Didnât listen to it yet
Ken seems to hate Liverpool Football Club
Another person Kloppo has destroyed
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He was a massive fan along and I was surprised by his tone tbh.
Do you still have to pay for that shite?
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Ya I think so. Itâs a very good listen most days.
I havenât listened to it in an awful long time, probably since it wasnât free anymore. Once you got over the first 20 minutes of nauseating shite it wasnât too bad
Nice article on Kelleher and Cork @backinatracksuit
Towards the end of 1990, a teenage Roy Keane returned to the north side of Cork and went into a pub dressed in a leather jacket. He had not long signed for Nottingham Forest and he was doing well. He was not a hero yet, but his reputation was growing. This did not matter to a group of lads having a drink at the bar. They saw what he was wearing and turned their backs.
Itâs that sort of place, Cork. All these years later, Keane visits the city regularly to see his mum, Marie. He likes to travel by boat and the fresh air of the Irish Sea helps clear his mind. He revealed this to Gary Neville last summer on his YouTube channel, the Overlap. Since then, Keane has been photographed helping out at the Penny Dinners cafe, which âprovides hot, nourishing midday meals to anyone who is hungry in Corkâ. Keane certainly does not do this because he thinks it makes him look good â he has never been a public relations sort of man. It seems obvious he does it because he thinks it is the right thing to do.
For that â and everything else he has achieved since 1990 â youâll be hard pushed to find anyone in Cork who has a bad word to say about him. Keane is a defining figure in the history of Ireland, Manchester United and the Premier League â maybe in that order. Subconsciously, every footballer from Cork is judged against him. Yet he was a one-off, an âexceptionalâ personality and sports person according to the author Michael Moynihan, who has written a book about Cork in the 1980s â the decade before Keane became famous. Keane, he says, possessed typical Cork traits because of his expectations on himself and others â an âirritabilityâ.
Beside Keane in the United team was Denis Irwin, another son of Cork. The full-back was quieter and level headed; a more technical but lower-maintenance footballer who nevertheless possessed a supreme belief. âIf he didnât have that, he wouldnât have played for Manchester United for so long with Keane,â suggests Moynihan.
It would be inaccurate to suggest Cork has been waiting for another footballer to come along and take the game by the throat, as Keane did. There have been good, solid careers but nothing like Keaneâs â or even Irwinâs.
The feeling, however, is a bit different when Caoimhin Kelleher is mentioned. That Jurgen Klopp has the confidence in the 23-year-old to start him in the Carabao Cup final this weekend, even though Alisson is available, reflects his potential. Klopp is not doing him a favour.
In 2018, Alisson briefly became the most expensive goalkeeper in the world. Liverpool have since won the Champions League and, for the first time in 30 years, the Premier League. Yet Kelleher has shown over the last two years that he is capable of dealing with sharp pressure moments, when he has seemed like the calmest man in the stadium. There are parallels with Alisson in terms of stylishness, as well as career paths: the Brazilian did not establish himself at Internacional until roughly the age Kelleher is now.
Kelleher has kept seven clean sheets in 16 games for Liverpool. Klopp described the Carabao Cup as âhis competitionâ after the latest of them in the semi-final second leg victory at Arsenal. We learned more about his character that night from Klopp, who kept hold of a story from before the first leg when Alisson played instead â because Klopp wanted his first-choice pick to develop some rhythm after a spell out of the team with COVID-19.
When Klopp told Kelleher that he wasnât playing at Anfield, he just about accepted the decision, but that did not mean he was happy. He wanted to know why, and this made Klopp realise he was dealing with a serious personality.
To be Liverpoolâs goalkeeper, you need a big personality. Moynihan says Kelleher is more like Irwin than Keane but that does not mean he is nothing like Keane. In Cork, where people tend not to be lacking in conviction, the reaction to Kelleherâs inclusion tends to be, âWell, of course heâs playing for LiverpoolâŚâ
Noel Spillane, another writer from Cork, whose coverage of sport in the city stretched across five decades until his retirement in 2017, came across Kelleher for the first time when he reported on a schoolsâ cup final, which Kelleher helped Presentation Brothers win. âYou just knew he was going to go far,â says Spillane, who thinks Ireland have found the next Packie Bonner â the first of the great Irish goalkeepers. âCaoimhin was as cold as ice. Nothing seems to faze him, whatever the size of the occasion.â
As ever in Cork, conversations about football drift back towards the most famous player the city has produced and Spillane sees some of Keaneâs qualities in Kelleher, volunteering that ânothing will get in his wayâ in the same way that nothing got in Keaneâs way when he left Cork for Nottingham a lifetime ago. This had been big news in Cork, though Forest â two-time European Cup winners and then still being led by Brian Clough â was never going to be big enough for Keane given the clubâs slow downward trajectory.
