By Garry Doyle

Copyright irishmirror

Maurice Fitzgerald knew a thing or two about being the best footballer in Ireland. Just as Kerry had a fair idea how to be the top team in the country. A generation on, another member of the Fitzgerald family and another Kerry team are trying to establish themselves as brand-leaders. Except this time the sport is soccer rather than Gaelic football and this time the family member is a Teahan rather than a Fitzgerald. Ronan Teahan – Maurice’s nephew – is 21. His mother, Maria, was an All-Star with the Kerry ladies footballers. His father, John Teahan, represented Ireland at basketball. His sister, Muireann, is a current Irish basketball international. “And I suppose my uncle, Maurice Fitzgerald, was a pretty good GAA player as well,” says Teehan. That’s some understatement. A Texaco Footballer of the Year and three-time All-Star, Fitzgerald appeared to have got his timing wrong, arriving on the inter-county scene just as the legends of the Mick O’Dwyer era were stepping off it. But after winning diddly squat for the first nine years of his inter-county career, he finally landed an All-Ireland in his tenth. Twenty-eight years on his nephew is hoping to win an FAI Cup as Kerry FC have somehow reached the semi-finals in just the third year of their existence. Teahan says: “We’re up against the best players in the country but this is where we want to be. “I wouldn’t say we’re in fear, to be honest as there’s a reason why we are playing them. We’re here on merit and hopefully we can show that.” The problem is Shamrock Rovers, their opponents this evening, may not let them. They too have an agenda, namely to win a first League and Cup double in 38 years. But Sligo Rovers were favoured to progress against Kerry last month in the quarter-finals and the Kingdom overcame a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3. Teahan said: “We probably respected them a little bit too much, you know, and there’s definitely a lot to learn from that game, because we can’t go down 3-0 against Shamrock Rovers or else, it’ll probably be over. “On a personal level, I want to prove that I am good enough to play against them, to show how good you are at the game. “The excitement of being in a TV game is huge. “I don’t think it really impacts you too much, you know, you’re on the pitch and you don’t really notice if there’s a camera on you at all, so it probably won’t really impact us too much. “I am lucky in that I’ve got a really good family behind me and we’ve all been involved in sports since we’re really young, that’s all that matters to us, so it definitely helps. “I want to challenge myself against the best, and they are the best, so I’m definitely looking forward to it. “As a team we’ve improved so much over the last three years. Players that have come in have helped us so much, and players that have been here since day one, we’ve gained so much experience, and improved a lot. “This is a chance to see how far we have come … as well, of course, of being a chance to reach a national final.” Which serves as a reminder that it is not just Rovers who are chasing a double. Kerry are too. Never before has the Sam Maguire and the FAI Cup returned to the Kingdom in the same year. This, they believe, could be their time.