Imokilly's Mike Kelly readies himself for battle on two fronts

Unlike his older teammates, Mike Kelly hasn’t been around the Imokilly panel long enough to be well acquainted with weekends as packed as the one in front of him

Wed, 27 Sep, 2023 - 07:15

Eoghan Cormican

Unlike his older teammates, Mike Kelly hasn’t been around the Imokilly panel long enough to be well acquainted with weekends as packed as the one in front of him.

At 5pm on Saturday, Kelly will line out at corner-forward for Castlemartyr in their Premier Intermediate Cork hurling semi-final against fellow East Cork outfit Castlelyons.

Once the final whistle sounds at Midleton, Kelly’s focus will shift immediately to Sunday’s Premier Senior semi-final against Sars (2pm throw-in).

Provided there is no extra-time on Saturday, Kelly and the rest of his Castlemartyr teammates who double up for club and division are looking at a turnaround of 19 and a half hours between the conclusion of their opening weekend assignment and the start of their second.

Saturday evening post-match will entail either a spin to Garryvoe beach or an ice bath in more sheltered confines. Irrespective of how Castlemartyr fare in their bid to reach back-to-back county finals in Cork's third tier, recovery will be the only show in town.

Celebratory pints or a post-mortem will have to wait.

In his three years lining out for Imokilly, this weekend will only be Kelly’s second where he steps inside the whitewash for both club and division.

A request from East Cork did go into the county board to have Saturday’s Premier IHC semi-final brought forward to Friday. It was not acceded to.

“It would of course be better for fellas getting 48 hours [recovery], as opposed to 21. It would be a lot easier. Look, that is just the way it is, and we just drive on now with both,” said Kelly, who hit 0-7 (0-4 frees) during Imokilly’s quarter-final win over Douglas and who top-scored for Castlemartyr with 0-24 across their three group games.

“Last year was my first experience of it. We played Saturday with Castlemartyr against Carrigaline in the quarter-final and on Sunday with Imokilly against Blackrock in the Premier Senior quarter-final.

“It is fairly taxing on the body, very tough. But I do have that experience behind me now, I know what it is going to be like.

“You just have to recover as quickly as you can. Head to the sea, maybe. An ice bath, if you can. You need a good night's sleep too, especially with a 5pm game Saturday and then a 2pm game the following day.”

Having watched clubmate Brian Lawton win three-in-a-row with Imokilly from 2017-19, 24-year-old secondary school teacher Kelly would love to pocket a senior county medal of his own.

He’s also chasing senior status with Castlemartyr, which rather ironically would take him, Lawton, and the other few Castlemartyr lads on Denis Ring’s Imokilly panel out of the equation for East Cork eligibility.

“When you get asked to be involved in an Imokilly panel, it is prestigious. It is what everyone strives for when you are playing with your club. It’s a big thing with East Cork.

“I've been lucky enough to get to a couple of county finals with my club, but to get to a senior county final would be huge. When you see the leaders on our team who have those three county senior medals and they are still coming back for more, it just shows what it means.”