Graeme Mulcahy wants to inspire next generation of Kilmallock hurlers

Following their 1-25 to 0-19 win over Patrickswell, Mulcahy paid tribute to his predecessors in the green and white Kilmallock jersey

Tue, 26 Oct, 2021 - 06:00

Michael Moynihan

Man of the match in the Limerick senior hurling final last Sunday, Kilmallock attacker Graeme Mulcahy said he and his team-mates are motivated by the prospect of inspiring the next generation of hurlers in the club.

Following their 1-25 to 0-19 win over Patrickswell, Mulcahy paid tribute to his predecessors in the green and white club jersey.

“Look, this is extra special, these are the guys you play with from the age of five or six, and you dream of winning counties with Kilmallock,” said Mulcahy.

“That’s what we grew up watching, the likes of Donal Barry and Mike Houlihan and Dave Clarke, those fellas. They were the players we wanted to be when we were growing up, and we want to try to inspire the next generation coming up now.

“Seeing the likes of Gavin [O’Mahony], Paudie [O’Brien], Barry [Hennessy] — and myself — with children on the field today, seeing Andrew O’Shaughnessy’s kids walking around. That’s what it’s all about — inspiring the next generation.”

Mulcahy ended the day with seven points from play, but he acknowledged the impact of the game’s only goal, scored by Kilmallock’s Oisín O’Reilly after 55 minutes.

“It was tit-for-tat up to that, but it really set us on our way,” said Mulcahy.

“Oisin has been our star performer all this year, and for a fella who wasn’t really in the game at all, to be able to pull that out of the bag really shows the quality the guy has.”

At the other end of the field, Kilmallock faced a star-studded attack, but kept Patrickswell at bay.

“We’ve been going from strength to strength,” said Mulcahy.

“We’ve been learning in every game, and the lads have taken everything on board that the guys are pointing out to them in the video clips.

“That’s key, and fair play to them — it’s not easy to hold the likes of Aaron Gillane and Cian Lynch and Jason Gillane.

“For Limerick to be top of the inter county scene and for Kilmallock to be top of the county scene, it’s a very proud moment for us.

“It’s different — it was a challenge because we were probably written off at the start of the year, we hadn’t put a good campaign together for a couple of years. It was brilliant to put the campaign together the way we did.”

Kilmallock now face a wait before they learn the identity of their opponents in the Munster Club Championship — they will face the Cork champions, but the competition on Leeside is only at the semi-final stage.

“It’s going to be a big challenge for us,” said Mulcahy. “I think we’ll be sitting cold waiting for the Cork champions to come through, but that’s another challenge we’ll relish and try to get over the line.”

The corner-forward is living in Cork, so he’ll be able to report back with his observations, saying: “That’s it, yeah — I’m not too far from the Barrs club, so I’m keeping an eye on the Cork championship for the last few weeks.”