HE hasn’t thought about it too much in the intervening years, but Kerry boss Eamon Fitzmaurice does wonder whether or not he would still be in charge had the Kingdom not gotten the better of Mayo in their epic 2014 All-Ireland SFC semi-final replay in Limerick.
The one thing he is sure on is that Kerry are in better shape than they were that year.
“You have to be. As time moves on pretty quickly but I would say the other teams have improved from 2014 also,” he said.
One of the key figures in Kerry’s triumph over the Connacht side that year, Kieran Donaghy, appears to be in the sort of form that suggests there is one last hurrah left in the former Footballer of the Year.
While it looked like Donaghy was saying goodbye to Croke Park in the aftermath of last year’s All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Dublin, Fitzmaurice didn’t feel like the Austin Stack’s clubman was done, believing his switch to basketball over the winter months reinvigorated him.
“I remember saying to Kieran last year around the time of the Munster final that there was more in him even if at that stage he probably felt like it would be his last year,” said Fitzmaurice.
“I know the book might have felt like an end for him but I think the basketball was a good release as well as it is something he is very passionate about and he was still working hard in the gym to keep himself in tune for coming back.
“When he shows the ability he has in training it’s very hard to ignore him when it comes to picking the team.”
Despite all the heartache Mayo have endured in recent years, Fitzmaurice is not surprised that they are back in their seventh consecutive All-Ireland semi-final.
“When you are as good as Mayo you are going to keep coming back and while I don’t read too much into the League game (which Kerry lost in Tralee) back in February, the one thing their performance that night showed me is how battle hardened they are.
“I think Mayo’s body language in the win over Roscommon in the [quarter-final replay showed that they meant business.
“Tactically, I thought they got it spot on and even though they struggled in games during the Qualifiers they seem to be coming good when they get to Croke Park much like they did last year when they got there in a similar way.”
