Kerry's Charlie Nelligan County Goalkeeper Extraordinaire 1973-1991 - Back in the limelight as Minor team manager A nineteenth successive Munster Championship campaign beckoned. Much of what went before painted a picture of unparalleled achievement. Only in recent times had Kerry grown aware of the pain of being second best. For Charlie Nelligan - at 34 years of age - it was time to bid his farewell to a game that had dominated his life since Minor debut in 1973. All that remained was one last chance to restore a semblance of order to the game - that order being one of Kerry as a dominant force in football. What better way to start this revival than put one over on Billy Morgan's Cork side that had captured Kerry's thunder for four successive years in Munster. The pundits predicted that the new order of Cork would remain firmly in place. The players thought different and Kerry's grim determination won the day. Three Kerry veterans jumped for joy and embraced as if this was their first taste of the big time. For Pat Spillane, Jack O'Shea and Charlie Nelligan, the victory in Fitzgerald Stadium was worth waiting for. "After being beaten for so many years, beating Cork that day in the first round of the Championship gave me nearly the same satisfaction and enjoyment as if I had won an All-Ireland for I knew I would never be beaten by Cork again", says Nelligan. Kerry duly went on to win the Munster title and with it Nelligan captured his eleventh Munster Championship medal. It was his last for the Nelligan name last appeared in the match programme for the All-Ireland semi final against Down. The best known baker in the country lived up to his word. "I had made up my mind when we beat Cork in the Munster semi final that when the Championship was finished, so was I". However, Nelligan didn't go for the much publicised newspaper recorded retirements accorded to his more high profile colleagues Pat Spillane and Jack O'Shea. So much so that only when the name of Peter O'Leary appeared on the Kerry team sheet did Nelligan's retirement become common knowledge. Just like John Egan seven years previously the pride of Castleisland had departed the scene quietly without fuss nor fanfare. But that's where the similarities between the two players end. Unlike John Egan, Nelligan's retirement hasn't been total. The playing days might have ended but the next logical step was into Kerry management. "I always had it on my mind that when playing days were over to get involved in training a young team", admits Nelligan. This opportunity soon presented itself and Nelligan didn't waste any time in entering the management fold. His route of re-entry into Kerry football was a carbon copy of his retirement. Everything was low key. As Ogie Moran landed the plump job of Senior trainer, Nelligan slipped in almost unnoticed into Minor management. For Neligan it was time to put something back into the game that had given him so much. "I just felt that if I didn't get involved at this stage that I might let my involvement in the game slide away altogether". The goalkeeper turned manager is now in the process of drawing up a panel for his assault on the 1992 Championship. "I have four great selectors to help me and we have the backbone of a good side with some of last year's Minor side available", says Nelligan. The five man selection team also had a good backbone to it to help Nelligan in this, his first taste of big-time management. The most high profile of his colleagues is Mickey Sheehy and Nelligan recognises the experience the Austin Stacks clubman brings to the Minor management team. "He is a great guy to get on with and he has had previous experience with the Minors when they were beaten by Meath in the 1990 All-Ireland final". If playing pedigree is anything to go by, this double act involving Nelligan and Sheehy looks the part. With fifteen All-Ireland Senior medals between them both are well used to coping with the pressure of big-time competition. This experience alone is bound to rub off on the Minor class of 1993. These memories alone of successes enjoy by Nelligan and Sheehy could act as a driving force for the future. From Nelligan's point of view memories were rich. The highlight of this career came in centenary year. "I'll never forget the feeling walking up the steps having beaten Dublin in the '84 All-Ireland, it was great to be back after what happened to us in '82 and '83". Victory in the centenary All-Ireland together with subsequent victories in '85 and '86 made the exploits of Seamus Darby and Tadhg Murphy easier to bear. This regret that the historic five in a row never came to pass will always be there but Nelligan feels that Eugene McGee's Offaly were deserving of an All-Ireland title. "In fairness to Offaly when we beat them in the '81 final they were on our tails all the way until Jacko got a goal and if they had got the goal that day it might have been a different story. "In '82 it was the same, they were with us all the way and their motivation and determination got them through in the end. Nelligan's last appearance in an All-Ireland final was in '86. After an interval of seven years he now has two years to set the record straight and guide Kerry to the All-Ireland Minor stage. It is early days yet and the thought of a return visit to Croke Park hasn't entered his mind. "As far as I am concerned, we are playing Cork in the first round of the Championship on the 7th of July and that's as far ahead as I am looking". If Nelligan is exercising undue caution in his approach, the same cannot be said of Kerry's demanding supporters. Senior success may be uppermost in their minds but Minors, Under 21 and Junior titles are also taken for granted. From Nelligan's vantage point underage titles are also considered crucial to the Kerry cause. "That great four in a row Kerry side comprised of two Minor sides that reached All-Irelands in 1970 and 1975 as six or seven players from each side made up the backbone of the Senior side that won so much". The beaten Minor side of '70 included Jimmy Egan, Paud Lynch, John Long and Mickey O'Sullivan while the '75 side that captured All-Ireland honours had Jack O'Shea, Sean Walsh, Vincent O'Connor, Mick Spillane and Charlie Nelligan in it's ranks. Eighteen years on from this initial All-Ireland breakthrough the Nelligan trophy cabinet is now top heavy with achievement. The Minor medal of '75 was follow by three successive Under 21 titles from '75 to '77 before the big breakthrough of Senior success came his way in 78. Six more Senior medals were to follow in an eight year period. Three national League medals were won in '77, '82 and '84 while at provincial level he played on two Munster Railway Cup winning sides in '80 and '82. He was also recognised by the All-Star selectors in '80 and '86. The battle of the custodians had been decisively won by Nelligan. The only blot on the Nelligan copybook came when he was sent off against Dublin in the '78 final. Away from the National scene, Nelligan was no stranger to club success, as his club Castleisland Desmonds became one of the dominant forces in Kerry club football. Though the ultimate honour of County Championship success eluded Desmonds they made up for this by winning the All-Ireland club title at the expense of St.Vicents in 1985. The following year Desmonds again reached the final only to fall to the Down side Burren. Nelligan also graced the hurling fields with distinction, winning All-Ireland honours at Minor 'B' level. He also played League of Ireland soccer for Home Farm during his student days in Kevin Street College of Technology. Indeed, there was talk of selection for the Irish Olympic soccer squad in '78. However, Gaelic football considerations intervened. There are impressive credentials to bring into his first management position. However, a playing pedigree is not always a guarantee of managerial success. Nelligan is aware of this so the Mick O'Dwyer experience will come heavily to bear as he gradually gets to know his way in intercounty management. "I'm no ready made trainer by any means so when I will be facing a number of my problems I will be saying to myself, how would Micko handle this". His respect for the Waterville hotelier rises easily to the surface, "He was the master as he had you in the right frame of mind for every game. It was as if every other game we had played before meant nothing. The game we were about to play was considered as the last game". One senses that this O'Dwyer factor will stand to Nelligan as the Minor class of '93 attempt to arrest a decline in underage football that has seen only one All-Ireland Minor title for Kerry in the last ten years. This determination to succeed will be carried out away from the public eye. Nelligan is used to such a media free existence and he is not about to change now. In goalkeeping terms Art Foley's save from Christy Ring in '56 is still much talked about as is Paddy's Cullen's penalty stop from Liam Sammon in '74 while Nelligan's All-Ireland winning save to foil John "Jigger" O'Connor of Roscommon in '80 is rarely brought up. That's the way of things, but Nelligan probably wouldn't have it any other way. Taken from Hogan Stand Magazine 22nd January 1993 Tweet

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