On the weekend prior to collecting his maiden All Star award, Kerry defender Gavin White was busy touring with the Sam Maguire Cup. Not in Kerry though - White was in Co Armagh along with his colleagues Shane Murphy and Dara Moynihan.
Two Armagh men were part of Jack O’Connor’s backroom team and the trio joined Jason McGahan and Colin Trainor as they brought the famous trophy to their native Tullysaran.
It is 20 years since the Sam Maguire resided in the Orchard County and, during a Q&A session with some of the youngsters from O’Connell’s GAC, White was asked if Armagh could be genuine contenders for next year’s All-Ireland title.
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Speaking afterwards, White reiterated his belief that Armagh will be among the leading threats to Kerry’s crown in 2023 having lost out to Galway on penalties at the quarter-final stage of this year’s Championship.
“From a Kerry perspective, Kieran (Donaghy) has done great work with Armagh and they are not far off the mark by any stretch,” said White.
“They were narrowly beaten by Galway and we got past Galway in the final by the skin of our teeth.
“They aren’t too far off the mark at all and I fully expect them to be competing for the Ulster Championship, the National League and the All-Ireland Championship.
“It wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see the Sam Maguire up around Tullysaran next year, but we’ll be doing all we can to bring it back to Kerry again.”
He added: “Jason McGahan asked me a couple of weeks ago to come up and, to be fair, a lot of the Kerry lads were keen on coming because it is the least we could do for the man and for Colin (Trainor) as well.
“We’d do anything to support Colin and Jason because of the work they’ve put in. They are a credit to their family and their club. I know for a fact we wouldn’t be where we are without the two of them.”
The O’Connell’s club is just one mile from the river Blackwater and the county border with Tyrone.
The Red Hands endured a season to forget in 2022 as they lost both their Ulster and All-Ireland crowns following back-to-back Championship defeats to Derry and Armagh.
White, who was one of seven Kerry players honoured at the All Stars last week, knows the potential pitfalls of being defending All-Ireland champions.
“It is the nature of the game - when you win the All-Ireland there is a big target on your back the following year,” said the Dr Crokes clubman.
“I’ve no doubt Tyrone will be back - they are a fantastic team. They were unbelievable last year and we had a fierce battle with them in the All-Ireland semi-final. They’ll be back up at the top next year.
“It is up to us to hit the ground running again in January with the McGrath Cup starting up early on.
“That’s what we are in it for, we want to win as much as we can, whether it is the League, the Munster Championship or the All-Ireland.
“Hopefully, next year we can continue and build on what we’ve achieved this season.”
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