'When I lost my third county with Cloyne I never thought I'd get a senior medal'

PAUDIE O’SULLIVAN will probably have a few aches and pains to endure over the next few days, he shipped a couple of heavy knocks early on in Páirc Uí Rinn on Sunday.

However, he recovered sufficiently and played a key role in Imokilly’s three-in-a-row. The corner-forward said afterwards ‘it was an unbelievable game to play in’.

“The way county finals should be, tough, hard, fair, bordering on everything. An unbelievable game to win. Full credit to the Glen, they threw absolutely everything at us.

“Getting knocks is part and parcel of the game. That is county championship, that is a county final, that is how things go. We are lucky to get out of here.”

The Cloyne man set up his captain Seamus Harnedy for a tonic goal just before half time.

It enabled the champions take a six point lead to the dressing-room at the interval.

“That is what we are here for. That is the one thing we preach, it doesn’t matter who scores them, once Imokilly get over the line.

“It is an amazing achievement to have three senior county medals with Imokilly. When I lost my third medal with Cloyne all those years ago, I didn’t think I would be in this position a few years later.

“Maybe even I didn’t think it possible earlier in the season, I picked up a shoulder injury and thought I mightn’t be back.

“To be fair to Fergal (Condon) and all the lads, they gave me every chance.”

Cloyne will play in the senior A championship next year, so Paudie will not be eligible for Imokilly.

“That is the way it is. It is great Cloyne are going up. That is part and parcel of the championship. But it is nice to go up after this high with Imokilly today. Imokilly will go on without us.”

So, what did get them over the line in such a tight contest?

“Will to win is thrown at us a lot, that we are not a club team when it comes down to it. But you could see there in the last five or 10 minutes, they threw absolutely everything at us. We dug in, we fought for each other.

“There were a couple of scary moments at the end when the ball dropped in and it ended up wide. It somehow was our day.”

And the final word went to manager Fergal Condon and his backroom team.

“Fergal is the reason we are all here. He is an incredible man. I couldn’t say enough about him and his management team.

“It is the reason this is all possible. He is a great hurling man and this is for him as much as it is for anyone else.”