Keeper of the faith drove the Barrs on in the county final to uphold the Kerins tradition

St Finbarr's goalkeeper John Kerins in action against Carbery Rangers at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
THE outpouring of emotion after St Finbarr’s ended a 33-year wait for football glory was raw and compelling, the epitome of what county finals are all about.

For keeper John Kerins it was an especially poignant experience to get his hands on the Andy Scannell Cup. His father, the late, great Cork netminder, was there in 1985 and from the outside, it would appear John junior was always destined to follow in his footsteps.

“I’d say the semi-final and final weren’t a problem, I was far more nervous in those 10 minutes I came on against Douglas. When you’re the back-up you’re used to coming on for 10 minutes at the end of challenge games, not being thrown into the heat of championship. That was wild enough.

“I think if he was still around I wouldn’t be in goal. Up to U11/U12 I was a forward and he passed away when I was nine. I fell in because Cian Madden decided he wanted to go out the field, he got sick of it.”

“James was a year younger than me but he was the Cork minor goalie so got in ahead of me, he jumped in at U16. We’re still working away together now and he was the sub keeper against Duhallow. We all just hop off each other and you have to get used to it. It can be a mental torture for a sub goalie. No doubt about that.”
