More hurling silverware in a break out year - Junior C triumph
December 15, 2024
After extra time, Killavullen won out this Junior C Shreelawn Oil sponsored championship, against Liscarroll –Churchtown Gaels for the very first time, but then 2024 has been a year of firsts, for hurling in Killavullen. It took a mammoth effort to see off the opposition, in a tough, uncompromising manly game, that saw booth teams have chances, but ultimately in extra time, the younger legs of Killavullen came to the fore, to prevail, with a bit of craft from the older players to boot.
Killavullen opening the scoring with a long range free from Sean Palmer and added to that, very shortly afterwards with a goal from Colm Hannon, who followed in a Joe Cagney shot, that was dropping dangerously in and around the square, Colm got the faintest but very necessary of touches to push the ball over the line. Colm then added a free when Seamus O Mahony was fouled and that was added to very soon thereafter by a point by Michael Walsh. Liscarroll –Churchtown Gaels, here after called LC Gaels, got their opening score from the midfield area, scored by their wing back. They got their second and third points from frees in the 9th and 12th minute in a game where the referee, Mike Browne was up with the play, was assiduously level to both teams in how he refereed the game and tended not to blow, too often. It made for manly stuff, and the Killavullen team did not shy away from that aspect of the game either. LC Gaels drew level with a goal of their own in the 13th minute when their experienced full forward Kieran Curtin used his guile to bully our young full back off the ball, and he then executed the goal. Ian O Gorman scored next for us, in the 14th minute from open play, from in and around his half forward berth but LC Gaels hit back with another free. The concession of frees was our nemesis at this stage, as our opponents stayed in the game, when we should have been further ahead, due to our general play. Cian O Connor stepped out of his centre back position to fire a monster long range effort over the centre of the goals for an inspirational point but LC Gaels took the lead when we failed to deal with a centre into our goals area, and conceded a goal, when decisive action would have cleared the ball.
Sean Palmer and Joe Cagney were very good in midfield, covering a huge swath of the pitch, back and forth, and Sean chipped in with a beauty of a point, on the run. Ian O Mahony was fouled after gathering possession, after great work by Rory Regan, and Colm scored the resultant free. We went behind again with the concession of another free, and then drew level when Colm Hannon dusted himself down after a particularly heavy challenge , that near whipped the legs from under him, but he got up , shaken, to fire over the point. Seamus O Mahony, so often our willing outlet and runner in the opening half then got us a point, to see us lead at the interval, 1-09 to 2-05. We had much of the play in the opening period, but six wides as against only two for our more economical opponents was telling.
LC Gaels started the stronger in the second half, and two frees and a point from open play had them two points to the fore by the sixth minute. We sprung Kevin Fox from the bench, for Michael Walsh, to try to wrestle back control of the middle third of the field. Seamus scored a free for us then, and we got back level with a Rory Regan point. Ian O Mahony was unlucky that a brilliant doubling of the ball was adjudged to be wide, when we all thought it was over the bar, and very nearly under it, but the umpires ducking for cover, said otherwise. LC Gaels edged ahead again with another free before Seamus equalized with a free of his own. At the back, Cian O Connor was now at full back, and revelling in the close marking physical exchanges whilst Billy Norris and a player half his age, in Darragh O Connor never shirked away from doing the dutiful, and clearing their lines. In fact, Darragh revelled in the physicality, when his bravery came to the fore. Outside them, Barry Cotter, Thomas Fennell and Sean Bartley was astute at blocking and hooking, and getting their bodies in the way, to prevent progress. It made for an absorbing contest that had the very fine crowd enthralled. We had missed a few frees at this stage, and the geniuses on the line, brought Barry Murphy out of goals, and put Billy Norris in there. Ian O Gorman was rotated, for Michael Walsh. LC Gaels took the lead with three minutes to go in the game from open play but we earned a free through Colm in the forward line, a fitting reward for the poking and prodding he was enduring and up stepped Barry, and serenely shoved it over the bar. We thought we might have won the game, in the 2nd minutes of added time, when Colm scored a point under pressure, but LC Gaels got their puck out away quickly and forced an equalizer in the same minute. This ensued a drawn game, and extra time, two periods of ten minutes was to follow.
In the opening ten minute periods, several players were going down with cramp and fatigue, but noticeability more of theirs than ours, and we got the opening score, again from distance from Sean Palmer, who somehow was still zipping around midfield. LC Gaels got a point back from a free but we took a one point lead into the short interlude when Barry Murphy scored another point from a free, from around the sixty five metre mark, after great work by Joe Cagney.
In the second period of extra time, Killavullen were afforded the space to ping the ball around more, as our opponents wilted, and Michael Walsh pushed out our lead to two points. Ian O Gorman interchanged playing positions with Ian O Mahony. Barry Murphy then scored an audacious point, from out on the wing to delight the huge Killavullen crowd, and more so, when he waved his finger in salute, a gesture than might be well received in Croke Park, when he was playing with Clare but in Clyda in December , well……. Still, he was causing consternation in the full back line of LC Gaels now, with his craft, and with Colm Hannon running off him. We earned another free, that Barry converted and LC Gaels got a point back to leave three between the teams, with time up. LC Gaels tried valiantly to get a goal, and dropped three frees in quick concession in and around our goals, but our backs held out the onslaught and Thomas Fennell cleared the danger on one occasion, and Barry Cotter another and the win was sealed when Barry, Oh Barry, gathered a ball, turned the full back, rolled back the years, and stoked it, into the net, in off the post. Not blasted, not fired, just guided. Brilliant.
Final score 2-19 to 2-13
On the puck out the game was called to a halt and afterwards, John Roche, on behalf of the Avondhu board presented the man of the match award to Sean Palmer, and then, had to present the cup, the Junior C Cup, to Sean as our captain. Sean’s speechwork needs a little refining, it was short, and he thanked the opposition, the referee, the host venue and the management team, of John Breenan, Barry Murphy and Tim O Neill. As the curtain comes down on the playing of games in Avondhu in 2024, with this being the final game, it summed up the year in totality – a break out year for Killavullen hurling.
- Barry Murphy (1-03, 0-02F)
- Billy Norris
- Thomas Fennell
- Darragh O Connor
- Barry Cotter
- Cian O Connor (0-01)
- Sean Bartley
- Joe Cagney
- Sean Palmer (0-03, 0-01F)
- Michael Walsh (0-02)
- Ian O Gorman (0-01)
- Rory Regan (0-01)
- Colm Hannon (1-4, 0-02F)
- Seamus O Mahony (0-03, 0-02F)
- Ian O Mahony
Substitutes.
- Kevin Fox for Michael Walsh
- Michael Walsh for Ian O Gorman
- Ian O Gorman for Ian O Mahony
- Pa Cronin.
John Brennan in particular deserves enormous credit for getting this team together and forging a winning team, with countless phone calls and cajoling of players to train and stay involved. It was and is a huge win for the club, that, we can put out a second team, and be competitive with that team. It gives great encouragement for the future.
Afterwards, Killavullen management team entered the LC Gaels dressing rooms, and wished them well, congratulated them, on a stellar year of their own, in winning three cups in Avondhu, hope that they winter well and we will see them all again, in 2025 to start anew.
That is the GAA in a nutshell, always looking forward – next year, next year, will be better than this year, but 2025 will have to be some year to topple 2024 in Killavullen.
