Kerry's All-Ireland triumph of 1997 will indelibly be linked with the exploits of Maurice Fitzgerald, the Cahirciveen genius who raised his game to a near celestial plane at the perfect time. Cometh the hour etc.
After copper-fastening his legend in a humdrum All-Ireland final, Fitzgerald travelled with Kerry to New York for the league game against Cavan to commemorate the 1947 Polo Grounds final. Again, on a crisp autumn day, he gave the impression of a player at the pinnacle of his powers. Nailing 1-10 out at Downing Stadium in Randall Island, he was responsible for all bar two points of his team's tally.
It must have been inconceivable at that time that just three seasons later Kerry football would not still revolve around Fitzgerald's game. He remains a totemic figure, of course, but injury - long a problem for the player - permitted him but the briefest period on the summit.
This Sunday, Kerry enter the Munster final against Clare with Fitzgerald among the substitutes, overwhelming favourites to emerge as provincial champions again and many's people fancy for the big prize. That their formidable series of league results and solid win against Cork was completed without Fitzgerald (he played for only the final 16 minutes in Killarney) is noteworthy. Perhaps the long periods without the Cahirciveen man have forced his colleagues to demonstrate a new independence. Perhaps, perversely, Fitzgerald's absence has been good for Kerry football.
"Well, it has to be first said that seldom has there been players with the ability of Maurice Fitzgerald and, naturally, Kerry want him back on song as quickly as possible," says Jack O'Shea, who watched Fitzgerald evolve as a youngster in Cahirciveen. "But after injury forced him out, I think that some of the other lads - Dara O Cinneide, Mike Frank, Aodhan MacGearailt - did begin to shoulder the responsibility more and assert themselves.
"It has helped the balance of the team. Maurice is such a talent that when he is at his best, as was the case in 1997, he will inevitably dominate games, but that Kerry have emerged as such a strong force with Maurice still recuperating is a good sign of their overall strength."
Fitzgerald moves with such an effortless style that is easy to forget the hours of graft that provide the foundations of his talent. It is long acknowledged that he is consumed by a raging workrate.
But he is injury cursed. Groin trouble returned to limit his effectiveness in 1998 and, last October, he broke a leg playing for his club St Mary's. On his return, a challenge match against IT Tralee, he again damaged the limb, suffering a hairline fraction. Now, he is fully fit but short on football hours. "I spoke to him after the Cork game and he said he was delighted to just get a run," says O'Shea. "You know, to hear that from a player of his stature, well, it makes you think."
Fitzgerald's inherent modesty is just one of the traits which form a complex mindset. O'Shea still shakes his head at the memory of the fledgling Fitzgerald torching Cork for 1-8 back in 1992. His marker was no less than Niall Cahalane. "It was humiliation," Cahalane later recalled. "When he hits form, no one can live with him."
Around Kerry, there are many tales of impossible shots and heroic comebacks and defining moments. He was quickly recognised as a torchbearer for the golden standards which so distinguished Kerry football. During the 10-year stretch of impoverishment, Fitzgerald reminded Kerry people of the once abundant tradition.
With an on-field charisma redolent of O'Shea himself, he was as taciturn and wary as Mick O'Connell in his attitude towards the GAA player as celebrity. It was apparent he preferred to let his game do the talking.
"I think it was appropriate that when Maurice finally got an opportunity to perform on a stage befitting his talent, he really grabbed it. His display in the All-Ireland final was his best as far as I'm concerned," says O'Shea.
Which isn't meant as an obituary. For O'Shea's money, his club-mate still possesses all the sorcery. And with some questions still unanswered about Kerry, he may yet rise to have the defining say about this current championship.
"Maurice is fit now, but the forwards have been going so well that it would probably be on fair to make a change. But if they advance on Sunday, then I'm sure Maurice will make a decisive contribution after that. I think it's true to say that while Maurice Fitzgerald on song is good for Kerry, he is also someone a lot of people around the country enjoy seeing. I'd say there'll be a lot delighted to see him back."