At Forest, Keane initially had to get past an England international in Steve Hodge to break into the team and he did so within a few months. Given Alisson has already established legendary status at Liverpool (given too, he signed a long-term contract less than a year ago), it does make you wonder what a potentially unstoppable force like Kelleher might have to do if he concludes there is an immovable object in front of him. In Cork, Spillane is not alone in saying, âFor most clubs in the Premier League, heâd already be the number 1.â
Keaneâs career at United ended abruptly on 18 November 2005. The same day, Cork City beat Derry City 2-0 to clinch the League of Ireland title for only the second time. On one hand, it had felt like the end of the world: Keane had emboldened the cityâs sense of self-worth, giving Cork a presence on a global stage. Locally, however, it could not be overestimated how important its football teamâs success was for a place that on a national level possesses a mood of otherness.
Dylan OâConnell was only nine years old when this happened, but his recollections are clear. He is not a United fan but he remembers wanting to see Keane do well. âIt was devastating news,â he admits. Until that moment in late 2005, it felt like Cork could not lose. That year, the county won the All Ireland Championship in hurling for the second time in a row. Cork also won the double in womenâs Gaelic football and camogie. In the 2005-06 season, Munster won the Heineken Cup. The city was the European Capital of Culture and Batman Begins came out with Cillian Murphy, who grew up in Blackrock (like Kelleher) playing the role of Scarecrow.
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Kelleher in action for Liverpool in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup against Arsenal (Photo: IAN KINGTON/AFP via Getty Images)
OâConnell, now a sports reporter, recalls the celebrations after Cork Cityâs triumph and they âwere pretty bigâ. Yet Keaneâs sudden departure from United (Irwin went to Wolverhampton Wanderers three years earlier) left a temporary numbness and a void that has never been filled.
Seventeen years later, a mural of Keane in Corkâs north side says, âFor me, itâs always Cork first and Ireland secondâŚâ At Cork City matches, despite the clubâs current struggles in the second division, fans still sing, âWeâre from Cork and weâre better than youâŚâ
Whereas Dublin drinks Guinness, Cork has Murphyâs or Beamish. In the deep south of Ireland, Cork â close to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean â has the second-biggest natural harbour in the world. It is a dock city that has long been self-reliant in its own kind of way, and far from the centre.
Cork possesses the sort of exceptionalism you might experience in Liverpool and, like Liverpool, the 1980s defines the way the city feels about itself as well as the way it is viewed. In Cork, the Ford and Dunlop factories shut down and great hardship followed. When Keane was growing up, the unemployment rates in Cork were the highest in Ireland.
Moynihan, whose book, Crisis and Comeback, documents this period, once lived in the United States. He says that although Munster and Texas are dissimilar in lots of other ways, they are both places apart: everything is bigger and better in Cork, âpeople are proud and would rather live there than anywhere else,â but they also think they do not get a fair shake over the big national questions.
After the â80s, Cork, to a fair degree, became relevant to people outside its boundaries again through Keane, as well as the sporting achievements of other individuals and teams. Last year, the Irish state broadcaster released a show that profiled the top 10 sportsmen the country has produced and four of them were from Cork.
Keaneâs presence as the only footballer in a list that included representatives in Gaelic football, hurling and rugby explains why it has been harder for the city to produce another player like him. Spillane says the cityâs sporting landscape has barely changed since 1972 when he started reporting. âThe place is sports mad,â he says, adding that he estimates hurling is the most popular sport in Cork followed by Gaelic football. Then comes football, or soccer as it is called in Ireland, and rugby. There is also a huge interest in horse racing and boxing.
The range of options means it is easy for one discipline to lose talent to another sport. If, say, Cork City are not doing well, then it is possible for both participants at a younger age as well as older spectators to turn their attention to the hurling. âOnce they are gone, itâs very hard to win them back,â says Spillane, a Cork City fan who believes the clubâs history reflects the challenge Cork football generally faces.
In less than 100 years, there have been ten football teams from Cork, the latest of which is Cork City â founded only in 1984. Fords FC was renamed Fordsons within a year of its formation before it became known as Cork FC, a club that lasted 14 and a half seasons. Towards the end of that period, there was Cork Bohemians (lasting two seasons) before the first incarnation of Cork City came along, a club whose progress was interrupted by war. After Cork United and Cork Athletic, there was Evergreen United which became Cork Celtic. Their rivals were Cork Hibernians. Between 1976 and 1982, Albert Rovers became Cork Alberts and then the second version of Cork United. Within two years of United going out of business, Cork City was formed.
While Keane played for Cobh Ramblers, formed in 1922, and Kelleher (a supporter of the hurling team in Blackrock) was never attached to either a professional or semi-professional club in the city before joining Liverpool, perhaps the story of Dave Barry best reflects the way things are in Cork. Moynihan and Spillane have seen a healthy number of sportspeople change codes. âThere is a huge tradition of people being good at more than one sport,â says Moynihan. âAnd they donât always change because theyâre not good at something,â agrees Spillane.
