The seventh programme of the current series of TG4's popular Laochra Gael features Kerry great Denis 'Ogie' Moran tomorrow night (Tuesday) at 8pm.
Ogie holds a unique record in Gaelic Football. Alongside his former teammates, Paidí Ó Sé, Pat Spillane, Ger Power and Mikey Sheehy, he is the proud holder of eight All-Ireland medals but he stands apart in that he played every single minute of all eight finals, and in the same position - at centre half forward.
A most humble character, Ogie recalls 1975 when newly appointed county manager Mick O'Dwyer brought on several youngsters onto the county panel and how they went from match to match that same year all the way to the All-Ireland Final against reigning champions, and hot favourites, Dublin.
Youth, exuberance and fitness stood to the Kerry team that day and he fondly remembers those magic moments of aftermath celebrations on the pitch.
Darker days would come, however, and they went down to the Dubs in the 1976 final and in the '77 semi-final, still regarded as one of the greatest games of all time.
Even now, Ogie can recall that day clearly, and maintains that all the players realised the magnitude of their colossal tussle. Although Kerry had gone down to their great rivals in two successive years, Ogie is of the opinion that even if the Kerry public had misgivings about the manager, that the players had full faith in O'Dwyer's capabilities.
1978 was a special year for Ogie as he was captain of the team and his neighbour and friend Eoin 'Bomber' Liston was now on the team, a vital addition according to Ogie. In that year's final, they faced Dublin and although it didn't look good after twenty minutes as they trailed by five points, they eventually ran out easy winners, helped of course by that famous Mikey Sheehy goal. Ogie recognises its brilliance but still thinks that John Egan's goal was more important on the day.
He typically credits his local club and parish with the plaudits for his captaincy that day. The following year he did have a temporary blip, being dropped for the Munster Final, although he did return and win another All-Ireland final. He had intimate knowledge of the Offaly team and manager, as Eugene McGee was also his manager for a time at UCD and he goes into the heartbreak of 1982 in great detail.
The team resurrected, helped by the influx of new talent and went on to win another three titles between 1984 and 1986. Ogie does acknowledge that the team "was in the departure lounge" in '86, which brings extra satisfaction in hindsight, after they turned a seven point deficit against Tyrome into an eight point win.
His managerial days with Kerry footballers weren't a success in the mid 1990's, for which he received some savage criticism within the county but Ogie says that it's the way in Kerry, and always will be.
Again and again, this man's honesty and humility comes to the fore as he humorously recalls his days with Kerry. The other contributors on this programme are Sean Walsh, Tommy Drumm from Dublin, Offaly's Sean Lowry and Dara Ó Cinnéide.
Ogie Moran's programme is the seventh of ten in the new series which will also feature Michael Duignan from Offaly and Ryan McMenamin of Tyrone.
Catch the programme every Tuesday at 8pm on TG4 with a repeat broadcast every Sunday evening after GAA BEO.
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