Galway legend Alan Kerins believes his county's footballers are closer to All-Ireland success than the hurling team.
The former dual star, who was part of the Galway side that won Sam Maguire in 2001, is the subject of this week's episode of Laochra Gael, which airs on Thursday night on TG4.
Kerins came off the bench as Galway beat Meath in Croke Park on that occasion and just two weeks earlier had started for the county's hurlers as they lost out in the All-Ireland decider to Tipperary by just three points.
He is still massively invested in his county's fortunes and despite the hurlers having made more finals in the last decade feels his former teammate Padraic Joyce's footballers will get to walk up the steps of the Hogan Stand sooner.
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Alan Kerins believes Galway footballers will win All-Ireland before hurlers
“They’re both very, very close,” he told Balls.ie earlier this week.
“I think the footballers if they get their injuries together. They still beat Tyrone at the weekend without their four best players probably; Comer, Walsh, Cillian McDaid and also Sean Kelly came on.”
“There’s a closer bunch in football in terms of a certain number of teams at that level so I think the footballers, if they get the injuries (back) and get on a run and momentum going, I think they could have a great shot.
“I would say the hurlers are very close as well but I just think Limerick are just so good and Galway need to find a few players as well to add to the older lads.
“The older lads are the key guys that are 30, 31, 32 now as well. They have a few years to get one over the line as well and get a second medal, which they deserve. I’d love to see them win a second medal, those guys, Daithi Burke, Cathal and Padraic Mannion, Joseph Cooney and Gearoid McInerney, they’re 31, 32, 33, so who is coming behind them to replace those leaders is a question as well.”
8 July 2023; Gearóid Hegarty of Limerick in action against Pádraic Mannion of Galway during the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final match between Limerick and Galway at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Kerins also believes it has now become "impossible" for a dual player to be involved in two inter-county setups at the same time.
“I think with the split season now it’s impossible,” he said.
“Even at club level it’s very difficult now. At club level it’s getting too hard as well because of that split, condensed season. At county level it’s definitely not possible.
“It’s a thing of the past unless things change obviously, definitely. No manager is going to tolerate it either.
“It’s such a great tradition and you hate denying people playing both sports they love but I suppose if you look at other sports all over the world, players only play one sport at the highest level. That’s high level sport for you in terms of if you’re a little bit off you’re not going to make it and if you’re splitting your time and energy, you’re probably not going to get to the level you could have."
This week's episode of Laochra Gael focuses in on his work with the Alan Kerins project which he founded in 2005.
The charity has raised over €5 million directly for many vital and life-saving projects and programmes for communities all over the world.
A lot of the projects are based in Africa and it was a visit to Zambia in 2004 that really opened Kerins' eyes.
“When I went out there first I suppose it hit me badly and what I saw did not sit easy with me,” he explains.
“I saw two elderly women out there dragging two communities by their hands and I asked myself, what the hell am I at? And I thought that surely to God I could make life easier for them on the front line.
“They are the real heroes, they have sacrificed their lives to live out there while I come home and go in and out and I am playing football and hurling. I am still living my life at home but they are the real heroes who have gone out there for 40/50 years and I just saw myself as shining a spotlight on their work and getting money for that work, rather than having them scrounging from week to week, wondering where the next penny would come from to feed the kids, feed the families or run the home, run the orphanage or school or whatever we were driving.”
Despite his modesty it is fair to say that Kerins himself is a true laoch.
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