‘Play the game, not the occasion’ urges hero of ‘77
James Kean, centre-forward on the St Colman’s team that won the 1977 Hogan Cup, pins his winners medal, which he recently had converted to a broach, on his wife Patricia’s lapel, in the family shop in Claremorris. Picture: John Corless
James Kean was centre-forward on the only St Colman’s College team to date, to have won the Hogan Cup. Along the way to that famous 1977 triumph, they defeated St Nathy’s of Ballaghadreen and Summerhill of Sligo, to face arch-rivals, St Jarlath’s of Tuam, in the Connacht final. They advanced, after a replay, to beat St Brendan’s of Killarney in the All-Ireland semi-final before facing the defending champions, Carmelite College of Moate, in the decider, in Roscommon’s Dr Hyde Park.
“I remember the final well,” says James, the Managing Director of Kean’s hardware store in Claremorris. “It was a dry day which really suited our team, although we were quite a physical team.
“We went up in the morning, as always. Fr Newell picked up myself and Gabriel Cuddy in the Square and we made our way towards Hyde Park. I think the game was at 3 o’clock.
“The team met in the Royal Hotel in Roscommon for a cup of tea. We didn’t have a meal, we had something light. It wouldn't have been anything substantial before a match.”
Tony Geraghty (also a staff member) and Fr Newell spoke to the team in hotel.
“I can't remember exactly what they said but Tony was very good with young fellas and the message was to play football and not to play the occasion. It was good advice because the occasion can become a problem, especially when you are talking about All- Irelands.”
But having proceeded then on to Hyde Park, James Kean recalls that the St Colman’s team didn’t even have a run out around the pitch before the game.
“That sort of thing wasn't the done thing at the time. We just had a bit of a chat,” he recalls.
He also said that fortune had been on the side of St Colman’s in even getting to the final.
“We rode our luck a bit to get there but it doesn't matter how you get to the final, it’s what you do when you get there that counts. We had certain individuals in the team who weren't prepared to let that opportunity go. John Boyle, the great man from Derrowel, and the late Padraig Monaghan, definitely would be players who were very determined, and Padraic Coyne, who had missed the semi-final through suspension (he had been sent-off in the Connacht final win against St Jarlath’s).
“We had the likes of Mick Walsh from Kilbeg and Adrian Garvey and Peter McGuinness. There were a lot of leaders in that team, I couldn't really pick out one in particular but we definitely had a lot of leaders on the pitch.
“I hadn’t paid particularly well in the semi-final. Gabriel Casey of St Brendan’s absolutely cleaned me. But that was the sort of a team it was, there was always someone there to pick up the slack.” What of the game itself against Moate?
“It was a hard fought win,” says James Kean. “Most of my memories are actually from before the game. I remember being in St Colman’s and Mick McHugh came out into the corridor one day, and he had the or , or whatever papers were on the go at the time, and they had a big write-up on the Moate team. They were well-known and were previous champions. The paper had them all there, pen pictures and with all their details of age and height and weight. And we looked at them and went through them and realised that on paper, anyway, they were no better than we were. We had fellas the same age and weight and height or taller. That write-up was a help to us, in my opinion anyway.”
James also remembers that motivation was never a problem for the 1977 St Colman’s team.
“We were derided in the run up to the final, especially by a journalist from the Connacht Tribune when we won the Connacht final. We had beaten St Jarlath’s after a replay. That drove us on.
“I remember about five years after the final, reading about John Maloney, who was a great referee from Tipperary who had refereed many All-Ireland finals. He was asked what was and the best game he ever refereed and said it was the St Colman's v Moate All-Ireland Colleges 1977 final, because both teams went out to play in the spirit the sport was meant to be played in. That was a fantastic compliment. It was an enormous compliment from somebody who was revered in the game.
“Along with that, one of the other memories I have is that at Easter we trained vigorously in the college with Tony Geraghty, Mick McHugh (staff member) and Fr Newell. And we were very well supported by all the staff, I have to say, because lads were brought in to train while people were on holidays. They came from Kiltimagh and Balla and from Irishtown and Ballandine. Teachers went out of their way to help us. I'm not saying that teachers aren’t doing it now but it was remarkable back then. It was a huge challenge and a commitment at the time.
“We were told how good Moate were on the hand-pass and this was a new phenomenon at the time and Moate were supposedly much better than us, but we trained so hard and practiced so vigilantly at that time to get it right, and it worked for us on the day.
“We had no clue how the game was going to go, right up to the last couple of minutes. I think we were six or seven points up early on and they got a lucky goal through Aiden Holland, just before half-time. That brought them back into it.
“I was marking Martin Coyne – known as The Yank. They moved him from centre-back into midfield and he started to create a lot of problems for us. But when we put Padraig Monaghan on him, he had absolutely no more influence on the game. That switch was the changing of the game in our favour.
“I’ll never forget the celebrations afterwards because I don't think anybody expected that we were going to win. We went to the Royal Hotel afterwards and we had a meal there with the squad and the mentors.
“I remember the late Fr Michael Lyons (then principal of the college) saying how proud he was. We were the first day-school outside of Dublin to achieve this. And, no matter what happened after this, we were always the first to do it, and it would always be something to be proud of.”
And that 1977 St Colman’s College team remains the last – and only the second ever, after St Nathy’s in 1957 – from Mayo to win the Hogan Cup. What James Kean has always taken most from the achievement, and the experience, is the friendships that were forged in the process.
“We had a get-together last October following the death of Padraig Monaghan. It was really sitting down among friends. There was no wondering what will he think or what will she think, or any of that. It was perfectly relaxed. There were never any egos in that team and along with that, you know, we all knew we had a job to do and we went about doing it. Some days it works and some days it doesn't but as a unit, we got through.
“It wasn't just the fifteen on the field; it was the lads who were on the sideline that came in and also all of the teachers and the backup that we that we got from the staff in St Colman’s. The friendships were formed and were long lasting,” said Kean, who is asked for his opinion of the St Colman’s team of 2025.
“I think they're extremely talented. I think they have a number of leaders as well, very similar to ourselves. Maghera are going to be difficult, they are a northern team so they're going to be dogged and I think Colman’s are going to have to match them pound for pound,” which he expects them to do.
“I'd be very hopeful. They have some lovely footballers. But like everything, not everything is going to work on the day, but it's the plans that are made and it's the players who step up on the day that’ll make it happen.
“We were lucky that on our day, all fifteen played and had to play, and I think the same will have to happen if Colman’s are going to win it again. I honestly hope they do, because we need to put this thing to bed, the once-off, all eighteen players will need to step up.”
James, however, is reluctant to offer advice to the present team, only what was told to the St Colman’s team 48 years ago.
“Don't play the occasion, play the game. Croke Park is a big stage and it is a big occasion but get your game plan right and stick to it. Support one another and after that you can't do anymore.”
