Bio: Denis Long

Denis Long was one of Cork’s brightest stars in the 1973 galaxy of talent. Deep involvement continues in Tralee.

In the days when Carrolls used to sponsor the annual Hurling and Football All Star Awards, a small citation accompanied the photograph of each winner on the much sought after posters. The composer of the citations is unknown but he/she certainly did a fine job. Many descriptions of a player’s finer points were invoked but I can only recall one occasion on which the word “grace” was used. In 1973, Cork’s midfielder Denis Long received his award “for the grace of his football and for his intelligent and shrewd distribution of the ball.” Couldn’t have been more accurate. Two years later, Denis was again on the All Star team, “for his admirable combination of high work rate, excellent catching and lengthy kicking.” Yes, the man, or woman, behind those little citations knew a thing or two about football and footballers.

There were good midfielders knocking around in those days. Mick O’Connell was coming to the end of his reign as king. Willie Bryan had provided the platform from which Offaly’s glory days were launched, John O’Keeffe was impressing all and sundry before his move to full back, Liam Sammon, Dermot Early and young Brian Mullins were also among the conaisseurs’ favourites. But Denis Long could hold his place with the best and indeed, there were many who believe that he was the master in the immediate post-O’Connell era. Graceful, elegant, incisive and stylish. And those qualities helped to make a huge contribution to Cork’s All-Ireland success in 1973, a success that brought to an end almost thirty years of disappointment for the county’s loyal football supporters. The loss of successive All-Ireland finals in 1956 and ’57 was particularly hard to swallow and when they emerged again from Munster in 1966 and ’67, they again failed to pluck the golden apple. But the class of ’73 were an exceptional bunch.

They looked a team of all the talents. Billy Morgan, Frank Cogan, Humphrey Kelleher, Brian Murphy, Kevin Jer O’Sullivan, John Coleman, Con Hartnett, Denis Long, Denis Coughlan, Ned Kirby, Declan Barron, Dave McCarthy, Jimmy Barry Murphy, Ray Cummins and Jimmy Barrett. Amazing talent. Gaels throughout the country fully expected that the Cork team which won the Sam Maguire Cup in 1973 would go on to defend the title successfully and possibly equal Galway’s three in a row of the mid sixties. Great footballers. Classical fielders and devastating attackers. But it didn’t work out that way. “We were looking beyond Dublin to meeting Galway in the final,” said Jimmy Barry Murphy. Most agreed that Cork were complacent against Dublin in the 1974 semi final. Denis Long’s opinions on the defeat go much deeper. “Cork had not won the football All-Ireland for twenty eight years. We climbed Everest to win the ’73 championship. When the hurlers win an All-Ireland, they’re expected to win a few more. A Cork hurler with only one All-Ireland medal wouldn’t be regarded as great but when we won the All-Ireland it was different. We had made the breakthrough and the same incentive wasn’t there the following year. But it should also be remembered that Dublin went on to win three All-Irelands in the space of four years and they are still referred to as “the great Dublin team of the seventies.” At the back of our minds here was the belief that we had achieved it all in 1973.”

For neutral supporters, Cork’s defeat in the ’74 semi final was not only a major surprise, but a huge disappointment as well. The multi talented outfit was a treat to watch and the victories over Kerry, Tyrone and Galway were in the “fully comprehensive” category. Even the Munster Final win over Kerry in 1974 yielded no clues that nine years would elapse before the provincial title would return to the Rebel County. Kerry’s young lions emerged for the first time in 1975 and although Cork should have beaten then in the drawn final of 1976, they went on to firmly establish themselves as one of the truly great football teams. Although there wee some memorable clashes between the two southern giants, inevitably it was the games between Dublin and Kerry that attracted most media attention. When asked if the availability to Kerry of any other player would have improved the all-conquering Kingdom side, a Kerry selector replied, “Dinny Long would be a tremendous asset … I can’t think of anybody else.”

And Denis wasn’t all that far away from being a Kerryman. Millstreet, the town that hogged so much of the limelight in recent weeks, lues close to the Kerry border and it was here that the young Long learned his football. Although efforts are currently being made to promote hurling in the area, Millstreet is football territory. Although they haven’t welcomed the senior title to the town since the mid forties, there has always been a strong tradition in the big ball game.

The Millstreet club was admirably represented on the 1973 team. Apart from Denis at centrefield, there was Humphrey Kelleher at full back, Johnny Coleman at centre half back and Con Hartnett at left half back. Years earlier “Toots” Kelleher had represented the club on the Cork team and scored two goals in the 1956 final, but still lost out to Galway. John O’Keeffe and Cormac Dineen were others of that era to bring honour to Millstreet.

