Rooney Ken
July 03, 1992
NAME: Ken Rooney
DATE OF BIRTH: 15/6/64
HEIGHT: 5'8"
WEIGHT: 11st
CLUB: St. Marys, Ardee
COUNTY: Louth
HONOURS: Senior league medal
INTER-COUNTY DEBUT: Minor football
PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: Tom Lynch, Pork & Bacon Wholesaler
TOUGHEST OPPONENT: Brendan Reilly (Meath)
FAVOURITE GROUNDS: Croke Park
FAVOURITE POSITION: Left half back
SPORTING AMBITION: To win an All-Ireland
DO YOU PLAY ANY OTHER SPORTS: Squash and swimming
BOYHOOD HEROES: Jack O'Shea
FAVOURITE PLAYER: Paddy O'Rourke (Down)
BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON CAREER: Wife
WAYS OF IMPROVING THE GAME: For refs to play advantage rule more often
BEST GAME SEEN: Meath versus Dublin last year
PLAYERS WITH A PROMISING FUTURE: Michael Malone and Dermot Duffy
HOPES FOR 1992: To go all the way to the All-Ireland
YOU COME FROM A LARGE GAA FAMILY. A NUMBER OF YOUR BROTHERS PLAY WITH THE ARDEE ST. MARYS CLUB: There are six boys in our family, four of us play with St.Marys. They are Gerry, Alan, Michael and myself and I suppose you could call on my mother any time
TELL US A BIT ABOUT ST MARYS: St. Marys are a club that supplied the county with fine good players throughout the years. They won the Cardinal O'Donnell Cup Senior League last year and hope to go one step further this year, under the watchful eye of two former All-Ireland medalists Kevin Behan and Aidan Magennis
WORD HAS IT THAT THERE ARE NO LESS THAN FOUR ADULT CLUBS IN YOUR PARISH: Yes, there are four clubs in our parish. John Mitchells, Hunterstown Rovers, Sean McDermotts and St. Marys which leaves great competition for all the players
FELLOW CLUBMATE, BRENDAN KERIN WAS A REGULAR ON THE LOUTH TEAM OVER THE PAST NUMBER OF YEARS. HE IS NOT ON THIS YEAR'S LOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP SQUAD: Brendan took a break from all football for a couple of months but now is back in training as hard as ever and is looking for his place back on the Louth team. A fine footballer is Brendan
ANOTHER CLUBMATE, MICHAEL MALONE CAME ON AS A SUB IN THE LAOIS GAME. ST. MARYS ARE A PROUD UNIT WHO PROBABLY SUPPLIED MORE PLAYERS TO THE COUNTY TEAM THAN ANY OTHER CLUB OVER THE DECADES. WAS IT A PROUD MOMENT FOR YOU STEPPING OUT ON CROKE PARK FOR THE LAOIS GAME AS THE ONLY ST. MARYS REPRESENTATIVE: Yes, I was proud to be on the Louth team. Words cannot describe the feeling running out onto that pitch in front of such a large crowd. Coming back to the people of Ardee was unbelievable, all the cheering and clapping, handshakes everywhere I went, it was great. I was glad to See Michael Malone coming in for the second half and hopefully he will hold his place
THE LAOIS GAME WAS YOUR FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. YOU TOUCHED THE BALL FREQUENTLY OVER THE SEVENTY MINUTES. WERE YOU PLEASED WITH YOUR PERFORMANCE: Yes, I was very pleased with my performance. It was a very close and tense game, especially coming into the last 15 minutes
DO THE DUBS FRIGHTEN YOU ON SUNDAY: No. Because Louth, in ways, have nothing to lose and everything to gain
CHARLIE REDMOND WILL PROBABLY BE YOUR DIRECT OPPONENT. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF CHARLIE: Charlie is a good footballer, capable of taking a score and will have to be watched very carefully
THIS LOUTH TEAM APPEAR TO LIKE PLAYING IN CROKE PARK: Croke Park is a wide open pitch and it suits the type of football that the Louth boys play
LOUTH STARTED RATHER SLOWLY AGAINST LAOIS. A SIMILAR OCCURRENCE ON SUNDAY WEEK WOULD LEAVE YOU IN TROUBLE: With nerves on the day it takes a while to settle down, but when we did we think we didn't do anything wrong. Maybe now with the experienced of playing in Croke Park, Louth will be starting with more confidence
IT OBVIOUSLY IS A HELP TO PLAY IN FRONT OF SUCH ESTABLISHED AND EXPERIENCED PLAYERS LIKE STEPHEN MELIA AND PETER FITZPATRICK: Both are very experienced players and give you plenty of help and encouragement all the way
DECLAN SMYTH HAS OBVIOUSLY WORKED WONDERS FOR LOUTH OF THE1992 VARIETY. BUT DID YOU PLAY FOR THE COUNTY IN FRANK LYNCH'S SPELL IN CHARGE: In Frank's time I was on the panel but never got to play
YOUR VIEWS ON SMYTH: Declan is a very good manager and with his selectors, they make a good team
LOUTH BROUGHT A HUGE CROWD OF SUPPORT TO THE LAOIS GAME. WERE YOU SURPRISED AT THE LARGE NUMBERS WHO TRAVELLED FROM THE WEE COUNTY. AFTER ALL, LOUTH HAVE NOT WON A CHAMPIONSHIP GAME FOR YEARS: The huge crowd that travelled from Louth was unbelievable and when Donal Brady put over the winning point the fans were fantastic
LOUTH HAVE A FINE FOOTBALL TRADITION. BUT IS THE TEAM OF 1992 CONTINUALLY COMPARED TO PAST SIDES: I don't think that this team is being compared to teams of the past in their own right - I think this is a very fine team
WOULD YOU PREFER TO BE PLAYING MEATH: No matter what team you meet in championship football, it is always going to be tough
FINALLY, CAN YOU DASH THE HOPES OF DUBLIN ON SUNDAY WEEK: Yes, we will be going to Croke Park to win
Taken from Hogan Stand magazine
3rd July 1992
Vol 2 No 62
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