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*Martin O’Leary. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
HAVING bounced back to the senior ranks at the first attempt, Kilmihil are determined to maintain their place in the top tier and to leave a mark.
A winless run in 2022 with group defeats to Lissycasey, Cratloe and St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield followed by a play-off loss to St Joseph’s Miltown resulted in Kilmihil dropping down to the intermediate grade.
Here they overcame every obstacle in their path and sealed their return with a dramatic one point win over Kilrush Shamrocks to win the intermediate championship for the second time in the space of five years.
Michael Doran was a selector for last season’s success but has stepped up to the manager’s gig following the departure of his predecessor Paul Reidy, coach Brian Dillon plus fellow selectors Colm O’Gorman and Connor Crowley.
Doran felt there was more to give and when the vacancy emerged, he was happy to put his hand forward. “I was involved last year when we won, I came in as a selector then, I enjoy being around the lads, they are a great bunch. When the opportunity came up it made sense for me, I come from a football background and I enjoy being involved”. His own coaching career began as far away as Denver, he kept an active involvement in the GAA when living in America and Australia.
Lawrence Murray who represented both Kilmihil and Kilmurry Ibrickane as a player is the coach of the team this year and he’ll have an interesting hour when the two sides meet in the third round.
Armagh native Doran has been in fine form this week after his county were crowned All-Ireland champions with a 1-11 0-13 win over Galway in Sunday’s final. He has been living in Kilmihil for the past eighteen months and works as a legal consultant.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, he expressed the view that Kilmihil are in a good place ahead of Saturday’s first round tie with Lissycasey. “I think we’re set up pretty well, we had a very good league campaign so we’ll take confidence from that, we’ve a strong showing of players from the start of the year, they’re tuned into the game plan and what we want to do”.
Enduring the pain of relegation has strengthened the resolve of the panel and it will make them more determined to cause an upset in a competitive Group 1 and ensure they are in the knockout stages rather than the relegation play-offs. “I was home the last time they won the intermediate in 2017, a lot of the lads at core of the team were young then, they have learned from their time at senior and are better prepared for the senior championship and what is required this time round”.
Doran continued, “the fact that the core group are more mature it puts us in a better position than when we were last up in senior but there won’t be any easy games and we know that”.
Bringing them back to senior with a bang is a meeting with neighbours Lissycasey. “We haven’t looked at games as which are more winnable than others, there isn’t an easy game at senior, Lissycasey are first up and the local rivalry has helped focus our attention over the summer months, when you’re going that long without football it can be difficult but having Lissycasey first up it really helped us to focus the minds”.
Meetings with Lissycasey and Cooraclare remind Mickey of rivalries from home. “We’ve had our fair share of derbies, those rivalries are great and it brings extra attention to games, it adds a little spice and hopefully in throes of senior football championship you won’t need it as extra motivation”.
Their predecessors as intermediate champions, Corofin (semi-final) and Kildysart (quarter-final) hit the ground running in their first seasons back in the top flight. The loss of David Lernihan, a central figure in their success last season may curtail their ability to mount such a run but with Ciaran Downes off the back of the most game-time he has earned in the county colours an experienced cohort beside him including Martin O’Leary, Stan Lineen and Sean Crowley they will have a fighting chance but they will need to cause a big upset to make it out of the group.
Management: Mickey Doran (manager), Lawrence Murray (coach), Eamon Donnelly (selector), Philip Ryan (selector), John Normoyle (selector)
Captain: Mikey Keating
Key Player: Ciaran Downes
One to Watch: Gavin Downes
Fresh blood: Cathal Murray (back from Australia)
Departures gate: David Lernihan (transferred to club in Meath), Gearoid O’Grady (injured)
Treatment table: Gearoid O’Grady (knee).
Titles won: 2 (1944 with Cooraclare, 1980)
Last year’s run: Secured promotion by winning the intermediate championship
Schedule:
Round 1 vs Lissycasey (August 3rd)
Round 2 vs Éire Óg (August 17th/18th)
Round 3 vs Kilmurry Ibrickane (August 31st/Sept 1st)
