John Evans: The last person out of Cill na Martra turn off the lights

A SMALL Gaeltacht village in west Muskerry will be empty tomorrow as Cill na Martra face Castlerea St Kevin’s of Roscommon in the All-Ireland IFC semi-final in Laois Hire O’Moore Park in Portlaoise at 2.30pm.

The championship journey for the team in blue and white started back in July when they scraped over the line by three points against Aghada and, with the county and Munster titles in the bag, they are now just 60 minutes away from making it to Croke Park. 

Manager John Evans has been relatively pleased with his side's preparations over the last few weeks, with all things considered.

“It has been tough to train recently, but it is what it is and we are happy enough with where we are at,” Evans said.

“It’s a tricky time of the year with the poor weather and also one of the players got married, Danny O’Connell, in recent weeks so you're making allowances. But look, we are not complaining, it’s a good position to be in and these are all the hurdles you have to overcome. I must say the attitude of the players has been outstanding and the support they have received from everyone in the community has been fantastic.

“All season, the one thing that has been foremost in my mind is the timing of the training and the timing of the blocks of training. If we get an opening, we get a good block of training in and then it’s more tactical work than anything else. The lads had a few days off after winning the Munster title four weeks ago and we have got a nice bit of training in since so we are satisfied enough.” 

Winning the Cork PIFC crown was the ultimate goal for Cill na Martra in 2023 and, when they achieved that back in October, they could have easily rested on their laurels. But, it has been the opposite, and they really attacked the Munster championship.

“After losing to Kanturk after extra time in the semi-final in 2022, winning the county the following season was the only thought in our minds. We wanted to rectify that and thankfully we did. We beat a brilliant Bantry Blues team in the final. We played the team that was in front of us in every game in this campaign, not the occasion, and that has been key. The county final triumph gave us huge confidence and we have improved since then.

“These days don’t come around too often and when they do you have to take advantage, and winning Munster back in December was special. We celebrated for a few days and then we turned our focus to the All-Ireland semi-final. We want to create more history.” 

Castlerea St Kevin’s will provide a stern test for the Mid-Cork outfit, but it’s a game Evans is relishing.

“I wouldn’t be too familiar with Castlerea St Kevin’s, even though I managed Roscommon many years ago, but from watching their previous games they have been very impressive. They have beaten the Galway and Mayo champions, and when you do that in Connacht you must be doing something right. We won’t fear them and we will have huge support, so whoever is the last person out of Cill na Martra turn off the lights.”