How Caoimhin Kelleher landed an Irish grassroots club a cash windfall that could last ‘100 years'

New York Times

2 days ago

The Red Cove Inn will be busy tonight if Ringmahon Rangers win their final game of the campaign.
Ringmahon are an Irish grassroots club, based in the southside of Cork. They play in the Munster Senior League — the Republic of Ireland's third tier of football — and it has been quite the season. Tonight, they are aiming to secure a 10th trophy of the season at adult level when they face local rivals Avondale United in yet another cup final.
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Ray O'Mahony, Ringmahon's club sponsor of 25 years and owner of the Red Cove Inn, a 10-minute walk from their pitch near the shore of Lough Mahon, is preparing for a night of celebration.
Yet for once, the football will not be the main topic. With former Ringmahon youngster Caoimhin Kelleher moving to Brentford from Premier League champions Liverpool this week, the club are set to receive the biggest-ever sell-on windfall for an Irish outfit, and it's the story everyone is talking about.
Kelleher has put this little-known club on the map, but it was the smart thinking of club secretary Sean Fitzgerald, who insisted on inserting a 20 per cent sell-on clause when the goalkeeper moved to Liverpool for a modest five-figure sum in 2015, that has made a real difference.
Congratulations to Caoimhin Kelleher who officially signed for @LFC last night well done to Caoimhin & his family pic.twitter.com/VLvrmXLKoB
— Ringmahon Rangers (@RingmahonRanger) April 16, 2015
Both Fitzgerald and his chairman, Paul Higgins, told The Athletic that they are waiting for further information from Liverpool before finding out the exact amount they stand to receive.
But given Kelleher joined Brentford for an initial £12.5million ($16.9m) potentially rising to £18m, it will eclipse the record previously set when Shamrock Rovers received around €2m (£1.7m; $2.3m) of the fee Southampton paid Manchester City for Gavin Bazunu in 2022. Sean says passionately that the money is going to be life-changing for a club of its size.
'This money is going to be there for my kids, and my kids' kids and then hopefully for the next 100 years,' he says.
Funds are likely to be allocated towards bolstering facilities at Ringmahon Park, with a full-size artificial pitch expected to go alongside the nine-a-side pitch that was installed in 2022. To do that, the club needs to obtain extra land and will first have to discuss plans with the local council.
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'It's going to take some time,' Fitzgerald adds. 'Some people think that the money will just land in the account and then we can start building everything around the pitch, but it won't be like that. It will be for our academy, for our five-year-olds in the future, so all the young boys and girls can have the best facilities in the future.'
Ringmahon Rangers were founded in 1951 by a group of friends who kicked balls around the streets of Mahon's housing estate. Sean's father John — then aged 14 — played in the first ever team and later became secretary, holding the role for 60 years.
'We're a really close community who have got each other's backs,' says Sean. 'Ringmahon is the focal point, where you go at 8am in the morning at the weekend and see kids who will still be there until 10pm at night. Ray, who runs the pub, is a real gentleman. He'll always host opponents and make sure the kids have food so the adults can enjoy their Guinness.'
Kelleher, who came from a quiet family, played most of his underage football at the club, which now caters for male and female teams, from under-7s to seniors.
His back story is well told — he started as a centre-forward at Ringmahon, where he scored 20 to 30 goals a season before becoming a goalkeeper at the age of 14 after the first-choice decided at short notice that he did not want to play for his team anymore.
Another box ticked for former Ringer Caoimhin Kelleher tonight. Handed the captains armband in tonights @LFC game . What an unbelievable footballing journey he is on,and long may it continue. Massive congratulations from everyone at the club to Caoimhin and his family. pic.twitter.com/7QjwUgmE6Y
— Ringmahon Rangers (@RingmahonRanger) September 27, 2023
The rise from there was rapid and Fitzgerald started taking calls from a host of English clubs who noticed his talent. Kelleher trained at Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa but by the time Manchester United came along, they were too late — much to the amusement of Fitzgerald, a Liverpool fan who was able to haggle with the club he supported for what proved to be a modest fee of just £30,000.
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Inserted into the deal were clauses around international debuts and other performance-related metrics. The sums received since have helped contribute towards an extension of the clubhouse as well as the upgrading of grass pitches, but no doubt this next windfall will be the most beneficial.
Fitzgerald, who works as a volunteer at the club alongside his day job as a pipe fitter welder, recalls the time when he was negotiating with Liverpool.
'My boss was a mad soccer man and he knew what was going on, so he used to let me go to the toilet or out to the car on my lunch break so I could send emails,' he laughs.
'I was back and forth with Liverpool for two weeks until they came back and said, 'We'll sign the contract and just get it over with.' Looking back, jeez, I did okay.'
Both Fitzgerald and Higgins say the interest in the club this week has been overwhelming. Ringmahon Rangers has produced a number of other players, including Sunderland's Alan Browne and the two Umeh brothers — Franco, who plays at Crystal Palace, and Jaden, who is on the books at Portuguese club Benfica — yet nothing compares to the publicity gained from Kelleher's rise.
It's a club at the heart of the community and brings the small parish in Cork together. This is especially the case after such a successful season. The seniors have reached the final of every cup competition they entered, and the junior teams — coached by former players — have also won a stack of trophies.
'The only problem with the great season and all these celebrations are the hangovers that follow,' Sean said, laughing. 'It's not easy telling my wife that we have a final every week!'
Tonight, though, the celebrations will be on a whole other level, regardless of the result against Avondale.