Keane, Tom
February 27, 2013The late Tom Keane - An Appreciation by Owen McCrohan
TOM Keane is dead.
The dreadful news travelled like an Australian bush fire last Thursday when it became known that one of the most esteemed and colourful figures across the entire GAA spectrum in Kerry had died suddenly at his home in Cahersiveen.
This was like a rerun of the grim aftermath of Paidi 0 Se's tragic passing just before Christmas. Shock, dismay and disbelief are words that do not come remotely close to describing the sense of desolation that followed. Such was the widespread popularity he enjoyed that his death touched many far beyond the confines of his local community.
Tom didn't win All-Ireland medals but the impact he made as an outstanding referee of more than 20 years' standing, an uncompromising official, an absolute GAA fanatic and a successful businessman was no less profound. As a young man he married Nuala Murphy from Cahirsiveen and they became parents to nine children, four boys and five girls.
The one thing that can be said about Keane with absolute certainty is that after serving his time as an apprentice carpenter back in 1956 his bank balance was zero. From humble beginnings he rose to dizzy heights as he negotiated the unfamiliar minefield of big business along with the more mundane pursuits of early rising and hard work.
In the construction industry he would become a giant among his peers. He built the Ringside Rest Hotel on the outskirts of Cahirsiveen and as his empire expanded he went from strength to strength.
But nothing changed a man whose sometimes abrasive and unorthodox style won him a host of friends and undoubtedy contributed to his controversial image. He was essentially a dyed-in-the-wool football enthusiast who wore his heart on his sleeve.
His loyalty and support of the Kerry team knew no bounds. But the big-time was by no means his exclusive preserve. He loved club activities and wherever there was a club
match of any substance, whether it was in west Cork or west Clare or elsewhere he would be found in the thick of throng.
Back in 1980 he had completed a stormy two-year term of office as chairman of the South Kerry Board during which time he was locked into a state of open warfare with the local St. Mary's club. The passions engendered at the time and the fallout that accrued are not for perusal, but suffice to say that when South Kerry won a first county final in 23 years on September 27, 1981, Keane savoured the moment for many personal reasons.
Later that evening he returned home triumphant to Cahirsiveen like a modern Caesar descending on the walls of Rome. It was his finest hour.
Tom Keane had many endearing qualities. He had a big heart and he would do a good turn quicker than most. He provided steady employment locally at a time of deep recession. He treated people well. But he was no pushover and he wasn't all sweetness and light as witness his instructions to a new employee on joining the staff of the Ringside Rest Hotel: "I might not present much of an image as a hotelier but don't underestimate me!"
He was a straight-shooter whose notorious black humour was part of his persona. One day, out of the blue, he informed me that I had "nothing to live for only football and
bagpipes". It wasn't much of a compliment but that was Keane. If you couldn't stick the heat then you could leave the kitchen.
In any event I got my "revenge" on him in a subsequent edition of the Kerry GAA Yearbook when penning an article under the heading Big Tom Is Still The King. This was supposed to have been a tribute to somebody who was a lifelong friend and knowing the score I felt at liberty to go as close to the bone as deco rum would allow.
He was described as an alterego for the Reverend lan Paisley in terms of belligerence and in his capacity "to fight for what he believes in". Further in the piece it was stated that he wasn't renowned for his sartorial elegance and that he would never win an Oscar for being the best-dressed man in the GAA "as clad in top coat and rubber boots he will walk the line on match days, shouting encouragement at his players, cursing the referee or making whatever observations he sees fit".
And so it went.
Around about that time Keane was advertising his wares in the tourist brochures with a catchy slogan that went:
"When on the Ring of Kerry why not drop into the Ringside Rest where you can enjoy a quiet drink and savour the out- standing experience of talking to a Kerry man".
If you travelled the world over you wouldn't meet a finer Kerry man than Tom Keane himself.
He was a unique 'character', adevoted family man, a once-off, a high achiever and, above all, a total football extremist whose love of the game consumed his whole life. Ni bhei-
dh a leitheid aris ann.
To Nuala and the family, sincere sympathy is extended.
Courtesy of The Kerryman. Tweet
