'We left it behind in 2022' – Kilshannig make amends with county title win

It was a win that felt bigger than the title on offer itself. Kilshannig not only brought down Ballinora to claim the County Junior A Hurling Championship title, they also climbed into the Premier Junior ranks – and with it – a chance to keep climbing.

For wing-back Kieran Twomey, named man of the match after landing 0-4 (0-1 65), it carried more – the sting of 2022 finally soothed.

“Over the moon,” Twomey said post-match. “2022 was a tough day, we had a very hard battle with Erin’s Own, over two days as well, with the replay.

“We felt like we might have maybe left it behind us, but Erin’s Own were very good that day, they were very clinical. So to come out and kind of avenge that, and get over the line today and kind of show what we can actually do. We performed a lot better than 2022.” 

Reaching this stage wasn’t easy. The Junior A championship never is, the road is long and the traffic heavy. Every corner of Avondhu throws up a test, and it took every ounce of Kilshannig’s grit to survive it, before even thinking about the county title.

“Junior A, obviously it's a lower standard,” Twomey explained. “But it's one of the hardest to win in terms of how long it is. Like, look, we're here and it's nearly December, it's a long road.

“The Avondhu Championship is very competitive. We played Clyda Rovers there, we were down at half-time, we played Killavullen, we were up at half-time, and they brought it back all the way.

“It's never easy to get out of Avondhu, there hasn’t been a repeat winner in I don’t know how long. So it's a long slog. 

Hopefully now, we can at least hold our own anyway for Premier Junior and hopefully push on.” 

His own display was central to that push. Three points from play at wing-back told of a man who was in exceptional form, but also one who thrived on the work done around him.

“It's a good day now,” he said. “It just kind of fell for me well, around the middle of the field there, they were working fierce hard and they kind of just found me out on the wing, in the middle of space, and it just happened to be my day.

“But they were working savage hard around the middle there to get those dirty balls to give me the nice scores, which is nice then.” 

That graft around the middle third told throughout, particularly on puckouts, where Kilshannig dictated the terms and forced Ballinora to chase and react to everything.

“It was kind of something we've always prided ourselves on is our ability. We have a big team around the middle, so we pride ourselves on trying to win puck outs and stuff like that.

“And then, as I said then again, around the middle, they were fighting like dogs for the breaks.

NEVER-SAY-DIE

“We always have this kind of never-say-die attitude, Dermot O’Riordan has helped instil in us. As I said, we were down badly against Clyda, and stuff like that has helped us. When we got to this stage, we know, we always believe, that we can always keep going and get to the end and get over the line.” 

Closure, belief, and a new beginning – all wrapped in one afternoon. Kilshannig have earned their step up, but the challenge ahead will be steep.

Of the last six Cork JAHC winners going back to 2019, none have been relegated back down from the fifth tier. Erin’s Own, Ballygiblin, Russell Rovers and Lisgoold even kicked on to win the next grade.

Erin’s Own took the Premier Junior crown in 2023 and Russell Rovers in 2024, while Lisgoold won the Lower Intermediate Championship as it was then known in 2021. 

Ballygiblin's feat was even more impressive they retained the Munster JHC and played in two All-Ireland finals, landing the ultimate prize in Croke Park in 2023.

It’s a tough act to follow, but as Kilshannig have already proven, reaching this level is often the hardest part of all.