Croke Park clash with Mooncoin is 'just another game' for Ballygiblin
Ballygiblin celebrate after beating Skeheenarinky in the AIB Munster Club JHC final last month. Picture: Larry Cummins
Playing the game rather than the occasion will be the focus for Ballygiblin tomorrow’s AIB All-Ireland Club JHC final in Croke Park, but they’ve had good practice in that regard already.
The Cork and Munster champions take on Kilkenny’s Mooncoin at 3pm and one of Ballygiblin’s stalwarts on the journey to Jones’s Road, wing-back Barry Coffey, is hopeful that they can bring the same attitude that they did for the provincial final against neighbours Skeheenarinky of Tipperary.
“Every year, our goal was to win the North Cork and we felt we were good enough to do that,” he says.
“When we did that, we wanted to expand on that. We got a good run in the county and we began to pick up momentum.
“On into Munster, we had a tough game against Caherline and we were probably lucky to get over that. Then, up against our neighbours Skeheen in the Munster final, it was a bit surreal to be playing them in the championship.”
“We’d be used to playing the likes of Kildorrery and Glanworth so it wasn’t anything new to be playing lads we went to school with. It was probably a bit different for Skeheen, playing in Tipperary they wouldn’t be as familiar with going up against guys from school. It was probably a bit harder for them.
“It was definitely the biggest occasion we’ve been involved in and when you’re playing fellas you know, it’s hard to put it out of your head. In fairness, we stuck to our task on the day and we got over the line.”
Twenty-eight-year-old Coffey, a self-employed electrician, made his debut when he was just 16 so there was a wait before his first taste of North Cork glory in 2018. The club had only won the divisional title once before that, in 2004, and didn’t push on in either case.
“In 2018, we went into the first round of the county and were beaten by Brian Dillons,” Coffey says.
“This year, our heads were more screwed on and we wanted to go further than the North Cork. We always felt that we had the players to do it but it never really happened.”
In tandem with the county hurling run, many of the players were involved with Mitchelstown, who made it to the IAFC final. Unfortunately, they lost that to Dromtarriffe and it made for a tough turnaround before the Munster quarter-final against Caherline.
“It was very difficult, we only had a week to prepare,” Coffey says.
“On the day, conditions were terrible. We had a strong wind in the first half but we were only two points up at half-time and probably felt that we should have been more ahead. We played better against the wind.
“There wasn’t much time to turn around but once we got over Caherline, it was all hurling. It was grand training over Christmas – when you’ve a Munster final in your sights you’ll train away mad. It would have been a different story if it was pre-season!”
Pre-season itself was quite strange, of course, and Coffey remembers manager Ronan Dwane joined the club in an unusual time for everyone.
“He started with us during the lockdown a year ago,” he says.
“It was awkward enough at the start – it was only through WhatsApp and FaceTime and stuff. Then, we got going in April and he was down with us at training.
“He has a great knowledge of the game and a lot of experience. He has a real coolness on the line and he’s well able to make big decisions. He doesn’t say too much, but when he talks, fellas listen.”
And so a journey that began in Donerail against Killavullen on September 12 will end in Croke Park.
“It’s just another game for us,” Coffey says, “we have to forget about that factor and pretend we’re playing in Ballygiblin.
“Everybody has to get on with it, at the end of the day. It’s no bigger than any game we’ve played this year, really. We don’t know much about Mooncoin but we might be better off, going in with a blank canvas and giving it our all on the day.”
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