Jack O'Connor on role of players in his decision to continue as Kerry boss

Irish Daily Mirror

29-07-2025

As Jack O'Connor weighs up whether to go out on a high in 2025, he has told of how he very nearly went out on a bum note last year.
In the immediate aftermath of guiding Kerry to their 39th All-Ireland title on Sunday, five of which he has been at the helm for, O'Connor threw out terms such as 'last hurrah' in the context of his future as Kingdom boss, which he has done for 11 seasons across three terms, as well a two-year stint with Kildare.
All's well that ends well, but O'Connor referenced a 'tough year' in the context of a number of injuries that the team had suffered and sharp criticism locally, particularly in the wake of a heavy defeat to Meath in the group stages. Sitting in the lobby of the Clayton Hotel, the old Burlington, in Dublin yesterday morning, he expanded on that.
'I found the year in general tough because you have to remember, around this time last year, we suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Armagh in a game that we appeared to be in control of,' he said, referencing last year's All-Ireland semi-final. 'Then I had my whole management broke up. So I had to try and put the management together while I was dealing with the personal heartbreak of losing an All-Ireland semi-final. That can be a tough lonely place to be, when you're trying to do that.
'So right from this time last year I found the going tough and there were times when I felt like packing it up, and whatever. I'm glad I stuck with it and saw the year out because, sure, we got the reward yesterday. But it was a tough year.'
In the end, support from the players persuaded him to stay on and he rebuilt his management team.
'Well, I would be conversing with some of the players and stuff and they would have said to hang in there. It's tough going when you lose your management team, lads that you soldier with and that you trust and confide in. Then you have to try and gel with a new management team. That can be tough at times.
'As it turned out, the lads have been brilliant. Cian O'Neill, James Costello, Aodán MacGearailt and Pa McCarthy were absolutely brilliant. They brought real freshness and real new ideas to the set up. I think the players relished that.'
Kerry recovered from that Meath reverse to see off Cavan in Killarney before their season turned on a sensational second half display to see off reigning champions Armagh, after which O'Connor had a cut back at his side's critics.
'It was just that we were putting in an incredible effort, everybody but on the back of one bad day out we were being written off and disrespected. Sometimes you just get p****d off with that because the people who are doing the criticising are, most of the time, hurlers in the ditch who don't put in the same effort themselves with teams.
'I'm normally not like that. You've listened to me a long time, I normally give stock answers at these press briefings but I had reached a point where I was just up to my tonsils with it, you know. I had a bit of a rant, sure there is no harm at times to leave off a bit of steam.' Kerry manager Jack O'Connor celebrates with supporters
As impressive as the display against Armagh was and long spells of the semi-final win over Tyrone too, Sunday's final represented something much closer to the complete 70-minute effort.
'What pleased me was that on the biggest day of the year, we had probably our best performance. That's what pleased me. And what pleased me was the way that the lads took the game to Donegal from the off. I think Gavin [White] winning the breaking ball from the throw-in, driving on, slipping it to Dylan Geaney, a young forward in his first All-Ireland, kicking a great score off his left foot, that's the start you want. You set the tone, the captain leads by example.
'A young lad in a final kicks a point with his first touch, a lot of good things happening there. Our midfielder gets a tap down, playing in his first final, a lot of good stuff happening in that move.'
After delivering maybe the best of his All-Irelands, there will be no shortage of people telling O'Connor to stay on as Sam Maguire tours the county, but he insisted: 'It isn't like I'm playing hard to get at all.
'I'm a long old time at this thing now, lads. I found last year particularly tough, I have to say, and I'm not sure I can put myself through that stuff again because when you reach a certain age, your priorities change a bit.
'There's a lot of other things I like doing. I like playing a bit of golf. I like spending time with my grandson, Jack, who's mad for golf as well. He'd be around the lawn below with a golf club, learning to swing it. I live in a nice part of the country and I enjoy being out in nature and going out at my old homestead in Dromid, stuff like that. We'll see.
'I'll leave it settle for a couple of weeks. I won't hang people out to dry or keep people hanging on. I'll have a think about it. I had only one or two hours' sleep last night, so now isn't a great time to be making a decision.'