Why not Kildare?

Why not us?

Three words that seem to have been uttered on repeat this summer.

Louth’s brilliant centre-back Dara McDonnell said it was a question that they posed themselves ahead of their All-Ireland quarter-final win over Monaghan.

Wicklow manager Oisin McConville said it was a central theme among their squad as they chased an unlikely Tailteann Cup win.

Those words were said again by Mayo captain Ryan O’Donoghue as he spoke to the media following their exhilarating All-Ireland final win over Kerry last Sunday, and he praised manager Andy Moran for bringing that attitude to the squad.

“Andy just instilled with us, ‘Let's have a crack, why not us?’ said O’Donoghue.

Sunday’s win for Mayo will go down in their own county's folklore but it was also one of the all-time great days for the GAA. The explosion of emotion at the final whistle was spine-tingling and after all their near misses, there’s not a person in the country, not even the most hardened Kerry fan, who would begrudge them their moment in the sun.

It was a moment that will live forever in the memory of those who saw it but it was also impossible not to think of people like John Joe Walsh, who moved from his native Mayo and became such a bedrock of the St Laurences club but who sadly passed away before seeing his county finally bring Sam back out west.

Perhaps it was the all-Lilywhite kit but it wasn’t long after the final whistle that thoughts turn from happiness for Mayo to those of a Kildare persuasion. Like the bould John Joe, how many great Kildare Gaels will reach their final resting place without enjoying a life-enriching moment as those Mayo supporters did on Sunday?

On one hand, there is plenty linking Kildare and Mayo. Perennial underachievers, both counties have put their supporters through the wringer on countless occasions but on the other hand there is no comparison. Kildare, of course, reached the All-Ireland Final in 1998 and were back at the final four stage two years later but on both occasions they had their dreams ended by the marauding men in maroon from Galway.

There was another semi-final under Kieran McGeeney in 2010 when we were left to wonder what might have been as Rob Kelly’s late free-kick struck the crossbar but really, that’s it for the last 70 years. Mayo have been relentless in the way that they kept coming back and competing at the very top level despite setback after setback. Even through their darkest times they kept producing top-class players all the way up to Sunday where they had two teenagers in attack who tormented an experienced Kerry backline.

So, in keeping with the question of the summer, why not Kildare?

There are a myriad of reasons of course but again, Mayo’s win brought into sharp focus our own county’s failings. In 2018, Kildare’s U20s won an All-Ireland title when beating a Mayo side containing Jordan Flynn, Tommy Conroy and the aforementioned O’Donoghue. Last Sunday, that trio contributed eight points in their county’s most famous win of the modern era.

Injuries have played their part but none of Kildare’s class of 2018 have got anywhere near the level of those three players.

Kildare have yet to find an answer to the question of how to turn promising underage talent into established senior players. It’s still too early to give up on the 2023 Under 20 All-Ireland winners and there is huge potential within this year’s Leinster Championship winning teams at Under 20 and minor but that talent must be harnessed.

2028 is looming large on the horizon, a year that will mark the 100th anniversary of Kildare's last All-Ireland success. To put that into perspective, of the 19 counties who have won at least one All-Ireland title, only Limerick, Wexford and Tipperary are only on a longer drought than Kildare, and they have all enjoyed significant success on the hurling field during that time. 

It was former Kildare manager Kieran McGeeney who spoke on the subject of what makes a champion during Off The Ball’s build-up to the All-Ireland Final. He spoke about the difference between a player who would like to win and the player who wants to win, the player who wants to win so badly that everything else in life becomes secondary. That’s a huge commitment to make but one that is probably universal across all All-Ireland winners.

It seems that here in Kildare that we have a lot of people who would like to win but do we have enough who want to win? And who are willing to do everything that goes along with that?

So to answer a question with a question, why not Kildare? 

Do we want it enough?