Inspired Kildare running to catch up with the big boys, says marathon man Johnny Doyle
It was always about getting over the finish line for Johnny Doyle, whether it was for Kildare or Allenwood or even now as a marathon runner.The Lilywhites great - he won a Leinster title with his county in 2000 and an All-Star 10 years later before his inter-county retirement in 2014 - took up distance running out of boredom during Covid and, over a few pints with friends on night, they came up with the "mad" idea of doing the Dublin Marathon.He was still playing club football at the time - in fact he still is, he's now lining out for Allenwood's second team after he was central to their jubilant Leinster club IFC title triumph in 2023 - and set an impressive PB of 3:05.18 at the Belfast Marathon in May. READ MORE:Meath name team for All-Ireland SFC semi-final against Donegal READ MORE: 'It left an inspirational legacy for the youth' Tyrone hero Stephen O'Neill on 2000s team With four kilometres to run he believed that he was going to take the tape in under three hours. Then he hit the wall. But Doyle runs the Dublin Marathon in October and will aim to go lower. "Dublin will be a tough place to try to break three (hours), but I'll look at it," said the 44-year-old. "I'll give it a go anyway and see can I take that. It's amazing. You have that competitive streak in you and it doesn't go away just because you finish." He'll be in the capital this afternoon with, he estimates, around 15,000 fellow county men and women for Kildare's Tailteann Cup final clash with Limerick. After a slow build-up to the game he noticed white flags go up around Newbridge this week.
Johnny Doyle in action for Kildare in 2012
(Image: ©INPHO/Donall Farmer)
Again, it's all about crossing the finish line. If Kildare win they will automatically make the group phase of the All-Ireland championship next year, having had to sit out the action this summer after their Leinster semi-final defeat to eventual champions Louth.It's a big prize and it's one that Meath seized upon two years ago, when they lifted the Tailteann Cup and are now in the All-Ireland semi-finals. "It's a motivation," said Doyle, who was a part of the Glenn Ryan management dream team that failed to engineer a breakthrough. "Over the last number of years, even though anyone that played with Kildare would never have felt, 'what's the point if Dublin are going to win', I think to the outside world that was a narrative that was thrown around 'sure Dublin are winning everything and sure I don't blame young lads for not wanting to commit'. Any of the lads we were involved with were very committed to the cause." Doyle recalls it as a tough time as Kildare struggled, despite the cast of former stars involved in trying to turn the page with the current generation. "Nobody ever came up and ate the head off me or anything like that," he stressed. "I'm sure there was plenty when they turned around the corner, they did, and the social media side of it is there. "You have to accept that, it's not something that would have bothered me too much but it is there. I remember after Laois beat us in the Tailteann Cup, my sister ringing me saying, ‘are you all right?’ I said ‘I'm OK, I'm disappointed,’ and she was like, ‘it's just they're going mad online’. That's part of it but it was tough for everybody.
Neil Flynn and Kevin Feely of Kildare celebrate after the Tailteann Cup semi-final
(Image: ©INPHO/Tommy Dickson)
"I saw the massive effort that the players put in, they just didn't get the results. Being involved in an inter-county team when you're losing is much harder than when you're winning, and you'd have nothing but the height of respect for those lads that just kept grafting and grafting, and a lot of them are still there. "You'd be so hopeful for them that they will get over the line. Sometimes in an environment where you know people were being critical and questioning them, that's the downside of being an inter-county footballer. But to a man they stuck at it and hopefully they'll get the rewards."Doyle points out how Kildare have been competitive with Meath and Louth over the years and notes how things have changed so rapidly for Meath. "Why can't that be Kildare or why can't it be any other county? So I think it is motivation," he insisted. "I think the lads will see that."Dublin have come back into the pack, Leinster has opened up probably for the first time in certainly 12-13 years and I think that will whet the appetite for a lot of counties and it'll be no different in Kildare.
Former Kildare footballer Johnny Doyle, pictured for AIB ahead of the Tailteann Cup final between Kildare and Limerick. Unprecedented surprises and high-octane action have defined a historic season which has proven to be #TheToughest to call, with the race for silverware still wide open. AIB have also added an extra layer of excitement as the season nears an end with the return of the Volunteer VIP competition for the third time. The competition launched on Monday, July 7th and is open until Sunday, July 20th
(Image: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne)
"I think that's a good thing. We would have had a chequered enough history - we've been at the top table at times and then at other times we've dropped down - but certainly everyone in the county wants to be back playing the big teams and competing at the highest level."Kildare's defeat of Fermanagh in the semi-final was a rare victory for the Lilywhites at Croke Park but, for Doyle, there can be no excuses about not performing on what he describes as the best ground with the best surface. The biggest challenge facing Brian Flanagan's side could be dealing with the expectations, something that Kildare teams have struggled with in the past. "We've been guilty," Doyle acknowledged. "Teams I've been on myself in the past when people say, ‘oh you should win that,’ and we don't win and that's the consistency we probably lacked over the last few years. So yeah, let's go and win and have no doubt rather than spend another year in the Tailteann Cup thinking, 'oh, we need to build for the future'. "The future is now, and we have to capitalise on that. Certainly a win would be a big plus - and then kick on. That pathway is there when you see previous Tailteann Cup winners and what they've gone on to do. But that's the challenge for Kildare and hopefully it starts with a win on Saturday." Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.
