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Thursday, May 27, 2010
Rebel legend who played with some of the greatest
BY SEÁN COUNIHAN
IN this very column over the years we have often reminisced about some of the great gaelic games’ players from this county that we all remember with immense fondness.
And while I am going to follow a similar route this week, I am going to stretch the boundaries a small bit and talk about a great Cork footballer.
Dinny Long is a man that I have often spoken to when our paths crossed at Killarney Golf Club and our football conversations have always been interesting.
Dinny, who is recovering following recent surgery, is one of those rare men that is respected in both Kerry and Cork for his football exploits.
When you think of the Cork man, you would have to say that he played with some of the great players during his own playing days.
A native of Millstreet and a club-mate of the famed Humphrey Kelleher and John Coleman, I would have no hesitation in saying that he was most stylish of that renowned trio.
And I would even be as bold to suggest that Dinny moulded his own game on Kerry great Mick O’Connell. He was good in the air and he could also kick with either foot.
If one is to look back at the players that he played with and against, you will see that he shared the football field with many household names Sunday after Sunday.
It’s also worth remembering that Dinny played a huge amount of his football with Austin Stacks in Tralee. Long before Kieran Donaghy arrived on the scene, Stacks boasted big names such as Dinny Long.
The Cork man would have played with the great John O’Keeffe, Ger Power, Ger O’Keeffe and Mikey Sheehy – that’s an illustrious list, a who’s who of famous team-mates. That was a time when county championships were like AllIrelands and Munster finals all rolled into one.
Dinny enjoying the thrill of holding down a place on that famous Austin Stacks team while we can’t forget that he also played on some great Cork teams alongside players such as Billy Morgan, Denis Coughlan, Tom Creedon, Kevin Kehilly, Kevin Ger O’Sullivan, John Coleman, Con Hartnett and Donal Hunt – many names that you don’t hear much about nowadays.
There were some great defenders in that list – some, sadly, who are no longer with us – while others like Dinny Allen and Jimmy Barry Murphy are still to the fore and their city status makes them heroes in Cork. So too the likes of Teddy McCarthy and Ray Cummins, two former dual stars in Cork.
Often the bigger name players overshadowed players such as Dinny Long, Declan Barron, Billy Field, Jimmy Barrett and more. Frank Cogan would have been another Cork dual star as well as an excellent corner back.
And what about the forward line that had the talents of Dave McCarthy, Ray Cummins, Declan Barron and Jimmy Barrett – now they were some formidable forwards.
It worked for Cork in the 1974 Munster final when they beat Kerry but Mick O’Dwyer landed in 1975 and Kerry won the day by 10 points, 1-14 to 0-7, in Killarney.
While I am remembering all these great names, I can’t help but smile at all the talk these days from players and managers about the new GAA rules – most notably the hand-pass – that have caused so much consternation in the first few weeks of the football championship.
I can state one comment without contradiction – if the modern-day players were up against some of the great names that I have mentioned the hand-pass wouldn’t worry them because they mightn’t get a touch of the ball at all.
There are actually so many great Cork players that have worn the Rebels’ red over the years, men such as Ned Kirby from Grange, Bernie O’Neill of Adrigole and, of course, not forgetting another lad that Kerry supporters used to give a hard time, Seamus Looney of the Barrs.
The names are coming thick and fast now and it’s the older generation of supporters that will remember the likes of Gerry Lucey (Naomh Abán), Teddy O’Brien (St Nicks), Christy Ryan (the Barrs) and Brian Murphy (Crosshaven), who were all footballers that would have featured against Kerry at some time or another.
And the list goes on with players such as John Crowley of Bishopstown and Ballydesmond’s Christy Kearney.
These are just some of the great players that Dinny Long played with during his distinguished career, and we can’t forget that there are a lot of fine Kerry players to add to that list as well.
No doubt Dinny will watch with interest the Munster senior football championship final between Kerry and Cork in Killarney on Sunday week.
And let me tell you the final words that Dinny Long said to me when we met last, as he set off for the first tee at O’Mahoney’s Point, Killarney: "Cork have a right chance Seán but I wouldn’t write off Kerry either."
That’s the way that all good football judges are calling this impending battle in Fitzgerald Stadium.
So all that’s left for me is to wish Dinny a speedy recovery and as Kerry supporters head to Fitzgerald Stadium on Sunday week, they should remember some of the greats that wore the Rebel red in the park in Killarney, great men like Dinny Long.
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