Old force awakening in shadow of Skellig Michael as St Mary’s triumph over emigration

For eager Star Wars fans hoping to see Skellig Michael, Cahersiveen is set to become a major hive of activity.

There is great hope that the town of approximately 1,000 people will benefit from an influx of tourists drawn by the stunning scenery that features in the latest blockbuster from the space franchise. After the short winter break the force awakens at local club St Mary's, who face into yet another battle, not quite in a galaxy far, far away, but in the Gaelic Grounds, Limerick this Sunday as they take on Ratoath of Meath in the AIB All-Ireland intermediate club football semi-final. The club that gave Gaelic football Jack O'Shea, Maurice Fitzgerald and current Kerry captain Bryan Sheehan is facing similar struggles to many rural GAA clubs - problems not even Hollywood can fix. The former All-Ireland junior club champions from 2011 have moved up the grades in Kerry, and at a national level too. That progress has come despite massive turnover in personnel due to emigration, as selector Noel Cournane explains.

"Young people go to the boat or the plane and we're always looking out for young lads that are good enough to take their place.  That's just the way of life for this club. We've 10 or 11 of the lads from 2011 but there is huge change in the panel." "We don't field a minor team on our own anymore, we're joined up with Renard. For teams down here, it's either amalgamate, or clubs will die."

https://twitter.com/MortimerMurphy1/status/680770608016289792 Football in Cahersiveen is as enduring as the old rock out in the Atlantic, and no matter what comes against the club - and emigration is an old, persistent foe - they will battle on. It's this fighting spirit that Cournane feels was crucial as the club played their way through the difficult Kerry intermediate club championship. The selector believes the Kerry county semi-final is the game that sparked the club's autumn and winter success.

"There are several tough games but we'd a game against Castleisland Desmonds in a county semi-final, and it was gung-ho football. Defenders went missing and forwards cleaned up. "The first round of the Munster championship saw us five down at the break but we cleared the air at half-time and went on to win but all those close escapes show the character of the team."

Star of the current crop is newly-appointed Kerry captain Bryan Sheehan. The forward has been a key player for his club in the latter stages of the championship, playing week after week at club and divisional level. But as with every senior inter-county player in the country, trying to devote proper time to the club has been hard. However Curnane admits that Sheehan, who lives locally, has always been a key figure, even when not togging out.

"Bryan probably played for 11 weeks in row which was an incredible achievement at the end of our season. We've very proud of Bryan, he's a leader and the young lads look up to him. "He's not always with us because he's with Kerry. If you have a player in with Kerry then you don't see them with their club. He did come to our games and the dressing room, but he wasn't at training. "He lost an All-Ireland with Kerry on the Sunday and he was back training with us on the Wednesday night."

https://twitter.com/sportsfilesteve/status/680818298053914624 At a local level the responsibility of leading out St Mary's falls to one of Noel's three sons featuring on the team, Sean, who is joined on the panel by Anthony and Patrick. Naturally there is a close connection between father and sons, but Noel does concede there has been a few awkward moments after games when results, or performances, may not always have been politely discussed around the dinner table.

"It doesn't come into it. If one of them has to come off he has to come off, there's no issue. I'm a proud father but I don't dwell on it. If they are good enough to play, they will. and if they aren't, well they won't. Simple as." "It can be a bit dodgy at home, fairly often to be honest with you. We get over it, there's never blood spilled over it, but as will happen in tight games there may be something said that may not go down so well but we're all still living in the same house so it can't be that bad!"

https://twitter.com/StMarysGAAclub/status/655750815559340032 Noel is part of the backroom team led by GAA legend Maurice Fitzgerald. There is some feeling the two-time All-Ireland winner could be a future Kerry boss at some grade, and Noel feels his home club will be lucky to enjoy his talents for as long as they can.

"I never got to play with Maurice but he has a huge influence on the younger players. He played with most of these lads and to see the way he holds them in awe and whatever he asks them to do they know he'll do it because there's a reason behind it. "As far as I'm concerned he's marking time with our club until he goes on to something much bigger. There's a steeliness in Maurice but people may not have seen it."

https://twitter.com/StMarysGAAclub/status/670600613219143680 St Mary's, thanks to their prior experience from 2011, and the fact of having a Kerry senior captain in their ranks, go into Sunday's match as firm favorites. Cournane does try to play down his team's knowledge of the Meath side ahead of the weekend

"We aren't going to spend much time looking at the opposition, we're more about ourselves than what might be facing us."

But after some gentle probing he does open up to the acknowledgement that there has been some reconnaissance work done on the Leinster champions ahead of this Sunday.

"They are a high-scoring side, they're an attacking side. They are spoken about as a coming side in Meath, and great things are expected of them. "When you talk about club footballers, and Croke Park, some lads will never get a chance to get to there again. I don't see our lads falling under the pressure. We'll do what we can to get there."

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