Aghabullogue face big challenge as they make the step up to Premier Intermediate in both codes

What Aghabullogue and Newcestown achieved last year was remarkable and only a miracle will top that this year. Doubles are a rare spectacle as it is, but to see two in the one season is astonishing.

“It’s a great thing to look back on,” says Aghabullogue’s John Corkery. “It's probably always going to be in our minds for as long as we go on.

“I suppose when you turn into this year, especially weeks like this when we have big challenges ahead, we have to park it and try and create a bit more history if we can.

“We've a good young team, so it's going to be a big challenge going up in both but we have to embrace that and it's great to be up there again.” 

The benefits of being a dual club where there for all to see last year, and the impact of success in one code certainly carried over into the other for Aghabullogue – but has the double promotion made things even more difficult for Aghabullogue this year?

Where we are, we're born and raised and hurling and football.

“We don't know any different. We've always done it from underage, so I guess what you don’t know, you don't know anything about [being a club focussed on one code] so we're happy enough with it.

“I wouldn't do it in the other way, and I'm sure the lads that are playing both would be the same.” 

SAME APPROACH

The Muskerry side found a formula that worked last year, and have stuck with the same approach for training and matches in 2024.

“[It’s] very much the same template as last year, but we’ve tried to increase the speed and intensity of it a little bit because there is going to be a big jump up from Intermediate A to Premier Intermediate,” John says. “We see it there with Séan [Furey] and the Cill na Martra lads that play with us, we'd be chatting to them and the pace that it's played at and the difference from Intermediate A and the way it picks up, so we’ve been trying to get a bit more intensity into it, but the template and how we structure the year is very much the same.

“It's one game at a time. Yeah, it's same way we did it last year. I think it's the only way, there's no guarantee it'll work but that's the way we're looking at it.

Looking ahead to today’s opening game with Aghada, John feels the club are well capable of getting off on the right foot.

“[We’re] quietly confident. Aghada are a good, strong team.

They're in the grade for a long time as well, so they'll have that advantage over us, maybe with the speed of it.

“It's our first time ever the club will be playing football at this level, so we're under no illusions. It's going to be a big step up for us and but look, we just go out and give it everything, go through our process and see where we end up at the end of it.” 

Whether the Coachford club can survive in both codes remains to be seen, but they’ll certainly be putting themselves in a position to be competitive, and who knows – they might spring a few surprises.