Kerry set for special final with one name on their minds

The allure of silverware will always be enough to motivate Kerry, but today's Munster SFC final showdown against Cork carries a bit more weight.

The provincial championship's cup has been named after the late, great Páidí Ó Sé, who won 11 Munster titles in his playing days.

For captain Paul Geaney, who is married to Páidí's daughter Siún, it undeniably adds more weight to the occasion.

"It's a huge privilege for the Ó Sé family and Páidí," he told RTÉ Sport.

"Would you give up 11 medals to get your name on the cup forevermore? Immortalised.

"It just speaks to the volumes of the character that he was and the player that he was and the manager he was and what he brought to the GAA as a whole.

"We've always wanted to take care of the back yard and I don't think it's any extra incentive, but it's a nice touch."

As for the challenge Cork will pose, Geaney is on alert.

"It's very exciting," he said. "Cork are going well and yeah, we're going well enough as such but probably a little bit disjointed over the last while. We haven't really had a settled team so it's made it a little bit difficult in that sense, but we still have enough quality there to hopefully get over the line.

"It won't be easy and Cork are coming up with the tails up, no doubt, having got back into Division 1 and they'll definitely fancy their chances so we'll have to be at our peak.

"It'll be nice, there's no doubt about that. I love Munster finals, I love playing against Cork as well so I'm really looking forward to it."

Marc Ó Sé, a nephew of Páidí's, has 10 Muster winners' medals to his name.

He'll be watching the action at Fitzgerald Stadium with a sense of anticipation and pride.

"We're chuffed as a family, hugely proud of what Páidí achieved and it's nice now that he's being remembered with the Munster Championship Cup being named after him," said Ó Sé.

"Obviously, your thoughts would go to Páidí himself - I'd say Páidí would probably think the Sam Maguire Cup should be named after him! But it's a lovely moment and it's something that we as a family, as I say again, are very proud of."

Ó Sé is hopeful the opportunity to lift the newly named cup will drive Kerry to deliver a big performance today as the impact of one of the county's favourite sons continues to resonate.

"Every player has their own angle that they use and you'd like to think that maybe they might use that angle to get them over the line," he added.

"Ultimately, it's Kerry and Cork and I think both teams bring out the best in each other anyway. So, I don't think you need any extra motivation to get up for this game, I think it will be a game where it will really go down to the wire.

"Cork are really coming and I think Kerry have a few injuries so I think we'll have a real tight affair, maybe like the old Munster Championship games used to be played, especially when Páidí was playing them.

"Cork always like to travel to Killarney so hopefully we'll have a good day and hopefully a Kerry victory."

Watch Kerry v Cork in the Munster Football final (1.45pm) and Roscommon v Galway in the Connacht Football final (4.15pm) on Sunday from 1.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.

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