Morley hails Kerry's support
Tadhg Morley hoists the Sam Maguire Cup following Kerry's All-Ireland SFC Final win over Galway at Croke Park.
By Cian Murphy
Kingdom hero Tadhg Morley has hailed the passionate Kerry supporters as the 16th man that helped them get over the line and return to All-Ireland glory.
Templenoe rock Morley was speaking to the newly available GAA Croke Park annual Ár gCluichí Féin. He gives credit to the energy from the green and gold fans that edged them forward when crunch battles were in the balance.
He said: “Hearing the roars of the Kerry supporters really drove us on in all of our games, especially in the final which was such a tight encounter. Having them there cheering us, helped us greatly to achieve our dream as a team. Not having them there during the Covid era really affected us.
“The Covid period was extremely difficult to deal with as we had to train on our own; do zoom gym sessions, zoom bike sessions, travel on our own to games and miss out on that connection with teammates before and after training in the dressing rooms and when eating dinner. Furthermore, the lack of crowds meant the atmosphere was dull – even for big championship games and they felt like challenge games. It wasn’t very enjoyable overall.
The new GAA Croke Park Annual, available in shops and from info@dbapublishing.ie.
“Now, when it is back to normal, you take more pleasure in the small things such as eating dinner with a teammate and of course, the big crowds at matches.”
As well as the energy from the supporters, Morley says a crucial x-factor in the clean sweep of trophies in 2022 was the bond that existed among the squad and how the hurt of past failures brought them closer together.
He added: “Due to all those near misses over the years there was a lot of hurt and motivation with the group maturing immensely as a result, but the biggest difference was the bond created within the squad throughout the season. That bond was unbreakable.”
This Tadhg Morley interview features in the new GAA Croke Park Annual, available in shops and from info@dbapublishing.ie. The full colour 162 page edition is packed full of interesting news, reviews and features on a glorious Gaelic games year in 2022, including a collector’s dream of reproduced team listings from the major matches in the season.
