Kevin Lenahan says Buttevant's growth will be tested again as Adrigole await in IAFC semi-final

Buttevant midfielder Kevin Lenahan believes their rise has been built on resilience, momentum and a growing sense of belief.

All three will be needed again on Saturday when they face Adrigole in the McCarthy Insurance Group IAFC semi-final in Kilmichael (3pm).

After lifting the Premier Junior title last year, Buttevant have carried that form into Intermediate A — a grade Lenahan feels is far tighter than outsiders might assume.

“I feel personally like there’s probably not a whole pile between a lot of the grades,” he says. 

“There’s probably a couple of standout teams in each grade, but as we’ve gradually built into this grade, we’ve shown we can compete.

“We had two wins in the group but our loss to Kilmurry in game two was an eye-opener. It was a completely different kettle of fish.

“We had a really good first half and I think we might have thought we had enough done. They reeled us back in. It’s probably the longest we’ve gone without scoring in a match in a long, long time.

“We knew we had a really big test ahead of us then in the last group game to qualify. Ilen Rovers are a seasoned team, got to the final last year, good pedigree. We just got over the line and got an insurance goal at the end. But we felt we had momentum then.” 

That momentum carried into the Mitchelstown game — a quarter-final fixture Lenahan described as “a massive game”. Given Mitchelstown’s quality, Buttevant’s win was a landmark moment.

“It was a huge win for the club,” he said.

“We were talking about it after the game on the Saturday night — the last time Buttevant played Mitchelstown was the 2013 Avondhu final. They beat us and went on to win the county. 

"We can’t remember beating Mitchelstown in the recent past, so to get that win is another notch on our belt, just to show how much we’ve progressed.” 

Progress has been steady, but Lenahan keeps returning to that Kilmurry defeat as a turning point.

“It was definitely a wake-up call,” he says. 

“Kilmurry are a great side. We’ve had a few battles with them. But that day stood to us going up against Ilen Rovers.” 

Now the focus is fully on Adrigole, a side with serious pedigree at this level despite losing the last three semi-finals. Lenahan expects a completely different type of contest to the Mitchelstown game.

“I’m sure Adrigole are going to be a titanic struggle. We’ve had our battles with them over the last couple of years. They beat us in the Division 5 final in Kilmurry in 2024 in a really tough game.

“They’ve got straight to the semi-final once again this year, not the first time they have done it. You don’t do that by chance. We know it’s going to be a completely different challenge on Saturday.”