Willing to soldier on regardless

LEINSTER CHAMPIONSHIP INTERVIEW WITH DERMOT EARLEY:IN MANY ways the big deal with Dermot Earley at the moment is not that he's still playing some of the best football of his career but that he's still playing at all. A few weeks shy of his 31st birthday, Earley made his senior debut for Kildare in what seems like a generation ago – the 1997 three-match Leinster championship epic against Meath.

A lot of water under the bridge since then, and a lot of other stuff too. Kildare have reinvented themselves several times under several different managers, most recently with last year’s acquisition of former Armagh captain Kieran McGeeney, and all the while it appeared Earley’s once immense influence on the team was gradually slipping away.

It wasn’t through lack of desire. Instead, a combination of injury and illness took him out of the game for long stretches – and none more worrying than in 2002, when he was diagnosed with cancer. But anyone who had written Earley off got their response with his man-of-the-match performance against Offaly last month, and he looks primed for another starring role against Wexford on Saturday.

He was in Dublin yesterday to collect his Gaelic Players Association footballer of the month award for May, and although he’s no stranger to awards, having won his All Star back in 1998, this one seemed particularly satisfying, a small gesture perhaps for all the effort he’s put in to regain his reputation as one of the best midfielders in the country.

“Unfortunately I have had a couple of injuries that have kept me out of the game for quite a long time. But I never doubted that I could get back to the same level. And still I’d be hopeful to up it again. I wouldn’t be content to leave it where I am at the moment. The day you’re happy with where you’re at is the day you may as well pack it in.

“It has taken a huge effort, but it’s the same with any player, playing for any team. You put in the hours the same as anyone else. I was always quite confident in my own ability, but when you’re playing at the top level, and then get injured, people expect you to come back to the same level. It doesn’t work like that. There are a lot of other factors, like getting the injury right, getting the confidence back, and it takes time.”

He talks frankly about overcoming testicular cancer in 2002, which although never truly threatened his career, certainly gave him a fresh appreciation of it: “I was 23 at the time. You think you’re young, invincible. Nothing fazes you. I suppose I just got on with it. I’m still conscious of it, in that I still get check ups. But it was something that happened, that I learnt from, and was lucky enough to get out of.”

There aren’t many intercounty footballers these days still as active in their 30s, and Earley puts his longevity down to several things. His choice of career, for a start. He’s now an army captain, based in Rathmines, and that at least partly explains the enduring athleticism of his six-foot frame.

“It’s a great job for anyone playing intercounty football. They facilitate you as best as possible, but the lifestyle too, the physical training and all that, all work well off each other. So it was great career for me. The other thing is just enjoying it, I suppose. It’s about waking up each day, and looking forward to going training.”

Earley’s performance against Offaly, where he frequently burst forward, contributing two points, summed up Kildare as a whole this year; a more attacking team, with more scoring options. They’re already regarded as the one team truly capable of upsetting Dublin’s quest for a fifth Leinster title in succession.

“Well our focus is solely on Wexford this Saturday. I wasn’t at the Dublin match on Sunday, didn’t watch it on TV, and haven’t read the papers. Sometimes if you think things are getting carried away a little you have to cut yourself off like that. And Kildare can get a little carried away. It’s been 10 or 12 years since we’ve had any real success, and there is some hype there again. The supporters are a bit starved, although Kieran McGeeney is the best man to keep us grounded.

“And we’d be very cautious of Wexford. A wounded animal bites harder, or whatever. They’d a poor league but there’s a huge difference between league and championship. They didn’t get to an All-Ireland semi-final last year for nothing, and played in a lot of big games last year. They would probably have the more experience with big championship games than our players. We’re expecting a tough game.”