29-07-2025
‘I felt like packing it up' – Jack O'Connor reveals he thought about quitting Kerry job last year
FIVE-TIME All-Ireland-winning manager Jack O'Connor came close to quitting last year.
The Kerry boss led the Munster giants to their 39th crown with
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The 64-year-old has had three stints as Kerry manager as well as managing Kildare
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Kerry were defeated 1-18 to 1-16 by Armagh after extra-time in last year's semi-final
But last year's
And the Dromid Pearses man admits he thought of stepping away before this Sam Maguire feat alongside new coaches Cian O'Neill and Aodán Mac Gearailt.
He said: 'I did. I certainly did. I found the year in general tough because we suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Armagh in a game that we appeared to be in control of.
'Then I had my whole management break 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.
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'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.
'I'm glad I stuck with it and saw the year out because, sure, we got the reward on Sunday. But it was a tough year.'
Those painful memories are all in the past now as, in their thousands, the Kingdom welcomed home their heroes yesterday following their stunning 1-26 to 0-19 thumping of the Ulster champions.
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The players were paraded through Tralee on an open-top bus before another welcome home in Killarney.
Their philosophical boss though, admits he could not have envisaged last night's joyous scenes in his homeland without some heart-to-hearts with his family, players and coaching staff.
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O'Connor — who also claimed All-Irelands as Kingdom boss in 2004, 2006, 2009, 2022 — added: 'I would be conversing with some of the players and they would have said, '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 Mac Gearailt and Pa McCarthy were absolutely brilliant.
'As it turned out they brought real freshness and real new ideas to the set-up. I think the players relished that.'
