A level playing field
by the Man in the Gap
Two of the modern greats take their leave

The early stages of the National Hurling League saw its biggest surprise in the double postponement of the Tipp-Kilkenny game. Just when you thought that weather was behind us it raises its head again. An omen perhaps for a year of surprises. But if some the current players were delayed in taking the pitch for their opening games of 2010, two of the genuinely exceptional players of recent times took their leave of the games for good when Kerry’s Darragh Ó Sé and Wexford’s Damien Fitzhenry announced their retirements.

The notion of recording championship appearances is a relatively new concept in Gaelic games which has been raised in recent years across a range of media. To some extent such record keeping is jumping on the back of the type of meticulous record keeping that has been evident in soccer over the years. But by comparison record keeping in Gaelic Games has been relatively haphazard.

There are inherent difficulties with comparisons in Gaelic Games for a variety of reasons. In soccer, teams tend to play a uniform number of games in a season and as such records are more meaningful. There is of course an argument that a record is absolute rather than comparative – merely a statement of fact and no further qualification is necessary. With that in mind, leaving aside any talk of backdoors or side entrances, you have to acknowledge that Darragh Ó Sé’s record of 81 championship appearances is a remarkable tribute to his longevity.

Much has been written about where he stands in the greater scheme of things which it seems is inevitable when someone with such an impact retires. It is probably too early to say in all reality. Many Kilkenny people thought the exit of DJ Carey would be the start of a lean period. As things have transpired since it might be argued he stayed on for too long. Similarly only when Darragh Ó Sé ceases to be a part of Kerry’s regular championship line-up will his absolute value become really apparent.

His absolute value is one thing but his value relative to other players of his generation is something we can be more secure about. His greatest calling card has been his longevity. To have as long a career as he had is remarkable and few players can match that. Perhaps fittingly it is Ulster that provides the midfielders who most rival Ó Sé in the past fifteen years, namely Anthony Tohill and Seán Kavanagh. Some such as Meath’s John McDermott were dominant forces for a shorter period, while Dublin’s Ciaran Whelan can boast athleticism, longevity, and the respect of Hill 16, at a technical level comparisons with Darragh Ó Sé would appear to hold little water.

There is a strong argument for Anthony Tohill as perhaps the most talented player of his generation with performances in Derry’s League wins in the mid ‘90s standing out. But there’s the rub. After the 1993 All-Ireland victory, while Derry threatened consistently they failed to deliver in the championship. This was in the pre back-door era too so his profile waned as did his county’s. This raises the unsolvable problem of comparing players who have remarkably different public profiles. Conversely to Tohill, because of the success of Kerry and the advantage they enjoy from the championship system Darragh Ó Sé was in the mix at national level every year from 1996 on.

Ó Sé was rarely the guy painting the underside of the boat. His body of work was always highly visible. To what extent his reputation would suffer had he been born in Swatragh or Killybegs is moot but it certainly would have suffered compared to that of a naturally talented footballer born west of Dingle. Some could argue that he contributed so much to Kerry’s cause that such considerations miss the point. Yet, would he have six All-Ireland medals had he been born in Mayo or Dublin. It seems unlikely but it is fair to say that neither of those counties had a player as effective.

For longevity and impact Darragh deserves pride of place among the midfielders of his generation, though Kerry being Kerry perhaps a more difficult argument would be whether he was the best footballer even in his own house. Though one suspects that few would rank him over Jack O Shea as his uncle Páidí has done. Darragh scored one goal in 81 championship appearances, many of them when Kerry were on the front foot – they lost just thirteen times. Yet he managed just one goal. When you consider the comparative attacking threat of Jacko at his peak from midfield it is difficult to see how the man from the Gaeltacht could be placed above him, but the fact that the argument is even raised is its own kind of tribute.

In the context of exposure of his talents at the highest level the other retiree, Damien Fitzhenry, is in a strange place compared with Darragh Ó Sé. At one level his claims are very modest having appeared in just the one All-Ireland Final - it is not an annual entitlement in the Model County. Yet, because of the provincial system and the remarkable decline of Offaly, Wexford were fortunate enough to be able avoid the qualifiers most years and find themselves at the business end of the championship almost by default.

But even though Wexford often found themselves on the end of bad beatings – and Kilkenny were far from being the only culprits - Fitzhenry managed to carve a remarkable reputation as one of the outstanding goalkeepers of his time or probably any time. It is quite an achievement considering the amplification of any errors made by goalkeepers. When your average forward or midfielder fumbles the ball who remembers it? When a goalkeeper does likewise it will be remembered for years, and not necessarily because errors are few, but often because they are important.

Most major goalkeepers have a ‘bad’ goal to haunt them. Davy Fitzgerald will remember one in the 1995 All-Ireland Final; James McGarry let a ’65 into his net in 2001 against Galway and likewise in a league match against Clare. Brendan Cummins – who has fewer than anyone considering his amount of games – let one slip against Galway in Salthill in 2003.

Fitzhenry was not quite flawless either. Four errors jump out, two against Limerick in 2001 and last year, as well as a costly spillage in the 1993 League Final and one he got away with when Wexford scraped past Antrim in the 2003 All-Ireland quarter-final. He will also have been disappointed to concede Tom Kenny’s goal from so far out in the following year’s semi-final.

It is a measure of Fitzhenry’s importance as a goalkeeper that his more high-profile blunders require mention. He bids fair to be the finest goalkeeper of his time and would be on any short-list. He would get many votes in some counties on the basis of not being from either Tipp or Cork as two of the other major contenders for such an accolade would be. Objectively speaking he deserves many of these votes whatever their motivation. Considering the link between players’ reputation and the success of their teams Fitzhenry’s achievement at a time of severe Wexford decline has been remarkable.

maninthegap@hotmail.com

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