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*Kilmaley’s Tom O’Rourke. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
Brian Culbert would be totally forgiven for trying to investigate who is putting pins in a voodoo doll of him and his Kilmaley side as by this stage, it’s almost gone too far.
After all, three injury-time exits, one more dramatic than the next, would have been sufficient to derail most sides from their dreams of county senior glory.
In his first season in 2023, Kilmaley appeared to be destined for a converted place in the semi-finals for the first time since 2018, only to be sucker-punched by Feakle substitute Gary Guilfoyle to fire the last four points and pip Kilmaley to the post. That would be surpassed by an iconic last gasp Conor McGrath point from right in front of the Kilmaley dug-out in the final group game twelve months later that saw Cratloe extend their season by the minimum on score difference at Kilmaley’s expense.
Last year’s semi-final was perhaps the most difficult pill to swallow for Kilmaley as they led Éire Óg entering the final ten minutes, only to see Danny Russell grab the last three points to prevail at the death and go on to bridge a 35 year gap to their last county senior honours.
And yet, Sixmilebridge native Culbert doesn’t hold any bitterness or injustice, more an admirable determination to try and better their lot and luck this time around. “That’s sport at the end of the day as it doesn’t really matter how close you come, it’s all about the result. As I said to the lads last week, Éire Óg have been one of the most consistent teams in recent years and were definitely the most consistent last year to win it. I think they’ve either been in a quarter-final, semi-final or final every year for the last decade so they fully deserved their championship last year.
“An Éire Óg championship win ultimately means that the other 15 teams lost so it really doesn’t matter how close you come within games, at the end of the day Éire Óg are the only ones that can put their hands up and say that they deserved to win it last year and everyone else, regardless of whether you got to the semi-final or final you still lost. So it’s back to drawing board again for this year and just try and work that small bit harder and try and catch Éire Óg this year”.
So does he get that sense that his players are prepared to leave no stone unturned this summer? “Every year brings its own pressures but for the older lads they definitely will be relishing another shot. I mean we’re approaching this Friday like it is a county final and I’m sure that Newmarket are going to be the same. We’ll treat every game like that and see where it gets us but definitely there is a greater want there each year that you have to do more. And look, this year mightn’t be the year either. This time next year, they might realise again that they’ve got to go a bit harder for 2027”.
The qualification process certainly doesn’t get any easier as Kilmaley are embroiled in a derby triumvirate of Sixmilebridge, Wolfe Tones and of course this Friday’s opponents Newmarket-on-Fergus in Ruan (7pm).
“In a way every game in that group is a derby as there are plenty of links between all the teams and a bit of history and loads of excitement to every fixture. And while some people will pick teams as favourites to come out of the group, I really do feel that every team is capable of beating each other. We’re only focusing on Newmarket thogh because they’ve a very, very good team and they may have been in the relegation last year but two years earlier they topped a group involving Cratloe and Clooney-Quin and we just caught by Crusheen in the quarter-finals.
“A lot of that team are still there and you can sprinkle in the few county Under 20’s that they had this year and they’re going to be a serious challenge. Traditionally they’ve always been strong which means that regardless of injuries and the personnel that they have, you know you’re going to get 100% against Newmarket. So we’re going to have to be on our game from the outset, that’s for definite”.
Kilmaley Factfile
Management: Brian Culbert (Manager); Eoin O’Malley (Coach); Paudie McGough, Kevin McNamara, Kieran Dillon (Selectors); Conor Neylon (S&C): Ruth Hassett (Physio), Liam Buckley (Stats)
Captain: Mikey O’Malley
Key Player: Conor Cleary
One to Watch: Oisin Looney
Fresh Blood: Oisin Looney, Cian Moloney
Departure Gate: Brian McNamara (Abroad)
Treatment Table: Colin McGuane (Hamstring), Sean Kennedy (Broken Leg), James Fitzpatrick (Ankle)
Titles Won: 2 (1985, 2004)
Last season’s run: An epic but ultimately losing semi-final against eventual champions Éire Óg
Schedule
Round 1 v Newmarket-on-Fergus at Ruan (Friday, July 24th) 7pm
Round 2 v Wolfe Tones at Clarecastle GAA (Saturday, August 8th) 2pm
Round 3 v Sixmilebridge at Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chiosóg, Ennis (Sunday, August 23rd) 3.30pm
Championship power ranking (1=weak/unlikely winners, 10=strong contenders): 8
