Calm presence amidst the storm

Ian O'Riordan talks to Kerry's Seamus Moynihan whose cool demeanour may prove a vital asset in Sunday's All-Ireland final

Had Seamus Moynihan read all the Sunday papers on the morning of Kerry's All-Ireland semi-final with Cork, then he would have thought the entire game rode on his confrontation with Colin Corkery. Even if he hadn't read a line, it was impossible not to feel the heat.

Moynihan's ability to deal with that sort of pressure is what's helped make him the most commanding and decorated player heading to Croke Park on Sunday. On any stage and against any opposition Moynihan takes pressure in all its guises and calmly checks it at the gate. On the field it is simply never a factor.

"If you want to put yourself under pressure that's your own prerogative," he says, with the ever-present glint of confidence in his eye. "I was just going out the last day to give it my best shot. And Colin was under as much pressure. He was up on the same pedestal.

"But if you believe what is said in the papers then you're living in a fool's paradise. The most important thing for us against Cork was the team performance, and we all did our part. And Cork know they had a bad day in the office. Just like we did against Meath last year. But we won't look back on it other than a game that got us into the final."

Pressure can come down many roads. When John McEnroe was once asked how Pat Rafter would deal with the pressure of being tennis' world number one, McEnroe replied that Rafter had just been voted the sexiest man on the planet. That was pressure.

The only pressure that matters now to Moynihan (28) is the kind that comes from the opposing players looking to break through the Kerry defence. When he intercepts any of that and sends the ball charging up the field in his own unique way, then the whole Kerry team get a lift.

Yet against Cork in June that defence was suffering from the pressure inflicted by Corkery, and Moynihan, playing at midfield, could do nothing about it: "The ball coming into Colin the last day certainly wasn't as good as it was down in Páirc Uí Chaoimh when he was marking Tom (O'Sullivan). It was hopping in front of him that day and Tom could do absolutely nothing about it. Every game is different, and ebbs and flows in a different way. The last day there was pressure coming on from outside and it made an awful difference, and helped me to get out to the ball that bit quicker."

With the Munster semi-final defeat to Cork a lot of the pressure fell off Kerry, only to resurface with all its hyperbole in the quarter-final draw against Galway. Moynihan reflects on that period as the turning point in Kerry's season. "When you hit rock bottom there is only way one to go. But we were fortunate that we met Galway in a position where they'd won the All-Ireland the year before, and had got out of Connacht relatively easy. Mayo should probably have beaten them and they never really rose up a gallop. Then they met a team like us that was revved up for it."

As former Kerry captain, Moynihan is used to dispersing whatever pressure might surround the team. Any mention of the 15-point win over Cork is thus comfortably handled. "We don't have to look very far back to see what can happen between semi-finals and finals. We know you get nothing for a semi-final performance.

"And we know we're up against the physically strongest team in country, stronger than they were two years ago. They've brought in a few guys like Ronan Clarke who is big addition at full forward. John McEntee played the football of his life on the 40 the last day, and the two midfield boys are totally underestimated. I thought Paul McGrane was man-of-the-match because his work-rate was so unbelievable

"They're playing some fantastic stuff and we have to go out and match their determination and if not then we'll find ourselves running all over the place. In 2000 we all know how lucky we were that day. They were up five points in the replay and maybe just held back a little, and we were just lucky Mike Frank got a goal and we got a couple of points on top of it.

"And people are all saying their full-back line may be slow but I haven't seen them being exposed. This is a very focused team and on top of that Joe Kernan has built this great determination and self-confidence. They're playing like their lives depend on it and that's what wins All-Irelands."