NAME: Dermot Doyle DATE OF BIRTH: 4/5/72 HEIGHT: 5' 9" WEIGHT: 10st 7lbs CLUB: Allenwood COUNTY: Kildare HONOURS: Leinster Under 21; Division 1 and 2 Trench Cup Colleges medals; all underage county hurling medals INTER COUNTY DEBUT: 1/11/92 versus Tipperary PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: Student in Athlone RTC, doing Management Accounting FAVOURITE GROUNDS: Croke Park FAVOURITE POSITION: Once I get a game, I don't really mind SPORTING AMBITION: To win an All-Ireland medal with Kildare DO YOU PLAY ANY OTHER SPORTS? I enjoy playing hurling and the odd game of golf BOYHOOD HEROES: Kevin Moran, John O'Keeffe FAVOURITE PLAYERS: Club - Ken Doyle; County - Glen Ryan ANY GOOD SPORTING YARN: Not yet BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON CAREER: Many people have helped me along the way but my father would have to be the biggest WAYS OF IMPROVING THE GAME: Introducing match suspensions as opposed to suspensions for a number of weeks DISLIKES ABOUT THE GAA: It's narrow approach to rival sports such as soccer and rugby BEST GAME SEEN: Down v Meath All-Ireland Final 1991 PLAYERS WITH A PROMISING FUTURE: Michael Dowling, our young club goalkeeper HOPES FOR 1993: To win a Leinster title with Kildare YOU HAVE A FAMOUS FOOTBALLING FATHER: Yes, my father Joe played on one of the better Kildare teams in the last 20 years. A team including the likes of Tommy Carew, Pat Mangan and Pat Dunny. While I never actually saw him play, I'm told he was one of the best half backs to grace Kildare's playing fields HOW LONG WAS JOE'S CAREER WITH THE LILYWHITE SENIORS? He played for about 12 years for Kildare, starring from 1962 to 1974, including 4 Leinster final appearances and a National League Final in '68 DO YOU FIND PEOPLE CONSISTENTLY COMPARING YOU TO DOYLE SENIOR? If your half the player your father was, you know the rest. I often hear it but while I am my own person and player, it would be nice to live up to his reputation AS A FOOTBALLER, ARE YOU SIMILAR TO YOUR FATHER? Well, we occupied different positions on the field but I think our style of play is similar. Also, the fact that I am built similar (perhaps a bit thinner) means I look like him on the field, even if I don't play like him REPORTS TELL US YOU ARE QUITE A USEFUL HURLER: Yes, I have placed a lot of hurling for my club Coill Dubh and won numerous underage medals with them. I played county minor for two years and one National League game in 1991. However, football has taken over in the past year or so and my commitment to hurling has fallen away a bit THERE ARE QUITE A NUMBER OF GAA CLUBS IN YOUR AREA. SOME PEOPLE MAINTAIN THAT YOUR PARISH IS THE HEART OF KILDARE FOOTBALL: Yes, even though it's only a small parish, there are four clubs in the parish. Allenwood, Ballyteague, Robertstown and Milltown. We all play together at underage levels under the name of Na Fianna. Separately at senior levels we seem to enjoy limited success. I think the fact that both the present county minor and under 21 managers, Tony Moore and Frank Moran are from the area, is an indication of the level of interest in football in the parish BESIDES JOE DOYLE, ARE THERE ANY OTHER FORMER KILDARE SENIORS FROM THE ALLENWOOD CLUB? John McNally, Allenwood. First intercounty player, was said to be 20 years before his time. He advocated a running, passing, retain possession style of play in the late fifties and sixties. He had a major impact on the type of football that our club play. Patsy Kelly, a fine full back of the sixties and seventies. Sean (Boiler) Donohoe. Jim Cross and Nicky Behan were on the 1065 All-Ireland winning Under 21 team YOU PLAY QUITE A BIT OF FOOTBALL WITH ATHLONE RTC: Yes. I have been studying accountancy there for the past couple of years and they have a great GAA club in the College. There is a great bunch of lads on the panel and we have enjoyed a good deal of success, winning Division 2 and the Trench Cup last year, and defeating Queens University in the Division 1 Final this year, the first RTC to do so. The Sigerson is the only trophy to escape us, maybe next year A NUMBER OF THE PRESENT KILDARE SQUAD ATTEND THE WESTMEATH SCHOOL: Yes, Martin Lynch, Jarleth Gilroy and Anthony Rainbow are