In the world of sports, sometimes it takes one final push to achieve greatness. For Kerry joint managers Darragh Long and Declan Quill, that push came in the form of an extra year at the helm of the Kerry Ladies Football team. After four years of hard work and coming agonizingly close, their last-ditch effort culminated in a triumphant All-Ireland title victory yesterday in Croke Park.
Last year, the duo had completed their intended four-year stint. Despite their best efforts, the Kingdom had fallen short in the finals against Meath in 2022 and Dublin in 2023. The heartbreak of consecutive final losses could have been the end of their journey – and almost was.
They shook hands on the pitch and exchanged a “That’s it for me” look, as they considered their families back home and how much they had poured into Kerry LGFA.
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The next morning, they found themselves discussing the “what-ifs” of the day before, accidentally planning for the following year. Subconsciously, it wasn’t over for the pair. Driven by an unyielding desire to see their team lift the Brendan Martin Cup, Long and Quill decided to stay on for one more year.
We took half the panel each, had a ring around, and they were mad to go again. A friend said to me “Why would you be giving over the reins when you’re not done yet – you could actually win an All-Ireland?” And we’re delighted we stayed at it.
Perseverance is an awful trait – and we’ve got it in abundance. We could’ve thrown in the towel, and we were super close. We thought we had run a race, we thought we had asked the girls as much as we could ask of them. But they wanted us back, and [there was] unfinished business.”
‘This is a family’
And so it was back to the training ground and back to the drawing board for the duo. Bonded by their unwavering spirit in the Kerry ladies, Long and Quill pushed their side to their first Munster Championship title in seven years back in May. Following this was an unbeaten All-Ireland series for the Kingdom.
Ousting Armagh in the All-Ireland Semi-final was a confidence boost for Kerry, where they had lost to the Orchard County in the Division 1 League decider in April. Finding themselves in a third consecutive All-Ireland final, Kerry knew the upcoming journey to Croke Park all too well.
Their performance yesterday was immense, glittered with passion, grit and pure hunger. They got the better of a strong Galway side by a whopping 12 points. In the eyes of the managing pair, all 15 players deserve as All-Star this year.
For the last three years, they’ve played in ever single game that they could’ve possibly played in – that’s an amazing stat for any team. They’ve got to all the finals in the league, Munster finals and All-Ireland finals for the last three years. And just to get the big one is magical.
This isn’t a panel of players and management – this is a family.”
And now, Long and Quill have officially completed their tenure. They have accomplished the four goals they set out to achieve as managers – though they haven’t specified all of them, they confirmed that winning the All-Ireland championship was among them. They’ll leave a legacy of resilience, dedication, and a triumphant final chapter behind them.