if a divisional team wins the county championship. Before the many drawn games in the latter stages this year and if Rahilly's and Kilcummin both made the semi's I heard of a farcical situation that the team who played second would go on to represent Kerry as they had in effect been in the championship longer!!!!!!!!
The format of our championship definitly favours or county team but often to the detriment of our club prospects and munster and all ireland level.

Tomthepost

Kerry On Tour wrote: »

That's not the situation anymore and since last year and for future years it will be the club team who remains in the county championship longest would go on to represent Kerry and no longer the team who wins the senior club championship if a divisional team wins the county championship. Before the many drawn games in the latter stages this year and if Rahilly's and Kilcummin both made the semi's I heard of a farcical situation that the team who played second would go on to represent Kerry as they had in effect been in the championship longer!!!!!!!!
The format of our championship definitly favours or county team but often to the detriment of our club prospects and munster and all ireland level.

I agree with you its a bit like the teams finishing 4th in the EPL and winning the Champions League. Dr Crokes were beaten finalists in the All-Ireland last year having lost the County Championship final in Kerry.
Surely Kilcummin and Rahilly's should at least have had a play-off.
There isn't any real purpose to the Senior Club Championship any more I guess. If a club team win the county championship they will nominate the Kerry captain for the following year while if a divisional team win it the club that wins their own divisonal championship will select the Kerry captain for the following year.
For example South Kerry win County Championship, Dromid Pearses win South Kerry Championship, Pearses decide the next Kerry captain.

Mr. Incognito

Look lads, if it ain't broke.............

EARMUFFS

I wouldn't argue with any of names already mentioned but john egan would be on my top 5. great tenacity and strength. some of the tackles that him and sheehy shipped were unreal!

villains77

a few of you left out the bomber. should be eoin liston pat spillane maurice fitz, dara oshea and seamus moynihan. well thats my view. hope they can revenge the beating tyrone gave out some time in the near future. soem match v armagh.

monosharp

eh ... cooper above maurice ???