Barry was the right half-forward for St Finbarrâs, who won Gaelic footballâs All Ireland championship twice. In addition to that achievement, he also played soccer for Cork City, who in 1991 met Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup. Barry reacted to Steffen Effenbergâs suggestion that he âlooked old enoughâ to be his father by putting Cork 1-0 up in the first leg. Heâd spent that morning in his day job fitting boilers.
Presentation Brothers is not Eton, but it is a fee-paying school which throughout its history has given more attention to rugby and hurling. Spillane was involved when it started fielding a competitive football team for the first time. This came about because of the determination of a few students, who initially felt the force of opposition from those at the school with a controlling influence. In their first year, they played another college from Limerick and when the principal saw them wearing an all-white kit, he suggested they were already beaten. âWe looked like angels,â says Spillane. âBut we won 6-0.â
Before his death in 2014, Ray Kelleher worked as a PE teacher at the college and this afforded a way in for his son, Caoimhin â one of six siblings. For pupils, entrance tends to lead somewhere, whether through education or sport. It has provided countless Irish rugby internationals, the most famous of whom is probably Ronan OâGara. Over the last four decades, three years havenât gone by without at least one former student featuring for the national team. Yet Kelleher was never interested in rugby. Aiden Twomey, the deputy principal, who was a student at the college before becoming a teacher 32 years ago, says if Kelleher had an interest in rugby, it floated by quickly.
According to Twomey, Kelleher was a gentle, intelligent and determined student and sportsperson. âFootball was more his thing.â Other footballers from the college have made it to a professional standard, including Noel Cantwell and more recently, Brian Lenihan. Another, Alan Bennett, spent eight years in Englandâs lower leagues before returning to the college as a teacher.
Kelleherâs transformation from county-standard centre-forward to goalkeeper has been covered before. Yet there is another layer to this story. For Cork, he had a reputation for spectacular goals, but he was not a runner. Some of the coaches were not sure whether he had the required mobility for the team and, for a while, he dropped out of the scene before returning in a different position after his father suggested to the coaches at Ringmahon Rangers that he might be good at saving shots rather than scoring from them.
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Kelleher has impressed for Liverpool when heâs come in for Alisson (Photo: Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
For the school teams, he had not made this transition until Twomey spoke to his son â also a teacher â and persuaded him to try him as a goalkeeper. âWe still have family arguments where we debate which position Caoimhin was better at,â he says.
Once the decision had been taken, the college won a cup final, beating local rivals, Christian Brothers. âIt didnât matter what came at Caoimhin that day, he saved it,â recalls Twomey. âIt was daylight robbery â criminals have been in prison for less. Without Caoimhin performing as he did, weâd have lost the game.â Instead, the winning goal, scored in injury time, had Kelleherâs involvement. His pass to the left-wing resulted in a cross and a back-post header. âYou can imagine the celebrationsâŚâ
Twomey decided that he was good enough to represent one of the older age groups. What followed was a difficult conversation with a pupil in the school yard, who was three years older than Kelleher. Ger OâConnell was a fine young goalkeeper, according to Twomey, but he ultimately believed Kelleher was better.
âGer reminded me recently that I told him one day, heâd be looking up at the TV screen and see Caoimhin playing in a big game somewhere. This was why I had to push him in front of him. Fair play to Ger, he can laugh about it now.â
This decision helped that team win the Munster Cup. By then, Kelleher had already been on trial at Aston Villa and Manchester United. âCaoimhin was a quiet lad anyway, but for the whole year he barely said a word to anyone. That was until the final. In the changing rooms, he said to the rest of the lads, âJust make sure we score once today. Thatâs all we need because they ainât getting one past me.ââ
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Good article. The great irony is the emergence of bazunu at the same time. He might never reach this level of team again so can understand why heâs not rushing away but he definitely needs to leave Liverpool to get first team football soon.
I wonder will Ewan be banging on about how every Irish player playing in a cup final this weekend is a private schoolboy?
Yeh I didnât think heâd make it at the top level after his first few senior games, parried too much and struggled physically, but he really improved. His skillset is more suited to teams that play out from the back so if he moves on to a lower EPL team he could struggle under an Allardyce type.
He should go to a European team. be great for him.
Also tended to be playing behind inexperienced defences in those early days. When you stick a Fergal Van Dijk (as yer man from Clare FM calls him) in front of him, it makes a hell of a difference. Be great to see him lift the cup tomorrow. Iâm sure the whole forum would be delighted
It would lift the roof of the Ratoath Inn.
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Iâll be there for midday
The SoCoDu LFC supporters club are running a bus to the Inn from Goggins in Monkstown, leaving at 10:30am. @artfoley is on the guitar for the trip
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Free earplugs for the journey
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On a more serious note, the father-in-law is invited over for dinner tomorrow evening, he asked us to tape the rugby so that he can watch it when he gets here 
#Teamofus have to take priority. Follow the Redmen on Livescore.
You know what to do
âSometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your nameâ
Ratoath Us Never
Well he was told, in the nicest possible way, that rugby watching was not happening here tomorrow.
I was going to be nice and offer him the sitting room while I would head to the attic but I actually thought, fuck that
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