Football

On the record with Sean O’Leary (Kilcummin)

Sean O&rsquo;Leary of Kilcummin pictured ahead of the AIB GAA All-Ireland Intermediate Football Club Championship final taking place at Croke Park on Saturday, February 9.<br /> Picture by E&oacute;in Noonan/Sportsfile
Sean O’Leary of Kilcummin pictured ahead of the AIB GAA All-Ireland Intermediate Football Club Championship final taking place at Croke Park on Saturday, February 9.
Picture by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
Sean O’Leary of Kilcummin pictured ahead of the AIB GAA All-Ireland Intermediate Football Club Championship final taking place at Croke Park on Saturday, February 9.
Picture by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

Kilcummin’s Sean O’Leary speaking ahead of the AIB GAA All-Ireland Intermediate Football Club Championship final

Sean O'Leary (19) Kilcummin GFC

Sean is 19, a first-year business student in the University of Limerick and plays wing-back for the club.

He won an All-Ireland minor medal with Kerry in 2017 and played with Kerry U20s in 2018 when they reached the All-Ireland semi-finals but lost to Kildare.

Q: Unlike many players who reach a club final you are no stranger to Croke Park?

A: This will actually be my fifth time playing there. I won back-to-back Hogan Cups there with 'The Sem' (St Brendan's, Killarney) and played in an All-Ireland final and semi-final there with Kerry minors.

I was a sub on the first Hogan Cup team and we had serious talent on that team with the likes of David Clifford, Dara Moynihan and Michael Potts and then I was corner-back the following year.

I played soccer coming up with our local club Mastergeeha and when I was 14 I went to Australia playing soccer in a sort of children's Olympics kind of thing (International Children's Games) in 2014 but when I got to 16 I went full time with football.

Q: Will it feel different because it's with the club?

A: It's special to be playing here with the lads you grow up with.

It's different with the minors because you come together in November and train for eight or nine months but with Kilcummin, you're with people you've been playing together all the way up so it'll be very special, though I'd be young.

Most of the team are 22-23 upwards. We’re all neighbours and will have neighbours and family up in the crowd. My cousins are arranging a bus and staying overnight.

It'll be unreal. Not many people have the chance to run out with their cousins.

Q: There's a lot of O'Learys in the team. Are you all related?

A: There's myself, Dan, Gary and Damo. Damo and Gary are first cousins but none of the rest of us are actually related.

But we have plenty of brothers.

There's two Nagles (Padraig and James) and two Mahers (Donal and William) and their dad Willie is also our manager.

The Nagles are my first-cousins.

Q: Toughest games in your run to the final?

A: Our county intermediate semi-final against Templenoe. No one gave us a chance.

We were playing against Spillanes and Crowleys, five or six Kerry seniors.

Kevin (McCarthy) got 1-4 that day and we beat them by a point.

Then we had to play Glenflesk, our neighbours.

I got 2-1 from wing-back and there's people in Glenflesk who still haven't talked to me.

Q: You also had a real cliff-hanger All-Ireland semi-final with Twomilehouse of Kildare?

A: It was a great game, but I don't have too many memories because it was just so dramatic.

Peter Kelly's black card and getting one of our own players sent off woke us up after we started brutal.

At the end Philip Casey scored a free from 40-45 yards, straight, dead centre, a great score and though it was 14-15 at that stage we held them out for the last five minutes.

Kevin McCarthy, our county senior player, came on for us with nine minutes to go and he wasn't supposed to play.

He broke his hand with East Kerry. recovered from it and then broke it again in the Munster final against Fermoy and needed another operation.

He has been unbelievable for us.

Twomilehouse had a little bit of momentum, there was loads of additional time but when he came on the crowd were roaring and that changed it for us so hopefully we'll have him back for the final.

Q: What do you know about your opponents, Naomh Eanna?

A: I watched their semi-final on TG4, against An Spideal and they were awesome.

They're big, strong and pure enough footballers.

This is the biggest challenge we've ever faced but look, what can we do but go out and have a go and playing in Croke Park - well there's nowhere better.

There's no such thing as easy when you get to Croke Park and there'll be lots of lads who've never played there before so we're coming up on the Friday and going to get a tour of Croke Park the day beforehand, so people aren't nervous running out.