"It’s the stuff of dreams" - Johnny Doyle and the magic of Allenwood

Speaking to the media after his club’s Leinster Intermediate final triumph, Johnny Doyle signed off with a simple message, “What a day to be Allenwood.”

A Kildare legend and club icon, the story is so often about Doyle and his evergreen performances. But two months shy of his 46th birthday he remains the same man of humility and caring about the people around him. When asked about his thoughts and his feelings on the win, Doyle always speaks about the people of his club.

He said, “I don’t know what way to think, it’s a special day. I grew up listening to stories about the lean times in Allenwood when we had nothing only a dream. There are some of them men here today. I was talking to Pat Cronnelly there, 82 or 83 years of age and his vision was to have a team in Allenwood someday and now to be Leinster Champions is phenomenal. It’s unbelievable, credit to the group lads, we’re lucky ones that are on the field that get to play, but it’s a win for the club and for the whole of Allenwood.”

In a modern GAA world seemingly full of suppressive lists of requirements for young men and women, added with refereeing abuse and many other issues in the game, Allenwood cut through it all as an exemplar of what the sport is all about. The feeling of community, both giving and receiving respect and a sense of belonging for all involved.

“If anyone deserves a bit of credit for today it's Larry Malone, the work that man has done behind the scenes, alongside so many others,” Doyle said.  “As well as Sean Malone, our chairman, Joyce Byrne who is our treasurer, Michelle Moran our secretary…there are so many great people behind this club that want us to be the best we can be. It’s a long time coming and it’s something that in my wildest dreams I never thought that we’d do, it’s just a special moment.”

Another trend that this Allenwood side are bucking is the concern of pundits nationwide that every side must revert to 15 behind the ball or maintain mindlessly boring possession. Death by a thousand handpasses. But there is no fear in Noel Mooney’s now Leinster Intermediate Champions, a team that plays sparkling football and pushes each of their opponents to their limits.

The Allenwood of 2023 are fearless, resilient and full of heart. It’s a side that any supporter in the country would be envious of as they pay their hard earned cash to see proper football, to see their side have a go at teams and work their socks off doing it.

Doyle said of his squad, “These lads don’t know how to give up and we talked about that all the time. That is a really big thing we bring, we don’t stop going, we attack, attack, attack.

“If we make a mistake we don’t mind, we’ll take the ball back and we’ll go again. And to save the best performance of the year for the final was unbelievable.”

Those risks taken have paid off in spades for Allenwood as they outgunned Scoil Ui Chonaill to claim their provincial title. Trailing by four points with eight minutes remaining in the first half, Allenwood would come alive and turn this game on its head and lead by that same margin themselves when the half-time whistle blew. A blistering display.

When prompted about collecting his second Leinster medal, Doyle laughed and said, “I have plenty of room for it.” 

Adding, “Unbelievable when you think about it, 23 years ago I won one first and didn’t think I’d be still playing, let alone in a Leinster final and getting ready for an All-Ireland semi-final. 

“It’s the stuff of dreams. We are going to enjoy ourselves, we’re going to go back to the village, back to our own club and have a really good night. And maybe tomorrow we might give mass a skip and we’ll enjoy it.”

Doyle still had the rest of Kildare on his mind post-match as he passed his best wishes to Kildare Senior champs Naas and their neighbours Milltown in their respective provincial quests.

An Allenwood man in the truest sense of the word, Doyle spoke about his idol, his father, and managing his emotions in the lead up to the Leinster final.

He said, “It’s in your head all week what you have to do on the feld and you are trying to not let your head wonder about what if we win, you just try to play the game that is in front of you.

“It’s unbelievable to be here with this group of lads. I’m an Allenwood man to the core, I’m a supporter, anything that went on I followed my Dad’s shadow all the way through. And when that final whistle went today that would be the people you’d be thinking about and you do get emotional. It's just such a win for everybody that has ever done a bit of work for our club. Today is a win for them.”