Buttevant's Seamus Madigan not underestimating Shamrocks in Munster quarter-final

It’s new territory for Buttevant this afternoon as they look to build on winning the McCarthy Insurance Group Premier JFC two weeks ago.

The black and amber take on Waterford outfit Shamrocks in the AIB Munster Club JFC quarter-final at Cappoquin Logistics Fraher Field in Dungarvan. Throw-in time is at 1.30pm.

For Buttevant defender Seamus Madigan, he’s excited to get going again after an unforgettable few days celebrating county glory.

“Going into the Munster series is a first for all of us, so obviously we want to do well,” the 28-year-old says.

“At the end of the day, it’s another game of football. That’s something we have really stressed since the start of the year, no matter what the situation is, we just take it as a game of football. In this game against Shamrocks, we love football and have dedicated our lives to it, but we aren’t making it any bigger than what it is.

“We are really looking forward to the game and aren’t going to take it for granted. We have to put it out of our minds that it’s a Munster game.” 

Buttevant brought an end to 99 years without an adult county football championship trophy a fortnight ago following a 1-15 to 0-10 victory over St Nick’s.

It meant the world to everyone involved with the Avondhu outfit.

“Look, we celebrated for a good few days, but once we went back training on the Thursday, the mindset shifted,” Madigan said.

“The full focus is on this Shamrocks game. We have parked the county win. It was a special win, but we know that we have another aim now and it’s a case of taking it game by game.

“We will have a big support down in Dungarvan, so it’s up to us to perform. Whether it has been football or hurling, the following we have received this year has been brilliant.

“It’s great to see past players who I would have played with supporting us and plenty of kids who are the future of Buttevant. The support has been absolutely fantastic and I am sure they will bring their voices into this game.” 

Madigan, who played for the Cork minor footballers a decade ago, and captained Buttevant to county minor A football championship success in 2015, is certainly enjoying the present moment after a lot of disappointing days.

“My first game with Buttevant’s first team was against Charleville in 2014. We have had tough moments over the years especially in 2019 when we got knocked out early.

“After winning the minor in 2015, people were kind of expecting us to kick on. I know it’s a cliché but you learn more in defeat and we would have learnt from those failures and disappointments. That has got us to be where we are today.

“Some of those losses were tough to take at the time. They were invaluable though going forward. We are in a good place now.

“We don’t want this campaign to end. We want to keep it going for as long as possible.”