*Keelan Sexton puts the ball past Padraigh Chaplin. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
KILMURRY IBRICKANE will have talisman Keelan Sexton available for the remainder of their 2023 championship bid.
James Murrihy who is in his second year as manager of the sixteen time champions has confirmed to The Clare Echo that Sexton will remain part of their squad as they bid to put a halt to Éire Óg’s attempts to win three titles in a row.
Clare forward Sexton is relocating to New York City. As ever, much speculation has centred around the Law Plus graduate’s future with the West Clare club with rumours circulating earlier this year that he was to join Na Fianna in Dublin.
On Keelan’s future with Kilmurry Ibrickane, Murrihy told The Clare Echo, “I was interviewed before the start of the championship. We will have Keelan for the entire championship, whether Keelan is in his career is going here or there but for the next couple of months he will be available to us to play in the 2023 championship”.
Although he will be involved with The Bricks for their quest to get their hands on Jack Daly for the first time since 2020, the twenty six year old is not expected to be in action in their final round tie against St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield as their place in the quarter-finals is already secured.
Advancing to the knockout stages was the first objective for Murrihy and his charges. “That’s what we set out to do but for us it is game by game and seeking improvement, nobody knew what level they were at before the first round but we’ve started improving”.
Beating Corofin in the second round on a margin of thirteen points was made more impressive by the fact they lined out without Sexton, Martin McMahon, Diarmuid King and Aidan McCarthy in their starting fifteen.
This is all part of the transition, James explained, “It’s my second year in the job, people will recognise a few of the lads from the Spanish Point team that won the All-Ireland, there is a good few of them there and other lads that are a good bit older, as a Kilmurry man part of the work I have to do is transition those into adult senior footballers, for some of them it is Cusack Cup football and for more of them it’s senior championship football. After the first two rounds, Michael Comber, Jason Cushen made their debuts on top of Diarmuid Comber and Cathal Talty, Josh Moloney is only in the door so it is really good and part of that transition”.
Key to their unbeaten start has been the form of centre-forward Dermot Coughlan who kicked 0-07 in the first half of their clash with Corofin. “To be fair some of the points he kicked in the first half were outrageous, I was nearly tearing the hair out of my head but again you need your county players playing well, that is not to forget David Sexton pulled off a crucial save in the first half when the game was in the melting pot and Corofin were well in the game and putting us under pressure so he made a vital save. Overall, we’re happy, it is a building block, we have to put everything into perspective, yes we are guaranteed a quarter-final place in a month’s time but we won’t be looking beyond Doora/Barefield”.
Coughlan and his county teammate Daniel Walsh have certainly stood up as central players for The Bricks so far. “It’s important when you have county players because you don’t get them too often, it can take time between challenge games and training, that transition from the county scene into the club championship, I’d like to think the further we go the better we will get as those fellas integrate fully”.
Murrihy was quick to reference the absentees in the Corofin side when reflecting on their dominant display. “You’ve to put things into perspective, Corofin lost Jamie Malone and he is one of the top three or four footballers in Clare to a hamstring injury, not to throw water on them but Diarmuid Cahill is also missing and he is a serious forward, that stunted their attacking threat and they only had Robin Mounsey back in the door after Ruan playing Corofin so they will relish the challenge of having a go off St Breckan’s. We can only beat what is in front of us but we have to put it into perspective”.
