Lorcán McLoughlin: Kanturk boosted by Aidan Walsh return

Former inter-county player McLoughlin can see how Kanturk have improved as a result of Walsh's undivided attention after the former dual star was released by the Cork hurlers last year

Aidan Walsh, Kanturk in action against Bandon. Pic: Larry Cummins

Lorcán McLoughlin believes Aidan Walsh’s availability has been a major boost to Kanturk in their hunt for Senior A hurling success this year.

Sunday's final appearance against Fr O’Neills is one step further than last year when Ronan Curran was in charge and under Frank Flannery their unbeaten run extended to five games with the extra-time semi-final win over Newcestown.

After Walsh was released by the Cork senior hurling panel at the end of last year, former inter-county player McLoughlin can see how Kanturk have improved as a result of the dual star’s undivided attention. And it has been needed with Anthony Nash transferring to Limerick’s South Liberties.

“Having Aidan available all year round has been hugely beneficial because you can see he brings that drive. He’s always kept his standards and that rubs off on everyone and it’s been huge for us this year.

“With the loss of Anthony, it’s balanced that as well because as well as losing an excellent player in Anthony we lost a lot of experience also. Aidan has been there and done that so for him to be involved more than ever is great.

“We’re there or thereabouts every year and our young players are a year older. We’re developing the way we play. Ronan was excellent with us last year and Frank has tweaked that this year and put his own take.

Aidan Walsh, Kanturk races forward against St Nicks. Pic: Larry Cummins

“I think we have come on again this year and having Aidan around has helped younger players develop. The acid test is Sunday but what better place to do it and find out if we are ticking all the boxes than on the biggest stage for us?"

Kanturk come into the final off the back of a rip-roaring semi-final when they at one stage trailed Newcestown by eight points. “We know what we were letting ourselves in for having played Newcestown last year when we played well and just about got over them,” recalls McLoughlin.

“We played in the semi-final of the football league there as well and every time we played it’s just an absolute dogfight. With that aggression and physicality they bring with no shortage of skill, they are a formidable team and were unfortunate to be running into Imokilly when they were hitting their peak. We had a good win against really good opposition.”

McLoughlin recalls the draw against Blarney in the group stages as a turning point for the team. “Blarney are a fine outfit. We’ve been trying to build a style of play all season and on occasions during that game they tried to pick holes in it. They would have a similar style where there is a huge amount of bodies around the middle of the field and I think we learned a huge amount from that game.

“We took what we could from it and topped the table and qualifying directly for the semi-final gave us the breathing space and time to address any issues we had. Usually, you’d be going from week to week and learning on your feet but we were able to work on those things in training.” 

Kanturk also have a premier intermediate county final against Newmarket to look forward to on December 5 and the dual ambitions have helped players, McLoughlin says, although managements have had to juggle.

“We’re just used to it - we’re a dual club and always will be. Balancing the two can be tricky but we have an excellent coach in Frank. The restrictive time he has had with us has presented challenges but he has maximised every session he has had with us while allowing for the football commitments. It’s something he has had to adapt to, I’d say, but for us it’s just about getting the bodies right and trying to build momentum.”