How a five time All-Ireland winning manager began with a title triumph as a teen on a Kildare team

Kerry senior football team manager Jack O’Connor has won a fifth All-Ireland title as manager.

It’s been quite the season for the Kerryman, whose team was beaten by Meath and written off before they played Armagh before winning the Sam Maguire.

But he was also playing football in Kildare long before he became Kerry manager for the first time and his links with County Kildare go back a long way, well before he managed the Kildare senior team in 2020-21.

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O’Connor played with an amalgamated Celbridge-Leixlip team (St. Pauls) in 1978 as a minor (under 18) footballer.

And, according to his contemporaries, he was an outstanding player.

He’s pictured above on the extreme right in the front row.

It’s nearly impossible to imagine that large towns like Celbridge and Leixlip would consent - or be allowed - to join forces to field a team. 

Or that Sarsfields and Moorefield would amalgamate to form Newbridge - their opponents that day.

But the huge population growth in much of the county had yet to happen.

So, these two teams or four clubs battled it out for the Minor Football League title of 1978 in Clane, with the north Kildare side prevailing.

The origin of the white jerseys worn by the team is not certain, but were probably borrowed from the Clane club.

There were some other notables on the team too. 

Shane McWey represented Kildare at junior level while Noel Shaw played for the Lilies as a minor and is the brother of Mark, who had a long innings as a senior Kildare player.

Des O’Connor (no relation to Jack) is extreme left, front row. 

He’s a member of the family who own the eponymous O’Connor’s pub beside the Naas Library and Cultural Centre as well as the Kildrought Lounge in Celbridge -  and he also played rugby with Barnhall.

So how did Jack O’Connor, five times an All-Ireland senior winning manager with Kerry not to mind minor and under 21 successes, come to win a county medal in Kildare ?

At the time he was a student at St. Patrick’s College Maynooth, or Maynooth University as it’s known today.

Picture caption Back: Unknown, Barry Hayden, Joe L’Estrange, Tony Potter, Lorcan McCormack, Gearoid Carolan, Ray Kiernan.

Front: Des O’Connor, Unknown, John Behan, Ger Harte, Noel Shaw, Shane McWey, Mickey Kelly, Jack O’Connor.