As curtain-raisers go this one is a doozy.
Sunday’s Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football semi-final between Kerry and Kildare will be of huge interest to GAA fans in both counties – not just for the glory, not just for the joy it will bring to the teenage squads and their families, but because of what it could mean for the future of Gaelic football in their counties.
Kerry have been the undisputed kings of Gaelic football for generations, with their dominance of the classic rivalry against Dublin the 1970s and 80s cementing their status as the poster boys of Gaelic football.
However this status has never faced a greater challenge than it does right now. Their fallow years during the 1990s did not coincide with a single force coming to power, but even their 2014 win cannot disguise the fact that there is one big boy in Gaelic football right now and it is not Kerry.
In the senior semi-final on Sunday the Kerry seniors will look to arrest a shocking run against Dublin, which has seen them lose three Championship matches in a row against their great rivals. Add in this year’s heavy league final defeat and folk in the Kingdom are becoming rightly concerned with a worrying trend.
There is hope however, namely in the shape of the three-in-a-row chasing minor footballers. Peter Keane has taken over from Jack O’Connor as the manager, as O’Connor has moved up the conveyor belt of talent to take charge of the Under-21s.
The Kingdom ended a TWENTY year drought in 2014 when they won their 12th Electric Ireland All-Ireland title, which they immediately added to last year with a demolition of Tipperary.
The fact that 2014 winner Brian Ó Beaglaoich is already a starter in the Kerry defence shows how important the next generation is to an ageing senior set-up.
Their opponents this Sunday have also placed a massive emphasis on their underage structures and it is also playing dividends for Kildare – who last month won their their Leinster MFC title in four years, beating local rivals Laois in the decider.
It is the neighbours on the other side who are occupying Lilywhite minds – much like Kerry, Kildare are haunted by the challenge posed by Dublin.
Jim Gavin’s senior panel can rely on an underage system that is the envy of every other county – a system that has delivered three Under-21 and one minor All-Ireland this decade.
The challenge for Kildare now is build on their provincial success and reach their first Electric Ireland Minor All-Ireland final since 1973. The integration of the successful minors of 2013 and 2015 has been gradual – with forward Neil Flynn one of the few to nail down a starting place in Cian O’Neill’s senior team.
You could see talented forward Jack Robinson mixing it with the big boys before too long. The Clogherinkoe/Balyna man has scored 2-6 between the win over Laois and quarter-final defeat of Mayo. How he goes Sunday against a Kerry defence marshalled by 2015 All-Ireland winner Daniel O’Brien will be fascinating to see.
At the other end Kerry’s star forward Sean O’Shea will be looking to add to his burgeoning reputation as a future Kerry senior.
The winners will face Galway in the Electric Ireland minor football final on September 18th, but the repercussions of this match may be felt for years to come.
Minor players are embarking on their adult lives, many are about to finish school and start college, they have hopes and dreams and ambitions, but for this one moment in time, the Electric Ireland Minor Championships is the major thing in their lives. Follow the conversation at #GAAThisIsMajor.
