*Kilmaley’s Colm Killeen. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
EVERY score and puck matters when it comes to championship, few teams understand that better than Kilmaley.
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Kilmaley Factfile
Management: Brian Culbert (Manager); Padraig McGough, Kieran Dillon, Eoin O’Malley, Conor Neylon (Coaches/Selectors); Eva Moynan (Physio), Liam Buckley (Stats)
Captain: Mikey O’Malley
Key Player: Mikey O’Malley
One to Watch: Luke Reid
Fresh Blood: Cathal Darcy, Eoin Enright, James Murphy, Stephen Murphy, Luke Reid
Departure Gate: Aaron Moloney, Daniel Walsh (Abroad)
Treatment Table: Tommy Barry, Daire Keane, Mikey O’Neill
Titles Won: 2 (1985, 2004)
Last season’s run: Group Stages
Schedule:
Round 1 v Ballyea on Saturday July 26th in O’Garney Park Sixmilebridge at 15:30
Round 2 v Cratloe on Saturday August 9th in Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chiosóg Ennis at 19:00
Round 3 v Scariff on Saturday August 23rd in Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chiosóg Ennis at 19:00
Championship power ranking (1=weak/unlikely winners, 10=strong contenders): 6
That last gasp Conor McGrath point from the sideline to spectacularly extend Cratloe’s senior championship summer will be forever etched into the memories of all that witnessed such an iconic moment in Newmarket-on-Fergus last September.
Unforgettable in an evocative dream-like sense for all but opponents Kilmaley that is, who, despite being previously unbeaten, were consequently dumped out of the championship by the minimum score difference in the process.
Almost twelve months on and that score is now being used by Kilmaley manager Brian Culbert as the perfect example of how cut-throat the county senior hurling championship is as the side embark on another quest for glory. “Every shot, lost ball and wide ball is going to matter. I mean it’s easy to look back and say that the Conor McGrath wonder score knocked us out of the championship last year but being truthful about it Cratloe deserved to win the game as we weren’t good enough on the day.
“You could look back on any loss and have regrets and say we should have done this or should have done that but luck can work the other way too as in the previous match against Feakle we were the ones down a couple of points by half-time and facing into a storm but ended up turning it around and winning it. So after that we had two wins from two games heading into the final game against Cratloe and that happens then and you’re knocked out on score difference.
“But that’s the excitement of the whole thing too as within Clare there are definitely six or seven teams that are only a puck of the ball within each other and can beat each other on any given day. That’s the beauty about it as Feakle then go on to win it and I think that has given every other team a lift as well because it had been the ‘Bridge and Ballyea for the bones of eight years up to 2023. So Feakle deserved their title as they were the best team in the championship I felt and who knows what will happen this year, even within our group alone”.
That’s not only the cautious opinions of a participating manager but the general consensus throughout the county as realistically any two of Kilmaley, Cratloe, Scariff and Ballyea could emerge from the unquestionable ‘Group of Death’.
“You’d be a brave man to try and pick the two to come out of the group as definitely every team can beat each other. When you draw Ballyea, you know that you’re in a difficult group because they seem to be drawn in tough groups every season for the past few years. We played against them two years ago in the group of five and they were also in the ‘Group of Death’ last year as well so it was inevitable again this year I suppose.
“But look it’s great, that’s what you train and play for. You want to play and test yourself against the best and the harder it is the better as if you do eventually come out of it, you know that you really earned your place in the quarter-final and if you don’t, then you don’t deserve to win the championship anyway.
“Actually if teams keep taking points off each other, you could qualify by only winning one game in the group. So the first game is a county final as if you win it puts you in a great position and if you don’t then there second game becomes the next county final”.
That first decider comes against opponents of a local variety as Kilmaley face familiar foes in the form of Ballyea in Sixmilebridge this Saturday afternoon (3.30pm).
“As we said to the lads during the week, Tony Kelly will be centre-forward for Ballyea and Mikey O’Malley will be centre-forward for us and there’s no messing or sideshows, you simply go out and hurl and see which team comes out on top. With Robbie [Hogan] coming back in with Ballyea this year, you know that he’s going to get the very best out of them and that’s what you want. You want to play the best so we know we’re in for one hell of a battle this Saturday but we’re looking forward to it”.
