Sarsfields' Killian Murphy: 'We want to get everything we can out of the league'

Sarsfields didn’t make it a secret last year that the RedFM Division 1 Hurling League wasn’t their priority.

As it turned out, they ended up winning the title as they handsomely defeated St Finbarr’s in the final. The Imokilly side would then go on and win another Co-Op SuperStores Premier SHC crown.

Sarsfields’ Killian Murphy, who plays primarily as a midfielder, but is also capable of playing in the forward line, was naturally pleased with how 2025 went overall.

“We used the league as a platform for the championship and it definitely gave us a good start to the year last season,” he says.

“When you win silverware, it probably sets you up nicely for the championship. In saying that, I suppose we didn’t set out at the start of last year to win the league.

“We tried different things, different systems and so on and it was great to end up in the final and when you are in it, you want to win.

“It was brilliant to win the league. The league final definitely was one of our best performances against St Finbarr’s. It was a good, strong, tough game for us that we probably needed for our championship season.” 

Sarsfields won back the Co-Op SuperStores Premier SHC title last year, but the season did end in disappointment when they lost at their first hurdle in Munster albeit against a well-oiled Ballygunner outfit.

“It was nice to win another county, but we would have liked to have gone further in Munster,” Murphy said.

“We’ve had a great few years now in fairness between league and championship. Anytime you win a county is special. It’s great for the club and it’s great for the community. It’s a special feeling.

“Our management team led by Johnny Crowley brings real professionalism. They definitely put everything in place for us and any team would be lucky to have them. They have raised the standards over the last few years. We are delighted to have them on board with us again this year.” 

Sarsfields open the defence of their RedFM Division 1 Hurling League title tonight when they entertain Glen Rovers in Riverstown with a start time of 7.30pm.

There will be no different approach for Crowley’s side.

“I suppose it’s a new season, but our last game was against Ballygunner and we want to make sure that game is behind us and that we learn from it.

“We went down obviously wanting to win and I suppose the first 20 minutes, we just didn’t show up at all and that kind of caught us in the end. We would have taken a lot of learnings from that, so we want to bring them into the new season.

“Anytime you play Glen Rovers is always a tough battle. We are looking forward to a close game with them. It will be a case of taking it game by game again.

“We’ll take each week as it comes and try to get everything we can out of the league.”