*Dara Fitzgerald, the captain of the St Joseph’s Tulla Harty Cup side has impressed in defence for The Bridge. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
SIXMILEBRIDGE’S sole focus this weekend is on taking down Corofin as they bid to see their second string side win promotion to the senior ranks.
Pat Keane is a Sixmilebridge GAA man through and through. A former chairman (4 years), secretary (5 years), vice chairman (2 years), county board delegate (current), senior selector from 2015 to 2018 when the club were county champions twice, his GAA focus this week is on Saturday’s intermediate hurling championship final.
Keane is the manager of Sixmilebridge who are seeking to win a title they last held in 1990 and on Saturday evening he will be patrolling the sideline at Cusack Park as his charges take on a hotly fancied Corofin outfit in the final.
This will be the third meeting of the sides this season. They met in round five of the Division 2 league back in May when a draw resulted at O’Garney Park. They met again in June in the league semi-final and here Corofin won by three points on their way to winning the title.
The manager believes his team “shocked a lot of people in this campaign, including many locals. Nat many gave us a chance particularly in the semi-final against Tulla”.
That five point win over a fancied Tulla outfit reversed the semi-final result between the same sides twelve months earlier when Tulla were fourteen point winners. “One of the lads made the point after the win last week that only two of our players, Aidan Quilligan and Colm Flynn, filled the same positions they held twelve months earlier. We had a completely new half back line”, the manager explained.
Keane told The Clare Echo, “each team goes out to win their own championship. Three of the players that started out with us this year, Sean Mac Namara, Fiachra Ó Broin and Paul Corry, went up to the senior squad. We have a lot more experienced players this year and these include three, Alan Mulready, Christopher Carey and Evan McInerney, who were not with us last year”.
Asked for a view on the possibility of Sixmilebridge having two senior teams next season (should they win the intermediate) he said “next year will be somebody else’s problem as our term is over when this final is decided. All we are focused on right now is facing Corofin in this final and we know they are the hot favourites”.
Incidentally when the club last won this title they were promoted to senior where they had two teams but they were in separate groups and incidentally, neither managed to make it through to the play offs.
Keane’s backroom team comprises Eamonn Healy and Tom Howard “both with multiple championship titles as players”. Healy featured as a forward on a number of title winning teams with the club while Clarecastle native Howard, now a Sixmilebridge resident, helped the Magpies to a number of successes.
“Look Corofin have been favourites for this title from early in the season and we know we are facing a strong side. Our lads have worked hard and prepared well and we are looking forward to Saturday’s final”, Keane concluded.
