Dolan hoping for a shot at ‘greatest club team of all time’
The Connacht side fell just a goal short when the sides met in the All-Ireland decider in 2011 but an opportunity to avenge that loss will present itself if the South Armagh outfit defeat Kilcoo of Down in Sunday’s Ulster decider.
“They are the greatest club team of all time,” said Dolan who played a key role in Brigid’s eight-point defeat of Mayo’s Ballaghaderreen in Sunday’s Connacht showpiece.
“If it is Crossmaglen in February – and you can’t write off the Down champions – we want to play the best teams in the country and Crossmaglen are by far the best team in the country.
“Hopefully we will be playing Crossmaglen, I would like to meet them again.”
The Roscommon side’s ambitions are crystal clear this year and they stretch further than last Sunday’s capture of a third successive provincial title.
Anything less than a first All-Ireland club title for the county will be considered a letdown.
As of now, they have mirrored the achievements of Clann na nGael who dominated Roscommon and Connacht in the 1980s but never succeeded in achieving glory on St Patrick’s Day.
“I wouldn’t say we are going down the same route as Clann,” said Dolan. “We are in a way in that we have won four Connacht titles and now a three-in-a-row. I suppose in the back of your mind you would be thinking of an All-Ireland but it is a long time to next February. You don’t know what might be around the corner with injuries or what could happen to lads. With the management we have now though I would say that we will be in better shape now than we were for the All-Ireland final two years ago.”
For now, they will celebrate another annexation of the western title deeds. Four titles since 2006 is no mean feat in itself and, like all successive teams, they have done it by building on past achievements rather than basking in them.
Though they lean on older statesmen such as Dolan, Karol Mannion and Shane Curran (who boast combined age of 107), Brigid’s have managed to infiltrate the squad with a younger generation while also possessing pillars such as Peter Domican and Senan Kilbride who are still in their mid-20s.
Their bench was instrumental in pulling away from Ballaghaderreen two days ago with 22-year wing-forward Darren Dolan the pick of those leading a second wave after a first-half in which their clear dominance was squandered in the final third.
The arrival of Kevin McStay, Liam McHale and Benny O’Brien onto the sideline this year has hardly hindered them either. The immediate priority now is to avoid a repeat of last February’s disappointment when they returned cold from the New Year hiatus.
“Garrycastle caught us out last year (in the All-Ireland semi-final),” said Dolan. “It was probably our worst performance in the last number of years but the year before that we played Nemo. We were in really good shape, beat Nemo and ran Crossmaglen very close. Over the next few weeks we will be sitting down with the management and they will be getting our ideas and we will be getting their ideas for the next few weeks ahead.”
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