A smile crosses Cathal Keane's face when Listowel Emmets are called the 'sleeping giants' of Kerry football. He's heard it before, particularly this autumn as the club rose from its slumber in the Kerry Premier Junior Championship.
The town is the third most populated in the Kingdom, well behind Tralee and Killarney, but also considerably ahead of Kenmare and Castleisland.
Emmets is also the club which produced All-Ireland winners Tim Kennelly, his sons Noel and Tadhg, along with Stephen Stack and Brendan Guiney.
The production line record is there but players from the town who have worn green and gold at senior level in the past decade have been few. Conor Cox, now playing for Roscommon, is one of the most recent.
In October, Emmets defeated Ballymacelligott after extra-time to win a thrilling final and claim their first senior silverware outside of the North Kerry Championship since 2002's intermediate decider victory.
17 January 2016; Conor Cox, Kerry, in action against Robbie Kiely, Tipperary. McGrath Cup Group A Round 3, Tipperary v Kerry. Sean Treacy Park, Tipperary. Picture credit: Diarmuid Greene / SPORTSFILE
Wins in the Munster final against Kilmurry and the All-Ireland semi-final against Lahardane MacHales followed to set up this weekend's All-Ireland final against Cavan side Arva.
"I've heard it a lot, that tag of sleeping giants," says Listowel goalkeeper Keane, "and when you look at Listowel as a town, yeah, I guess so, but then we didn't have the performances to back it up so it doesn't really follow through.
"For us, we felt we could have been performing better. We didn't get over the line in those championship games so it's hard to say we should be playing at a higher level or doing this when we're not."
4 December 2011; Tadhg Kennelly, right, Listowel Emmets, and Paul Galvin, Finuge, during the game. North Kerry Senior Football Championship Semi-Final, Listowel Emmets v Finuge, Shannon Park, Tarbert, Co. Kerry. Picture credit: Stephen McCarthy / SPORTSFILE
Dawn appeared on the horizon for Listowel late in 2022 when the club won its first North Kerry Championship in seven years, defeating favourites Castleisland Desmonds in the final.
Enda Murphy was subsequently installed as manager. One of his first calls was to Joe Joe Grimes, a Listowel native who had transferred to Cork club Clonakilty in 2020. The following year, Grimes helped his new side reach the Cork Premier SFC final, and in 2022, he made his inter-county debut with the Rebels. Getting him back was a coup.
"Joe Joe has been great," says Keane.
"He's a great lad to have around as well. I would have played lots of underage football with Joe Joe. He was missed in the years he was away."
Five-time All-Ireland winner Marc Ó Sé has been another key addition. His father Micheál worked as an agricultural officer in the Listowel area for two decades while his brothers Fergal, Darragh and Tomás all went to school in the town. When Emmets chairman Noel Kennelly asked him to join the backroom team, his Listowel connections meant it didn't take the Ventry man long to answer.
15 September 2014; Kerry's Marc O Sé in conversation with former Kerry footballer Noel Kennelly after a squad training and press day ahead of the All-Ireland Senior Football Final. Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney, Co. Kerry. Picture credit: Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE
"Marc has brought a mindset that we're going to win,” says Keane.
"From a player point of view, he's been great. I know he was a defender, but it's not just about him working on the defence, his footballing knowledge as a whole has shone through. He's done work with the forwards as well.
"As a back, he might have known exactly what he didn't want so that translates both ways. He's been a great addition. He came in a couple of weeks before the start of the championship and gave the players a lift. He's someone we all watched down in Kerry and we all admired in the Kerry jersey for many years.
"So when he's on the sideline and looking to pick players to get into a team, it might have put an extra motivation on some fellas, not that we needed it."
A sign of that motivation is the commuting many players have done to be part of the panel. Grimes, a garda, travels from Clonakilty while Keane and his brother Seán live in Dublin.
"There's a couple of lads in college in Limerick and Cork," says Keane.
"There's been lots of sacrifice, which is needed if you want to win the big games. It is tough, there's no way around it.
"Between work and the club, they've been really good. I can be flexible enough in terms of working from home and working from the office.
"Then, Enda and the boys know when I'm coming down, the training plan for the next few weeks is put in place whenever I need so I know in advance what nights we're training.
"There are times during midweek when you won't be able to come down. They are fully aware of the situation and have been a savage help. It's not easy. There aren't too many of us coming down from Dublin."
8 January 2022; Joe Grimes of Cork during the McGrath Cup group A match between Clare and Cork at Hennessy Memorial Park in Miltown Malbay, Clare. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Though there are no Kerry senior players on the Listowel panel, there are those, like Bryan Sweeney and Niall Collins, who have experienced Croke Park while winning minor All-Irelands with the Kingdom.
"It's something you could only dream of as a kid. I'm sure thousands of people have said the same before their first match in Croke Park and I'm also sure they would have meant it," says Keane.
"I can remember my first time going up to Croke Park and it was with the club on a tour [with the U10 team]. Coming down, you're dreaming then, 'Will I ever get back?'
"So, to get back with the club and the fellas you've grown up with and trained so hard with, it's not just this year we've trained hard for the championship, it's been building blocks over the last number of years.
"Everyone who's been part of it for the last number of years are all supporting us. When you see everyone around the town and the colours, it's brilliant. It's exciting, it's great."
20 September 2015; Bryan Sweeney, Kerry, shoots to score his side's first goal of the game. Electric Ireland GAA Football All-Ireland Minor Championship Final, Kerry v Tipperary, Croke Park, Dublin. Picture credit: Ramsey Cardy / SPORTSFILE
Sunday's final, win or lose, should be the beginning of a bright future for Listowel. Over the last few years, Pa Walsh, Eddie Healy, Darragh Lynch, Aaron Kennelly, Aaron Carey and Jack McElligott have all been part of Kerry minor teams.
"There have been a lot of underage players coming through and making their stamp," says Keane.
"There was a big change in the club, player-wise in the senior team. It was quite a successful senior team throughout the 2000s and at the start of the 2010s. Then, quite quickly, we went through a big change in terms of personnel and people moving away.
"Just because you're a sleeping giant doesn't mean you deserve to go on and win the game. Whether you're from a big town or a small country club, the work has to be put in and in the last couple of years, I saw a big change from 2019 - 2020. We got back up to Division Two in the County League and have been there ever since.
"Every year we've been building and building. It was slow to get here but I think the team is in a good place age-wise. It's a very young team. I'm one of the older players at 26. The majority of the team are in their very early 20s or teenagers."
Listowel is awake.
This season, AIB will honour #TheToughest players in Gaelic Games - those who persevere no matter what, giving their all for their club and community. AIB is in its 33rd year supporting the AIB GAA All-Ireland Club Championships.
