Pearses veteran values recent rise after several near misses

By Kevin Egan

When he kicked three points in the 2010 Roscommon minor final against St Ciarán’s, picking up a county medal as part of a highly-rated side that contained Éanna Ryan, Alan Duffy, Aaron Feehily and of course Niall Daly and Niall Carty, Emmet Kelly would have felt hugely optimistic about the potential for success that existed in Pádraig Pearses.

A county intermediate title followed in 2011, with Kelly breaking through already, and when they lost out to St Brigid’s in the 2012 senior final, there was a sense that this group was the coming team in Roscommon.

Except seasons came and went, but the ascension to the top of the tree never did. Kelly was usually there, chipping in with three or four points in big games, but instead of county titles and maybe even a sustained run with the Rossies, he and a handful of fellow Pearses forwards tended to be maligned by the long-standing stereotypical view that the Woodmount club was well capable of winning a county title from one to nine, but when it came to the men to finish the scores, they didn’t have what it takes.

Until, in 2019, those notions were well and truly dispelled. And since then, a second Roscommon championship and a Connacht senior title were added, which in the mind of their veteran attacker – and joint captain for those 2021 titles – is testament to the value of making a breakthrough.

“That was a big monkey to get off the back in 2019,” Kelly admitted, when speaking to the Westmeath Independent in advance of this Sunday’s county final.

“Although we lost it in 2020, we won it again in 2021 and went on to win Connacht, beating the best in Galway and the best in Mayo. If we hadn’t won in 2019, I don’t know that we would have had the belief to go on to the next level in 2021.

“You have a different mindset, you're a bit calmer, you can see out a game if the game is tight. We can hold on to a ball when we need to hold on.”

While the club has evolved, the senior team evolved, and so too did Kelly. Now, his role is often that of impact sub, coming in to get that killer score, or to steady the ship in the closing stages of big games. For a man that became very used to leading the way in the forward division, it required a serious shift in mindset.

“You're preparing yourself for finishing a game, maybe ten minutes to get in, have an impact, get on the ball, get a score,” he said.

“You know it's going to be a lift for everyone then if you do get a score, and that’s what you’re aiming for. You're training the same as everyone else that but you have to get rid of the disappointment that you're not going to be starting any more. You have to be ready for your impact of coming in, finishing for the team.

“If you get an opportunity coming on to a ball, you have to have your shooting on point because you might only get one chance. And to be honest, it's not that big of a difference for me. I don't really I don't really mind it that much. The worst problem is when you don't get in!”

Against St Brigid’s, he must have wondered if that was going to happen. He was fifth man off the bench in the 58th minute, but as it happened, he still had over 20 minutes to play, due to extra-time. And like the rest of the team, it was exactly where he wanted to be.

“It was well documented that we were looking to get that game,” Kelly replied.

“They've been a brilliant team, last year they should have won the All-Ireland, they'll know that themselves, but we knew we were not a bad team either. Like we're well able to match them, physicality-wise and everything. It was just an intense battle that day, and we knew early in the game that we had arrived into it. There was a couple of turnovers there that we've spoken about, and we kind of knew then that, we're in it here today.

“We knew we were going well at the time and you want to play the best in it as well. So we got over that one, and obviously that opened up the whole championship really, the four so-called underdogs winning that weekend.

“Everyone felt that had a chance at that stage and Roscommon Gaels were no different, they're going very well, more or less like the same as us. They have a few older players and lots of good young players coming as well on the back of getting to four or five minor finals. They got to a junior semi-final as well so confidence is high in their club.”

Asked about the buzz of preparing for a county final, Kelly replied: “Honestly, I love playing. I didn't see winning the quarter-final as getting to a semi-final, or winning the semi as getting to a final. I just looking at it as two more weeks to come up to Pearses training with the lads. I enjoy it, and it’s not going to last forever.”

Maybe not, but Emmet Kelly’s story with Pádraig Pearses has had a fair few twists already. There’s still time for more, starting this Sunday.