PIHC final: Ballincollig look to honour the late Killian Lee by claiming glory

A drive through Ballincollig in recent days and the Village is awash with green and white.

The Muskerry club face Ballinhassig tomorrow in the Co-Op SuperStores PIHC final at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh with throw-in at 1.15pm.

There’s naturally enough great excitement and a buzz around Ballincollig. 

They won the IHC (now IAHC) title in 2018 and have had to bide their time to reach the final in the higher grade.

Losing at the semi-final hurdle in the last two seasons by a point to Kilworth and Carrigaline did hurt Ballincollig, it didn’t overwhelm them though. 

The enlisting of former Cork star Ronan Curran as coach last December has brought a different edge to the Collig this year.

He has worked in tandem with manager Eamonn Keating who replaced Danny Dwyer at the end of last year.

Also on the management ticket, Dave Collins, Frank Daly and Éamonn Murphy of this neck of the woods. 

They have all brought something different and a freshness to the set-up.

Ballincollig’s graph has gone one way since an opening-round loss to tomorrow's opposition on a scoreline of 4-13 to 0-19.

They recovered to defeat Kilworth and Castlemartyr to qualify out of their group before wins over Carrigaline and Dungourney have brought them to this stage.

The joy on everyone’s faces associated with Ballincollig was obvious after the 3-13 to 0-17 success over Dungourney two weeks ago today.

It was a relief to finally get over the semi-final stage as the fans came on to the pitch to congratulate the players and management.

It was a big moment for Ballincollig to win the semi-final, you have to enjoy every victory you get these days under the new structure.

Two days after that win came the sad news of the unexpected passing of Ballincollig clubman and former underage player Killian Lee at just 23 years of age.

He was an excellent underage player with the Mid-Cork outfit, winning titles and was also on Cork development squads.

His death rocked Ballincollig. In sadness, it has shown the true Village spirit. Everyone has come together. 

Killian was very close friends with many of the players on tomorrow's panel.

The team in green and white don’t need much motivation. It’s 2002 since they last played in the senior ranks when it comes to the small ball.

The untimely passing of Killian has given Ballincollig more reason to finish the job tomorrow afternoon.