Christy O'Connor on how Kilbrittain hurlers can emulate Ballygiblin at Croke Park

Before Ballygiblin played Easkey Sea Blues in the 2023 All-Ireland club Junior final, they targeted a fast start for a number of reasons.

As well as wanting to make a statement and rock the Sligo side back on their heels, Ballygiblin also wanted to prove to themselves that they had learned from the experience of the previous year’s final defeat to Mooncoin when the Kilkenny side had started the match far better.

Ballygiblin couldn’t have set the tone any quicker than they did 12 months later with Mark Keane charging forward right from the throw-in before laying the ball off to Darragh Flynn who fired the ball to the Easkey net inside nine seconds.

That score was critical as it provided Ballygiblin with a constant cushion throughout the match. Easkey were always going to need at least two green flags to get back into the game, but that was always unlikely to happen considering how Ballygiblin hadn’t conceded a single goal in their four previous games against the Tipperary, Waterford, Limerick and Wexford champions. 

And they kept a fifth successive clean sheet in that final against Easkey.

LOADED

That was an excellent Ballygiblin side, brilliantly coached by Ronan Dwane, but it was also loaded with huge experience in the form of Mark Keane, Darragh Flynn, Cathaill O’Mahony and Fionn Herlihy.

That Ballygiblin side was one of the best Junior teams to ever represent Cork in the Munster and All-Ireland championship. They were fully expected to win that All-Ireland three years ago against Easkey. Kilbrittain are also expected to win the All-Ireland against the same opposition on Saturday but the challenge is far more demanding now than what Ballygiblin faced against the Sligo side three years ago.

Why? The same reason Ballygiblin were so hard to beat in that 2023 final – experience. 

Easkey have bags of it at this stage. And Kilbrittain don’t.

For a significant share of this group, this is their third All-Ireland final appearance in Croke Park in seven years as they also contested the 2019 All-Ireland Junior football final, which they lost to Beaufort from Kerry.

In an interview on Ocean FM this week, Easkey’s best forward, Andy Kilcullen, spoke about that 2019 experience and how daunting it was for him to play in Croke Park for the first time. It’s not now though. 

And it certainly isn’t either for a host of Kilcullen’s team-mates; Jimmy Weir captained Sligo to the 2019 Nicky Rackard title in Croke Park, with a number of the current Easkey players having been part of that squad.

WEAPON

And that experience now is a weapon Easkey aim to use in this final. “There’s not many clubs that can say they were in an All-Ireland football and two hurling finals in the space of seven years,” said Easkey manager Padraig Mannion last week. 

“Any club in Ireland would give their right arm to swap places with us.” 

Easkey have been driven by a mission of winning an All-Ireland and becoming the first Connacht club from outside of Galway to win a national title. Tooreen from Mayo also have that opportunity on Saturday in the Intermediate final.

Less than 12 months after losing to Ballygiblin, Easkey lost the All-Ireland semi-final to St Catherine’s by one point. And if Kilbrittain were playing St Catherine’s at the weekend, that game would be seen as a 50:50 contest.

Easkey have been accused of being over-reliant on Kilcullen. He bagged 4-10 in the All-Ireland semi-final win against Burt from Donegal. But Kilcullen was restricted to just 0-1 from play in the Connacht final against Ballinasloe and Easkey still hit 2-17 that afternoon.

Easkey have impressive firepower but their attack is better than their defence, which is always a concern for a team heading to Croke Park.

 And particularly when Kilbrittain have an excellent forward line in Mark Hickey, Philip Wall, Ronan Crowley, Conor Hogan, Luke Griffin and Bertie Butler.

HEADACHE

Easkey have had to reshape their back-six since a number of players went travelling but the defence is now anchored at number six by another outstanding talent in Rory McHugh.

McHugh was a headache that Ballygiblin were concerned about ahead of that 2023 final. They expected him to play wing-forward but McHugh started at wing-back that evening. 

It did take from Easkey’s attacking threat but McHugh’s most natural position is as a half-back, which he has proven with Sligo in recent seasons.

This Easkey team is loaded with experience; their captain Finnian Cawley has played senior hurling and football for Sligo. He played against Galway in the 2023 Connacht football final.

Easkey may need to drop a man back early on to stay in the game and restrict this Kilbrittain attack but the longer the Sligo side stay in the game, the more the pressure will build on Kilbrittain.

And the longer Easkey are in this game, the more they will believe that their experience on this stage will propel them towards the destination they have long set their sights on reaching.

“We are a team with an unbreakable spirit and bond,” said midfielder Ronan Molloy after Easkey’s All-Ireland semi-final win after extra-time. 

“We never doubted ourselves for a second. 

The people in this club have huge belief in us and that drives us on, and the fans. And we are going to do it for them this year.” 

Kilbrittain know full well what’s coming on Saturday. And they better be prepared to meet Easkey head on if they are to be crowned All-Ireland champions.