This article is from page 65 of the 2008-10-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 65 JPG
IN the end, it came down to fresh- ness. The ability for Kilmurry Ibrickane’s management to be able to look up at their thirty plus panel in the stand and carefully choose the right player to instill some new life into the team’s tired limbs while Lis- cannor only had the bare bones.
But it wasn’t just a wealth of tal- ent in the squad that saw Kilmurry Ibrickane complete the perfect do- mestic year, it was also a freshness of ideas and drive that came from their new manager Micheal McDermott. Kilmurry Ibrickane always had the talent, it was just knitting that ability together that had been noticeably ab- sent in recent years so McDermott’s introduction was certainly a breath of fresh air.
And as the final whistle blew on an- other successful final, he took a sec- ond to reflect on their latest achieve- ment.
“It was extremely hard on the heart, there is no doubt about that. It went really down to the last five minutes to win that game and we said that at half-time. We knew they would come back strongly like they did against Doonbeg and you know, probably what won it for us at the end of the day was the freshness of the panel we had. The ground was a little bit heavy and sticky but the lads gave everything and the last five minutes
is when games have been won and lost, the All-Ireland was won and lost in that five minutes this year and it was no different there today.
‘The most important thing we said before the game was that on a day like today, you do not concede a goal because if we had done in that sec- ond half, I said that the roof would lift off that stand and give them the incentive they needed to go on and win. That’s why guys threw bodies in the way and there are a lot of sore bodies in that dressing room. Small men stood up to be big men today and we couldn’t have asked for a more wholehearted performance. It wasn’t a day for great football but it was a day of effort and heart to win a county title.”
Unbeaten domestically, McDer-
mott’s next challenge is for a provin- cial title but while he admits it has crossed his mind during the year, he won’t be planning anything immed1- ately.
“It definitely won’t be talked about for a few days but in the back of my own mind, I knew that we have a bunch of guys who are extremely talented here and if we won a county title today, we would give them a few days to celebrate but there 1s a mun- ster championship there to be won and we are going to give it every- thing and represent Clare as best we can. And maybe bring home one.”
With his track record so far, you wouldn’t doubt him for a second.