Kings of September - Book on Offaly vs Kerry 1982

[Bord na Mona man]

I have it framed now, on top of the telly. I cry tears of joy everytime I see it

Watching the telly must be becoming a chore by now!

[the bare biffo]

Last night I put down this book for the last time having worked my way through it at a very leisurely pace since santy left it under the tree on Christmas eve.
I would agree with the general view that it was a great read and gave a terrific insight to the deatil of what went on. This is especially true for someone like me who was away from the local scene and did not pick up the bits of information that you would do if you were involved locally.

But having finished it I am left feeling somewhat disillusioned and a little sad at the trail of destruction both physical and social that the journey to 82 left in its wake. I suppose it was nice to revel in the absolute romanticism of the underdog struggling through knockout after knockout each time coming back stronger until they finally landed their own knockout punch and claimed their crown. It was pure rockyism. But as with all romances, when you get to see the detail behind the story, some of the magic is diminished.

At the time I did not have much time for McGee as a manager. There was a feeling that he was the cause of them losing to Dublin in 78 and definitely in 79.
Having watched Mooney, Carroll and co from minor through u-21 I thought McGee was lucky to have a talented bunch of footballers and should have achieved more. There was nothing in the book that really changed my mind on this. If there was a Boylan, O'Mahony or Harte around to manage that team I still think we would have seen more from them.

You also have to wonder at the real benefits of all that hill running. Too many players appeared to be crocked at too young an age. It may well have been character building but was it knee destroying.

Maybe the end of the book overplayed the negativity that existed post 82 for literary effect, but given the trail of personal and physical wreckage that was left in its wake I am wondering was it really worth it. Is that level of commitment and intrusiuon into personal life appropriate for an amateur sport.
It has left me think a little on the GPA and the GAA hierarchy and the course that is being plotted for the sport.

[Muck Savage]

know Bare Biffo, those times were so much easier than the way things are today. Not taking away from the committment that those lads put in, hard nights training and all but if you look at todays team, they have been training for 6-8 weeks now hard. That '82 team were not training that time of the year maybe in part to the fact that they were in the AI the Sept before. If you look at the way GAA has gone for the past 30 years, Derby skulled a half bottle of brandy the night before the final, Offaly won and he's a legend. Fast forward13 years, Johnny P has a pint in a local 2 day before the AI, Offaly lose and he's slated. Today lads are off drink for 6 months of the year. I really think the players have a tough job these days with the media spotlight on them like they are pro's.
I think you'll find most of the Injuries the lads from that game have are down to hits over the years and not the hill work etc. That Kerry team were going for 10 years full pelt, not easy on any machine. I would agree that Offaly should have got a lot more out of that team than they did, but that an Offaly theme if you ask me. '83 they should have won for sure. Take the hurlers in the 90's, they had the talent to win two more AI's. The football team in '97 should have got to an AI, that was a bad Mayo team that beat them.

Was it worth it, sure it was. Everytime I see my Kerry buddies the '82 thing always comes up

[DD]

Firstly, I know for a fact that the story about Darby downing the brandy the night before is complete rubbish.. and I'd say it's not the only tall tale in the book.

As regards the "trail of destruction" left behind, this too is overstated and in most cases unconnected to the fact that these guys were footballers.. We could all tell a hundred worst stories about everyday joe soaps that didn't happen to win an All Ireland.

[Bord na Mona man]

re: Pilkington vs Darby.

It should be noted that Darby was only a sub the next day, whereas Pilkington was always a nailed on starter every game for Offaly. Also Pilkington went on the batter the night before in many cases, this is one he admitted to.

"Last year be pushed it to the limits, however, before the championship game against Wexford. He had a wedding on the preceding Friday, and the boozing carried over into the next day. He finally turned in, he reckons, at around two o'clock on the morning of the match. "I was alright but I knew that Adrian Fenlon could hurl me up a stick. We won easily and I was taken off with about 10 minutes to go.""

http://www.uibhfhaili.com/articles/view ... .php?id=36

[Bord na Mona man]

If you take any group of 20-25 men in their 20s-30s and see how life pans out over a quarter century, you are bound to have tragedies as well as triumphes. Perhaps this was overplayed to give the book an angle beyond just being a book about a big match.

The training under McGee and O'Dwyer did appear harsh for the time. Perhaps a little unscientific because sports science wasn't very developed back then. In Offaly's case, running on the Hill was more character building than performance enhancing. The player who suffers in order to wear the jersey doesn't sh1t on it when the pressure comes on!