New Castlemartyr manager Shane Brick 'ambitious' ahead of 2024 season

NEW Castlemartyr manger Shane Brick joins the club from Douglas, after holding a role in the backroom team for the past five seasons.

Brick, from Kilmoyley in Kerry, moved to Tracton at the twilight of his playing career. He eventually retired and took up the managerial role with Kilmoyley. Under his guidance, they reached the Kerry Senior Hurling Championship final in 2018, but fell short against Lixnaw.

Returning to Cork and joining the Douglas backroom team, Shane Brick has been in the role since 2019. During his time with the south siders, Kilmoyley reached the Munster Intermediate HC final in 2021, beating Courcey Rovers to reach the All-Ireland series.

They made it as far as the All-Ireland final, losing out to Kildare’s Naas by a tough margin of two points.

Brick returned to help out as a coach with his Cork club Tracton, working with the Carrigdhoun outfit in 2021 and 2022. The latter season saw the club reach the Premier Junior HC final.

Joining Castlemartyr for the 2024 campaign, Brick discusses what appealed to him about the role.

“They're ambitious,” Shane begins. Premier Intermediate is a very competitive grade. Obviously, I played in it myself when I came to Tracton for a couple of years at the end of my career, so all of that would appeal to me big time.

“I suppose the grade is probably one of the most competitive out there, lots of times there you look at a previous year in the form line and take it as a guide for the following year. Whereas in this grade, I don't think you can do that.” 

On their aims for the upcoming season, Shane remarks; “I think it'll definitely be case of us getting ourselves ready so that when the opportunity comes that that we're ready to take it.

“They're an ambitious bunch and I’d be the same myself. So, we just need to work hard for the year and be ready.

“There are some great players there. Obviously, there are the lads involved with Imokilly and with Cork, which is great.

“I’ve come across them obviously within the Imokilly scene with Douglas, and they're super.

“There’s a lot of the younger players as well coming through from the U21s over the last number of years, and obviously you have Ciarán Joyce as well.” 

Brick’s backroom team brings a twist – it’s a composition of some of his Douglas colleagues, and many of Castlemartyr’s current crop.

“John Kingston, who has worked with me with Douglas over the last five years, he's coming in with me. Donal Burke, who's obviously very experienced – he was part of the management team last year as a selector, he's staying on, so that's huge.

“Some of the S&C and video analysis are staying on as well, so there's good continuity there and a few fresh voices as well – so a good mix.

“Obviously, you're coming into something, and you're trying to put our own stamp on things.

“We have our own targets for the league. [We want] to get a good base of fitness and try out some new players, and maybe change around things a little bit in terms of positioning.”