Online Club Football Championship coverage brought to you by the Shannon Springs Hotel—home of The Old Lodge Gastropub.
*Conor Burke celebrates his first goal for Kilmurry Ibrickane. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
SIXTEEN-TIME Clare SFC champions Kilmurry Ibrickane have set up a repeat of the 2024 county final where they will face Éire Óg following their 25 point win over Kildsyart.
Kilmurry Ibrickane 4-22
Kildysart 0-9
Venue: Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg, Ennis
Familiarity with semi-final appearances mixed with a greater composure on the ball and the speed of their counter-attacks gave Kilmurry Ibrickane the edge over Kildysart, sealing their return to the decider after a one-year absence.
Two pointers had sparked Kildysart into life in this year’s Jack Daly competition, they kicked eight in the quarter-final and four in the third round but they were kept to a single orange flag in this encounter by a well-drilled Kilmurry Ibrickane.
How the Bricks built their transitions from defence to attack was done at a frightening pace and the end product packed a punch with all of their goals evident of this.
A first semi-final in thirty nine years proved to be an occasion that Kildysart will be keen to forget. Their return of nine points was their lowest tally of the entire championship, they never got into their groove and missed chances that they scored with ease in their last four outings but this was their toughest test and they had no answers for their opponents.
All photographs by Gerard O’Neill.
With the occasion that it was, Kildysart needed to settle from the off, they didn’t and it took eleven minutes for them to register a score, Seamus Casey kicking over after Diarmuid O’Donnell overturned an Ian McInerney kickout. They had four wides prior to this, two of them potential two pointers.
At the other end, Kilmurry Ibrickane were clinical, the most clinical in fact they had been throughout the championship, they had four points on the board while their opponents were scoreless, Cathal Talty, Conor Burke, Keelan Sexton and Caoilfhionn O’Dea all splitting the posts.
Three points would be as close Kildysart could get to the Bricks, Emmet McMahon’s sole two pointer and Jamie Sheehan’s point on twenty minutes bringing them to within the one score.
Conor Burke’s first goal arrived on twenty four minutes, Dermot Coughlan playing an excellent pass to Keelan Sexton who offloaded quickly through the hands to the on-rushing Burke to finish beyond Conor Cusack. They led by six at the interval, O’Dea and O’Donnell trading scores before the sides retreated for the dressing rooms.
Teenager Burke kept Kilmurry Ibrickane in the driving seat on the restart, he fired over a two pointer within sixty three seconds, Liam Casey replied at the other end but as was the case throughout there was always a stronger answer from Enda Coughlan’s charges who hit an unanswered three points through Burke, Coughlan and Talty.
Talty demonstrated his skill and composure when landing the second goal on thirty seven minutes. His initial effort was blocked by Conor Cusack but he had the wherewithal, skill and calmness to flick the ball into his hands before tapping to the net on his second go.
Liam Casey’s second point on forty one minutes would turn out to be Kildysart’s last contribution to the scoreboard as the belief completely drained from their challenge.
Having left an abundance of scores behind them in their four previous games, Kilmurry Ibrickane were determined to make amends and kicked an unanswered 2-7 to record one of their most comprehensive semi-final victories.
Ending their year with such an underwhelming display is a pity for a Kildysart outfit that made inroads and went from lining out in a relegation semi-final to reaching the last four of the championship in twelve months. They were worthy of their place in the semi-finals and will be again but need to find the answer on how to stop the rot when a quality side gets on top.. Their marquee men were nullified and what will also frustrate Niall Ginnane and his management is they ordinarily bossed opposing sides in the middle third but lost the battle in this sector. Liam Casey and Luke McGrath kept plugging to the final whistle for the Shannon Estuary side who will only come back stronger if they learn from this sobering loss.
Lessons aplenty appear to have been learned by Kilmurry Ibrickane who dealt with their two biggest failings of the championship, the concession of two pointers and scoring efficiency. They converted every goal chance they created this time and finished with six wides while they only conceded one two pointer against one of the sides that were most effective with orange flags all season.
Reaching the final while also appearing to be on an upward graph will leave the football-mad parish of Kilmurry Ibrickane optimistic when they face the three-in-a-row chasing Éire Óg.
They had exceptional displays from Ajay Daly, Andrew Shannon, Daniel Walsh, Conor Burke, Cathal Talty, Caoilfhionn O’Dea and Evan Cahill.
Scorers Kilmurry Ibrickane: C Burke (2-4 1TP), C Talty (2-3), C O’Dea (0-4), K Sexton (0-4 2f), D Callinan (0-2 1TP), D Coughlan (0-1), J Moloney (0-1), S Hickey (0-1), C Kearney (0-1).
Scorers Kildysart: E McMahon (0-2 1TP), L Casey (0-2), S Casey (0-1), J Sheehan (0-1), D O’Donnell (0-1 1f), J Evans (0-1), C Casey (0-1).
Kilmurry Ibrickane:
16: Ian McInerney
2: Conor Kearney
3: Darren Hickey
4: Andrew Shannon
7: Darragh Sexton
23: Ajay Daly
12: Daniel Walsh
8: Evan Cahill
6: Dermot Coughlan
10: Ciaran Morrissey
11: Caoilfhionn O’Dea
5: Josh Moloney
13: Cathal Talty
14: Keelan Sexton
15: Conor Burke
Subs:
17: Shane Hickey for Morrissey (38)
24: Colin Considine for D Sexton (46)
29: Daryn Callinan for Coughlan (46)
18: Cillian Darcy for Moloney (53)
20: Ruben Fallon for Cahill (53)
Kildysart:
1: Conor Cusack
4: Cillian Kelly
3: Fergal Ginnane
2: James Casey
7: Luke McGrath
6: Rory McMahon
5: Oisin Coyle
8: Keith O’Connor
9: Kieran O’Brien
10: Seamus Casey
11: Emmet McMahon
12: Jamie Sheehan
13: Diarmuid O’Donnell
14: Jamie Evans
15: Liam Casey
Subs:
19: Conor Moloney for S Casey (27)
17: Conall Casey for Sheehan (35)
18: Darragh Murtagh for Coyle (49)
20: Jack Cotter for O’Donnell (57)
Referee: Gary Twomey
