This article is from page 103 of the 2008-10-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 103 JPG
THERE was at least one wag in Hen- nessy Memorial Park on Sunday — wag in the sense of the dictionary meaning of the word that is (he or she who gossips about something as opposed to wives or girlfriends).
This wag spoke about the Kilmihil backroom team for 2008. He was ob- viously in Michael Cusacks’ corner because when leaving the ground after the ballgame was over he re- marked: “look at them, they’re like the League of Nations with who they have over them”.
Of course, it’s not the first time that the term has been used in Clare — they said it about the famous Ennis
Faughs team of the 1940s and ‘50s; they even said it about the last Lis- cannor team to win a senior champi- onship in 1940.
And, it’s true that the Kilmihil backroom team takes in a few differ- ent counties. Manager Mick Darby is an Offaly man; trainer/coach Dave Loughman is Cork; his sidekick John Hickey is Kerry.
Tommy Lyons, not to be con- fused with the Mayoman of Offaly and Dublin renown is Moneypoint man like Darby. That leaves local man Michael Keating – the veteran of many a battle for Kilmihil. You know where the disgruntled Michael Cusack’s man got his League of Na- tions from though.
It was very harsh though — Darby is as much Kilmihil as Rhode in Of- faly. Anyway, it’s the players out on the field that won this county final on the day, not the coalition of far-flung football minds off it.
Darby said as much as everyone around him started to celebrate. ““We started training on January 8. We have ten months done at this stage. All credit to the players. They put a fantastic effort in all year. This 1s their they day, they have been abso- lutely brilliant.
“They bonded hugely. They were going to stay working together for each other as a unit. They weren’t go- ing to lie down.
“The big thing that wins final is
character and I think the players showed a lot of that out there today,” he added.
Sure, it was too close for comfort near the end as Cusack’s ate into Kilmihil’s four-point lead, but ac- cording to Darby it was never going to be any other way.
“There was very little in it. It was very close. It was a dour battle and a battle all the way. The football was heavy going — there was nothing free, nothing easy given and we were just lucky to come out of it in the end.
“Cusack’s don’t give up. I said it during the week. They battled with 14 men against Clondegad. We knew this was never going to be over until the last whistle. They were going to
be fighting right to the end.”
And, what of the future, after an intermediate title was brought to the parish for the first time since Caher- murphy won the title 50 years ago. Senior for 2009; back to where eve- ryone in Kilmihil feels they belong.
‘I hope they set a standard for our club for the future,” said Darby. “To even have a chance of success that’s the standard that has to be main- tained and nothing less will do. Be- fore today we were trying to hammer home to them that in the last two years we’ve been together for about five and a half months in total. That’s a huge effort and it was worth every bit of it to win. This is a day these lads will never forget.”