For the Walsh clan and Kanturk, the time to deliver is now

A ninth county final in green and white for Aidan Walsh, one of seven on the team, is a chance to make up for too many recent pains

SILVER LININGS IN MIND: Aidan Walsh, Kanturk, at the Bon Secours Cork Football Championship Final lineups 2022, Senior A, Premier Intermediate and Intermediate A finals, at Pairc Ui Chaoimh, Cork. Picture: Jim Coughlan.

At 32, Aidan Walsh is the eldest of the seven Walsh's on the Kanturk football team. Below him is younger brother Tommy and first cousins Alan, Colin, Ian, Paul, and Ryan.

The oldest of the Walsh clan often remarks to the other six that in 20 years’ time they’ll be together in some quiet pub corner reminiscing on these “great times” with Kanturk. His message to them is always the same: to make the most of their time in the spotlight, to make sure there is plenty to reminisce about 20 years from now.

Walsh knows the ultra-talented dual group they have in Kanturk at present will at some point in the future begin to break up. His awareness of such is maybe more acute than the others given he’s been longer on stage than they have. 2022 is his 16th season in green and white at adult level.

Making the most of what they have means not allowing a third premier intermediate football final appearance in 15 months pass them by.

It wasn’t defeat in either of last year’s delayed 2020 or 2021 deciders that most upset them. It was the fact that they hadn’t got close to getting the best out of themselves on either occasion.

The character of the group is such that they have successfully weaved a path back to the concluding day of action. But tomorrow isn’t just a third consecutive appearance in the final of Cork’s premier intermediate grade. Tomorrow is the club’s ninth county final appearance since 2011 which means it is also a ninth decider in green and white for Walsh and a couple more of Kanturk’s elder statesmen.

The first in the run was the 2011 Cork junior football decider. Kanturk hammered Mitchelstown 1-20 to 0-4. The 19-point win represented the club’s first adult county title since 1969.

From there to here saw intermediate hurling final heartbreak in 2012, intermediate hurling final redemption a year later, intermediate football and premier intermediate hurling silverware in the double-winning season of 2017, premier intermediate football disappointment on the double last year, and premier intermediate hurling delight 11 months ago.

Of the eight, they won five and lost three.

“We’re fortunate to have been involved in so many county finals and what you’re doing is trying to take everything in, make the most of it because it can flash by in the click of a finger,” says Walsh, the football captain.

“As well, you don’t know when or if you will ever get back to a county final again. The time has flown by. There are only a few more years left in it, so you try to soak it all in. We won our first in 2011 which was our first in 50 years or something crazy as that and now this is our ninth since, which is unbelievable.

“I’m the oldest of the seven Walsh’s. I tell them that we’ll look back on this in 20 years’ time, sitting down having a pint and talking about these great days. You have to make the most of it.” 

As you’d expect, they are enjoying the journey. Walsh says it would be unusual not to find at least 20 players knocking about the local field three-quarters of an hour before a training session. And once the hard work is done, there is nobody in a hurry off home or rushing back to wherever they came from.

“We are very fortunate to have such a great group of guys and we are really trying to get the most out of the group we have at the moment.

“Everyone is pushing each other. One fella will play well one day, then the next day it will be someone different. There is always someone different stepping up to the plate because we are all trying to better each other. Say if Tommy did well the last day, I’d say to myself I am going to do better than him the next day because we are all pushing each other.

“Everyone enjoys each other’s company. When you come to training three quarters of an hour early and there are 20 fellas there, you know fellas want to be there. And there is nobody rushing off afterwards either.

“We are delighted to be back in the final. There was a lot of hurt there after losing the two finals.”