Jack and Kerry have never looked more golden, the appeal to stay was clear
Declan Bogue
PERHAPS IT WAS the exuberance of victory that caused Jack O’Connor to say to RTÉ Radio 1 immediately after last month’s All-Ireland final that it was his ‘last hurrah’.
Sitting inside the Croke Park media room, the assembled journalists picked up on that line and began scrabbling together a quick newsline, that the All-Ireland winning manager was bidding goodbye, the very hour that he had guided The Kingdom to their 39th title.
Then it got a bit muddy.
Asked by the reporters if the rumours were true, he instead indulged in deflection.
“Well, all I know is I was going out the door Thursday evening with the with the bag and my missus took a picture of me going out the gate. And already know that’ll be up on the wall, that was my last, so I’d say no, she’ll be framing that one,” he said.
Asked to clarify his intentions more clearly, he replied, “Look I think going on record early in the year there. that that it would probably be my last time.
“I said, you know, so, look . . . the lads, before I tell anyone else there’s a lot more important people down the corridor.”
Already, there was something of a row-back.
Later on that night at the All-Ireland banquet, it was Joanne Cantwell’s turn to prise his truth out. He spun the yarn about the previous Thursday night. Only this time, he elevated Bridie’s role from chief pictorial documentarian to kingmaker.
“That’s up to my wife, she’s down there now,” he said after a smile that screamed wiliness.
“All I know is I was going out the door with my gearbag Thursday night. She had the camera out taking photographs. That’s not a great sign, is it?”
His comments just before that said more about how he felt about Kerry football in 2025.
“It’s great when things come together. I mean, five or six weeks ago we were on our knees after the defeat up in Tullamore. It’s fairly rewarding when people stick together, you know? We found that we had great unity in the camp and that was rewarded today.”
Every single All-Ireland is different, but in the eyes of many Kerry people, 2025 has been exalted to the very highs.
Beating four Ulster teams in a row made it sweet. Getting the better of Jim McGuinness tactically played to a deeply-held belief that nobody is the smartest boy in class than the one from Kerry.
The general play of the final, with David and Paudie Clifford, Joe O’Connor, Gavin White, Seanie O’Shea glittering, felt good.
Doing so while they unleashed their inner showmen by greeting scores and connecting with the crowd felt almost dreamlike.
A few weeks before, O’Connor had let his emotions come tumbling out about the criticism that surrounded his Kerry team. That it came from their own – with Darragh Ó Sé’s pessimism an obvious target – hurt.
From that point to the finish line, everything felt as perfect as an All-Ireland win could be.
It’s fair to say at this exact point that the All-Ireland just won, has to count as Kerry’s greatest. That comes with the amount of games that were played in the competition, along with the identity of the teams beaten. By extension, Jack O’Connor has never looked more golden.
It was with that background that the Dromid man was ratified by club and county delegates at Austin Stack Park last night.
It was a bit of business that Kerry chairman Pat ‘The Bag’ O’Sullivan wanted cleared up nice and briskly. Appointed in 2021 for his second time as county chair, 2026 will be his final year – but perhaps not final spell – in the role.
Trying to source a brand-new management would have been an undoubted pain.
There can be no doubt there are elements that appealed to O’Connor. The prospect of going back to back for the first time as manager is an obvious one.
At 64, turning 65 in October, he knows that stepping away now closes the door for good. Perhaps he might have been asked back in three or four years time. But by then, it could have been a rebuilding job – a job for a much younger man.
And when he assesses the teams around him, there’s nothing to be afraid of.
Can Donegal get better? With the miles on the clock by now? Certainly, Armagh looked like they were getting better and have a decent age profile. Tyrone also are in places unknown in their transition.
It’s a wait and see job with Dublin, and Mayo and Galway are in their own strange worlds right now.
When Kerry gather up for 2026, the only candidates that might consider retirement are experienced defenders Paul Murphy and Tadhg Morley, and while Paul Geaney could come into that bracket too, he was one of their strongest performers until mid-championship injury stalled his year.
It is certain that Diarmuid O’Connor will recover from his own injuries, less so that Stefan Okunbar can finally get over his.
From the young crew, Eddie Healy will aim to break into the side and his performance in covering every inch of his home pitch for Listowel against Laune Rangers last weekend is evidence of his superb form.
Tomás Kennedy is already integrated and featuring with O’Connor. Killian Dennehy, last year’s Munster Minor footballer of the Year, and Cormac Dillon of Duagh are other emerging prospects. Keith Evans and Evan Looney will be targeting a move closer to the starting 15.
The threat of the AFL always is there with Kerry. Cillian Burke is making his way and getting his first games in the Victorian Football League with Geelong, while Austin Stacks’ Ben Murphy has travelled to suss out the Brisbane Lions.
But then, there’s always the personal ambition. Right now, Jack is just one All-Ireland behind Jim Gavin. And three behind Micko. And winning a 40th All-Ireland has a nice round feel to it.
Right now, Kerry are priced at 6/4 for the 2026 All-Ireland.
Not for nothing.
The 42
