*O’Callaghans Mills captain, Aidan O’Gorman. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
O’CALLAGHANS MILLS have dipped into their reserves more than ever to bounce back to the senior grade at the first attempt which has also propelled them to a Munster intermediate final.
Unbeaten in championship across this year, the Mills face Tipperary side Upperchurch-Drombane in Saturday’s Munster intermediate final at TUS Gaelic Grounds.
Captain Aidan O’Gorman has already lifted the Paddy Browne Cup and hopes to again be making a winning acceptance speech this weekend. “We’re pinching ourselves at times wondering is this real, none of us could see this coming this time last year because we are the lowest of the low after Corofin putting us down to intermediate. In fairness to the boys, I’ve seen an awful difference to them this year, they have really took charge of everything when it comes to training and minding themselves outside of training, it has gone to a different level altogether”.
This is his second campaign as the Mills captain. “Fingers is reminding me all year that he made me captain two years ago, I don’t know why but it has stuck, I’ve been captain a few times down through the years, this is my first consistent spell,” Aidan outlined.
There was no doubt within the Mills and Kilkishent that they had to seal a senior return at the first attempt. “It is what you have to do, something has to change, we were training hard last year, we thought we were training hard anyway until Seán Doyle came in and put us through our paces. I remember our first night training out on Dan Mc’s Hill, it is only two miles out the road, I said not too many lads would show up the next night after it but in fairness everyone of them was back the following week ready for more, you could see the hunger there and that lads wanted to push on and get back to senior at the first time of asking, you have to commend them for that”.
Bodyke’s Seán Doyle has helped to bring them to a well they’ve never gone to before, the thirty year old acknowledged. “He has definitely helped without a doubt but lads took inspiration from Seán more than anything and drove it on. Our leaders, Aidan Fawl, Rocky (Conor Cooney), Paddy (Donnellan), they have all drove it on, the younger lads have put their shoulder to the wheel too and took charge of everything, Seán Boyce is flying it. The whole collective group effort has been very good this year and please God we will drive it on again next week”.
Munster Club is a new dimension for the Mills where they face off with players that are not as familiar as compared with the club hurlers in Clare they battle with year in year out. “That is the difference of the Munster championship you don’t know what you are up against but all you can do is give it everything, if you’re a back get out past your man and find your own player as best you can to give him the best chance of scoring, if you’re a forward it’s the same thing we want every day, take your man on and if the goal is there take it and if not pop it over the bar and reset again. There is no point over-complicating it”.
A less complicated approach is best, the farmer and agricultural contractor learned following their Munster quarter-final versus Kerry champions, Abbeydorney. “For the Abbeydorney game I was watching a few games before, watching my own performance but I psyched myself up too much, I was over-thinking about the game so I decided I was never doing that again, it is horses for courses”.
O’Gorman continued, “We were slow to start against Abbeydorney, we knew what they were going to come with but we didn’t match it for the first twenty minutes, in fairness to the boys they didn’t drop their heads, they drove on and got that vital goal which we so badly needed but they went down the field and got one, a well worked goal, it wasn’t looking good for a long time but in fairness to the boys we got the crucial scores, we brought on Bryan and Paddy to steady the ship around the middle and you can’t buy that experience”.
Though they have yet to taste defeat in championship, the Mills have had “a lot of tough games,” Aidan told The Clare Echo. “We played Tulla in Clonlara and they could have beaten us, we were lucky to get an equalising score the same day, you cant take anything for granted in the intermediate championship, they are all like ourselves wanting to get back up to the top flight, it is just a dogfight down there, youi have to be prepared and we had all our ducks in a line this year and thankfully we’re out of it. It’s bonus territory, we don’t get out of the county too often so we will make the most of it”.
