Con Houlihan would have the best seat in the house. The locals still give him a smile as they pass by his statue.
Charlie Nelligan’s old café is at the other end of the town. Charlie was never likely to drop the tray of tea and scones.
Cáit Lynch was reared across the road from the football field. She’d be kicking ball there with her brothers from dawn to dusk.
“There’s such a wonderful sporting tradition,” she relates. “With the likes of Charlie Nelligan and Mary Geaney.”
The remarkable Mary captained Kerry to the All-Ireland football title, and Cork to the All-Ireland Camogie crown. She was an Irish hockey international and highly accomplished at badminton and golf.
“Seamus Moynihan was still playing when I was growing up. He was the footballer I wanted to be. He was my idol,” reveals Lynch.
“It was the way he played the game. He was such a hard worker. His defending skills were phenomenal.”
Cáit honed her own craft as she came up the ranks at Castleisland Desmonds.
“They ignited my grá for the game. They were always so supportive and encouraging. I have such positive memories going back all the years.”
In 2012, she found herself on the Kerry senior team. “It turned into a really memorable season.
“Not only was I making my debut but we went to the All-Ireland final. It was Kerry’s first since 1993. It was an amazing journey.
“But little did I know that it would take us another 10 years before we’d get to another one.
“You appreciate such days all the more the further you go in your career. Just how difficult it is to reach an All-Ireland final, let alone win it.”
Lynch earned an All-Star that year. And another All-Star after they lost the 2022 All-Ireland final to Meath.
Last August, Dublin defeated Kerry in the All-Ireland final, but, yet again, she was on stage to receive her third All-Star.
“Things are going well this season,” she states. “We have a big squad. There’s keen competition.
“The league was all about giving players game-time, while still trying to produce performances.
“We reached the league final. And we have started the Munster Championship with wins over Tipperary and Cork. Hopefully we can keep that going now against Waterford this Sunday,” she adds.
“It was good that we played well against Tipp after losing the league final. That was a positive thing for our own mentality.
“It’s brilliant that the management decided to stay on. We have all been through the pain of losing All-Irelands and we all have the same goal of trying to win one.
“There’s a good bond in the group and you’d be looking forward to going training.”
Lynch has busy days. She is a Sustainability Manager. “I work mostly with food companies on their sustainability strategies and plans.
“I enjoy the job, and the fact that I’m based in Kerry makes life so much easier when it comes to the football.”
If the Brendan Martin Cup does manage to dance on the pavements of Castleisland, the great Con Houlihan would be first to lift his pen in salute.