But by the time that Denis won his second All-Ireland in 1975 he had transferred to the Austin Stacks club in Tralee. With the ’Rock club he collected three senior championships and an All-Ireland club medal in 1977. The Corkman fitted in perfectly with Mikey Sheehy, Ger Power and the O’Keeffes, John and Ger. Playing with them in club football and against the in Munster finals caused Denis no problems. Good footballers are accepted anywhere. Outstanding footballers are respected everywhere. Especially in the Kingdom.

And what about the big game on Sunday? “Tis quite open and I’m not trying to evade the issue when I say that it is a particularly difficult game to call. Kerry showed some promising form in the League but they struggled to beat Down in the quarter final … and where are Down now? Having said that, they should have beaten Dublin in the semi final. Neither team are what you’d class as great, but that won’t stop it from being a great clash. Cork have a lot to prove. They’ve suffered two successive drubbings by Kerry in the past two years and Kerry were not good enough to win the All-Ireland on either occasion … last year they weren’t good enough to win the Munster. It’s an insult to Cork when they’re beaten by poor Kerry teams. Clare beating the team that eliminated them may have been the last straw and I suspect that they have a huge incentive to prove themselves.

“And there’s also the possibility that Kerry will put too much pressure on themselves. They haven’t won the Sam Maguire Cup since 1986 and that’s a long time in the Kingdom. Many of their supporters were brought up on a diet of success … and more success, and the pressure is on Ogie Moran to deliver … if not this year … then next year. They want to win it every year and there’s a belief among some of their supporters that they have a divine right to win.”

The demand for instant success is one of the great problems facing the GAA today. “There’s been a huge demand for this instant success in recent times and I believe that the standard of football has fallen as a result. Huge amounts of time and money are being invested in the preparation of county teams with the aim of winning provincial and All-Ireland titles. Better perhaps if the efforts were channelled into coaching from under 12 upwards. The young fellows of today will only play when it’s organised for them, they don’t kick the ball around among themselves as much as they used to and the skills have suffered as a result. And the men and women who look after the youngsters should be looked after much better by the GAA. There are people who spend evening after evening, Saturday mornings and Sunday mornings transporting youngsters to games and giving them constant encouragement. They represent the true amateur ethos of our game and yet, when All-Ireland final time comes around, they can’t even get a ticket. They don’t ask for much but some small recognition for the people who do so much would be much more appropriate than spending small fortunes on senior team preparations. And it is high time that the Association came clean on payments to coaches. There is no point in saying that it’s not going on, like it used to be said that fellows were not playing or attending soccer in the days of the ban.”

Denis is currently enjoying his role with the Austin Stacks seniors this year. His involvement with the club’s underage teams over the years was very enjoyable and satisfying … the club is now hungry for a return to the glory days at senior level and although they won’t be represented on the county team for Sunday’s game, Denis believes that they are on the way back. He runs a very successful general electrical business in Tralee, where his two sons Darragh and Blaine play with the Stacks. He and his wife Joan, who hails from Rathmore, also have two daughters, Yvonne and Denise.

“Football has been very good to me and I appreciate that I wouldn’t have what I have today without it. It has made a huge difference and I’m happy to admit it. It’s a great advantage not to have to introduce yourself.”

Denis’ career came to a premature end when he suffered two broken legs in 1978, but he refuses to let such misfortune dampen the glow of a star-studded career. “Yes, it was great to win in ’73, we came out of the doldrums and maybe the young schoolchildren who greeted us and touched the Sam Maguire Cup later helped towards the victories of ’89 and ’90. Success is like that … it can be a great spur to young fellows. I love to see the young lads being looked after and even more importantly, I would love to see the people who look after them being well treated themselves. they are very special to the GAA and should be treated thus.”

from Hogan Stand magazine ((18th June 1993)

 

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Cork Football Dream Team

… The sport has produced some great midfielders in the past 50 years: Mick O’Connell, Jack O’Shea, and Darragh O’Shea, from Kerry; Dublin’s Brian Mullins, Ciaran Whelan, Brian Fenton, and Brian Howard; Meath’s Liam Hayes, and Tyrone’s Sean Cavanagh are just some who spring to mind from outside the Rebel county.

The first Cork pairing to help bring home the Sam Maguire Cup since 1970 was the Millstreet and St Nick’s duo of Dinny Long and Denis Coughlan, respectively, in ’73. They blended well, both comfortable in possession and more than capable of landing important scores.

Long kicked three points in the All-Ireland final win over Galway and, the year before, Cork would have been in right trouble but for Coughlan’s 0-5 in the 2-8 to 0-9 Munster semi-final victory over Waterford. Long was twice honoured with an All-Star, first in ’73, when he partnered John O’Keeffe, and then two years later, alongside Down’s Colm McAlarney. At that stage, Long was playing his club football with Austin Stacks, in Tralee … [Echo]