*Sean Cotter, Cormac Murphy, Fionn Hickey and Sean O’Gorman. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
A FIRST Clare Cup crown since 1995 was the perfect end to O’Callaghan’s Mills weekend of celebration to mark the centenary of the official opening of Hamilton Park in Kilkishen.
It certainly completed the assimilation process for new manager Paul Keane who now has the distinction of guiding clubs to senior silverware in three different counties after winning the Limerick equivalent in charge of his native Adare (2017) before also aiding Burgess’ passage to a Tipperary Senior B Championship crown in 2018.
Following in the footsteps of his father Dave who managed Limerick to a three-in-a-row of All-Ireland Under 21 titles from 2000-2002, Keane was understandably delighted for his new side to have gotten off to such an unprecedented start.
“It’s great, especially for the weekend that’s in it. Look, at the start of the year, we weren’t sure if we’d get here or not but the fact that it was on in Kilkishen and we were able to win it here is brilliant for the club. Just look around at the excitement and buzz, it just tops off a fabulous weekend. There’s so many kids here this evening so just to see the players signing hurleys and jerseys will hopefully inspire them to be in this position too some day,” he told The Clare Echo.
The impact of a new manager was certainly felt once more as three years on from Donach O’Donnell hitting the ground running to guide the Mills to a first county senior decider in 17 years, Keane only had seven of that team at his disposal for Sunday’s Clare Cup Final, a feat that made victory all the sweeter.
“This win is massive for confidence. I mean between players gone traveling this year and injuries etc, we haven’t had our full complement at any stage of the Clare Cup. Those that did get their chance, took it and over the weeks through winning games, the confidence has improved. So to actually get some silverware at the end of it is a huge bonus.”
As a player, Keane was part of Adare’s historic three-in-a-row of Limerick Senior Hurling crowns under Clarecastle’s Ger O’Loughlin but isn’t building any castles in the sky regarding the Mills’ championship hopes off the back of Sunday’s breakthrough.
“Everything has been geared towards preparing for the championship that is just around the corner now. It’s going to be tough, we know that but just like in the second half today, we’ll need our experienced players to come up with big moments. One thing’s for sure though, it will be easy to come back training after winning this”.