in the College at the moment. We are all good friends. (I live with Anthony). They were a great help to me when I came into the Kildare team at first, having played with them already made it easier to blend into the team YOU WERE ON THE SUCCESSFUL KILDARE UNDER 21 TEAM OF 1992: I was very lucky to be on a team with so many talented players. They are a great bunch of lads and we blended into a very good team with everyone playing for each other. Winning the Leinster final is undoubtedly the highlight of my career so far. Great credit has to be given to Tommy Carew for this victory. Unfortunately we did not go on and win the All-Ireland which we felt we were capable of doing, but maybe this year we can go one better YOU ARE UNDER 21 AGAIN IN 1993. PLAYERS SUCH AS BUCKLEY AND GLEN RYAN ARE STILL ELIGIBLE. YOU MUST HAVE QUITE A GOOD TEAM: Something like 15 of last year's panel are underage again this year, however some of those have been injured recently and will be a great loss this time around. The panel is strong and hopefully they can be replaced. Having won the Leinster title last year will give us confidence that we can repeat that achievement this year and with the help of God keep winning WHO ARE THE MEN IN CHARGE OF THE LILYWHITE UNDER 21S? Frank Moran is the manager of this year's Under 21s. Frank has been an official over me since I was 12 with his involvement with the Na Fianna underage teams. The other selectors are Mark Carroll (from Sarsfields), Tom Rooney (Towers), Pat Kelly (Nurney) and Jimmy Coyle (from Naas) HAS MICKO ANY INVOLVEMENT? No, Micko is concentrating on the senior team and leaves the Under 21s to Frank Moran and his selectors HE GAVE YOU YOUR FIRST SENIOR LILYWHITE JERSEY. FOR ONE SO YOUNG THIS MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE A DREAM COME TRUE: It happened out of the blue really. Micko came to me after a challenge game and said 'I'm going to play you in the National League game next Sunday'. I was both surprised and delighted and found it hard to believe that I was going to play alongside the same lads I stood and watched against Donegal week earlier. It did happen however, and please God I can stay on the panel for the championship HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE KERRYMAN? He is a very shrewd operator. As everyone knows he has won it all before so he knows exactly what it's about. Hopefully if we give him the commitment he asks for, he can help us win what the county has been waiting for far too long - a Leinster title REPORTS COMING TO US STATE KILDARE'S TRAINING IS VERY INTENSE AND SEVERE AT THE MOMENT: The training can be tough at times but nowadays every county is fit so we have to match that I suppose, before we can hope to win anything WHAT'S THE ATTITUDE LIKE IN THE KILDARE CAMP? The attitude is fantastic at the moment. The holiday at Christmas was a great boost to team spirit and the atmosphere is more like a club team now ARE YOU GOING FOR BOTH COMPETITIONS, CHAMPIONSHIP AND NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE, OR IS THE EYE FIRMLY ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP? I suppose you try to win every game you play and if that means you get to the play-offs of the National League, it has to be good. The Championship, however, is the one everyone wants to win YOUR VIEWS ON KILDARE'S SIDE OF THE LEINSTER CHAMPIONSHIP DRAW: Well, Kildare play Wicklow in the first round and they won't be "caught on the hop" like last year. Winning the All-Ireland B has given them a boost so I think it would be tempting fate to look any further 1993 TO BE, AT LONG LAST, THE YEAR OF LILYWHITE WITH YOUNG DERMOT DOYLE PLAYING A PROMINENT PART: The Kildare supporters, who are probably among the best in the country, have been waiting far too long for something to shout about, especially for a county with such a good tradition. Great strides have been made in the past two years and hopefully this will be Kildare's year. To be part of a team to bring such success back to Kildare would be a huge honour. We'll just have to wait and see Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 19th March 1993 Vol 3 No 11 Tweet

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