Milltown/Castlemaine on a mission: ‘We weren’t in the top four favourites at the start of the championship’

Milltown/Castlemaine won one of their group fixtures by a point, lost one and drew the other. They progressed through a quarter-final by a margin of four and in the semi-final they shocked Killarney Legion with a three-point triumph. Fossa needed extra-time in both of their knockout encounters.

Sat, 18 Nov, 2023 - 08:20

Maurice Brosnan

Green and white all over. Hats, flags, bunting and headbands. Pop into Cronin’s in Castlemaine or Milltown’s Spar for a bountiful supply. It is county final weekend. Make ready.

St Joseph’s National School is awash with colour and choir practice has become chanting preparation. One of their own, “Mr D” or Donal Dennehy, will line out against Fossa in the upcoming intermediate decider. It is the second final in recent weeks for the club given they had a cohort representing Mid Kerry in the county championship final, but this week the excitement has elevated.

“There is a fierce buzz now,” says club coaching officer and 2012 intermediate All-Ireland winner Ian Twiss. “There would have been a few flags for Mid Kerry in fairness. The final was a bad day which took away from kids going but I know in training they were pretty excited about it. Especially about taking on East Kerry, it was a big test. But this week is great.

The kids would be more excited now because they know the players better. It’s been a super year. We weren’t in the top four favourites when championship started but we had come from Division 3 up to Division 1 which was a steady improvement. We knew we had the players to get to this stage.

“We actually missed out narrowly over the years in the group stages on score difference twice. They had great performances against Kilcummin and Legion to get to the final.” It is only fitting that they decorate the parish in earnest for a competition that continues to deliver. The relegation of powerhouse clubs has stoked a nationwide discussion about the senior level, yet it is most keenly felt in the tier below. Starting out neither final participant were considered in the top five contenders. Every outing brought a great challenge and a fitting contest.

Add in the Clifford factor and the enormous ramifications for the county championship, with one of East Kerry or Mid Kerry set to lose some stars, and it further raises the stakes of Sunday’s final in Austin Stack Park.

To see the club back at this stage is a simple joy for Twiss. He played all grades for Kerry and kicked four points for his club in the 2012 All-Ireland intermediate victory over Davitts. Rockchapel’s Jerry Casey had laid the foundations, fellow Cork man John Fintan Daly then came in and managed them to Croke Park.

“Our ambition then would have moved onto senior championship and push for the far end of that, for various reasons it didn’t happen,” he explains.

“We had some success in the local championship but haven’t got to the latter stage of the intermediate since. We’d a lot of career-ending injuries post 2012 and a couple lads moved to London. We’d a few years senior championship and were relegated then.

“We’ve really developed the underage structures. We won our first mid Kerry minor championship last weekend with a great team, nine or ten lads from there will be pushing this panel soon. We’d successful executives who were pro facilities and with the help of the local community we developed our playing surface and gym.

“There is not a lot of outdoor facilities for kids in Milltown so we tried to make it open to everyone. We develop a walking track and a social area. Kids can come down to kick whatever kind of ball they want.

“There is a cross section of people in Milltown. People moving in and housing being built, we want to encourage everyone to be able to feel like part of the club.” Threads of their last great team are woven into the fabric of the coming one. A handful of Twiss’s former teammates are still soldering on. A teenaged Pa Wrenn came on as a late substitute in 2012. He endures as a defensive rock. Mike Burke was in midfield then. His son Cillian is leading their attack now.

Sunday is red-letter day. Twiss is in favour of the divisional system while accepting there needs to be a broader conversation about the format of the premier championship. For now, he is just content to see clubs driving on.

“At the start of the championship, any one of the 16 teams could have hoped to win it, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility. At junior you’ve some really strong clubs as well. You saw the equality of the junior final recently. The club championships in Kerry right now are really exciting and actually developing clubs even further.

“Youngsters go to exciting and competitive games, that drives them and leads to better clubs and that leads to better championships. Clubs are pushing themselves on and pushing the boundaries forward.”