As modern GAA rivalries go, it's hard to think of many that hold a candle to Kerry's feud with Tyrone in the mid-00s.
Mickey Harte rejuvenated the fortunes of Tyrone in the early part of the decade and delivered a first-ever All-Ireland crown to the county in 2003. Their semi-final victory over Kerry that year would kickstart a rivalry which echoes still to this day.
There were more than a few tense moments on the pitch during those days, as the sides faced each other in the championship four times in the space of just ten years. Tyrone won out on three of those occasions, two of which were All-Ireland finals in '05 and '08.
Judging by a story recounted by Marc Ó Sé on this week's episode of the Ratified podcast, however, tensions were not confined to the championship meetings of the two counties.
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Marc Ó Sé shares hilarious story of 'pub tournament' clash between brother Darragh and Ryan McMenamin
On this week's episode, Ó Sé recalled an incident involving his brother Darragh at a tournament hosted by his legendary uncle Páidí at An Ghaeltacht, when he came to blows with Tyrone's Ryan McMenamin.
I remember we had Páidí's football tournament back in the Gaeltacht.
His [McMenamin's] team came down for a few pints and a bit of craic. We were playing them in the competition and a fight broke out. Himself and Darragh were just going at it.
It was only a friendly, like!
When the game was over, fair play to Ricey, straight over to Darragh and shaking hands.
The rest of the troupe were in stitches at Ó Sé's story - with the bust-up coming as it did during what Andrews rightly described as a "pub tournament." The Comórtas Peile Páidí Ó Sé is a staple of the GAA calendar every February, bringing Gaelic football clubs to Ventry for a tournament and a massive session.
🗣️"We were playing them in the competition and a fight broke out and himself and Darragh were just going at it"
Marc Ó Sé on his brother Darragh and Ricey McMenamin fighting during a friendly competition 👊🏆
Full Episode of Ratified available on👉
YouTube📺 :… pic.twitter.com/XxLTfCSkkB— GAAGO (@GAAGO) April 30, 2024
It's a brilliant story - but Ryan McMenamin himself remembered the incident slightly differently when discussing it with Marc's brother Tomás in 2021.
In the interview on the Comhrá le Tomás podcast - conducted just a matter of weeks before that year's infamous All-Ireland semi-final between Kerry and Tyrone - McMenamin claimed that it was Darragh who threw the first punch, before the Tyrone man left his Dromore teammate to it with the Kerry hero.
I think that first day we did play yous. We were well up for it because we'd to travel, I think, to Castleisland to play and then travel back. We saw in our heads maybe that Tyrone v Kerry thing...they're playing on their own pitch and made us travel, we'll get stuck into these boys!
I do remember your Darragh...one of our players maybe clipped Darragh, and he made a go. I said to Darragh, 'Hey, what are you at? What are you at?'
Well he punched me first and I said, 'Ah well, you're on your own there!' I turned to the fella Shane and said, 'You may front up there!'
I think Darragh kind of respected that I wasn't going to get involved. I was never going to get involved with Darragh, anyways. I says to the other fella run on with it. At that stage there were wee scuffles going on all around the pitch.
The two stories slightly clash, with a contradiction as to who started the conflict.
Regardless of how it began, it is not hard to imagine such a scrap breaking out between the pair at the time, given how tense the rivalry between Kerry and Tyrone had grown.
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