Brian Lawton: 'No matter whether you win or lose on the Sunday, you show up on Monday'

Brian Lawton has been leading the way for over a decade and a half.

LEADING THE WAY: Brian Lawton has been leading the way for Imokilly for over a decade and a half.

He rose five white flags to finish as Imokilly’s semi-final top-scorer from play. He assisted for a sixth and won a turnover that fed a seventh.

No, this wasn’t the work of Seamus Harnedy. And no it wasn’t young Diarmuid Healy who is widely tipped to make a name for himself in the same Cork half-forward line as Harnedy currently resides.

Neither was it any of Imokilly’s in-form inside assassins such as Jack Leahy or Sean Desmond.

It was Brian Lawton who top-scored from play two weeks ago. 35-year-old Brian Lawton. A wily campaigner just a few weeks shy of his 36th birthday.

“The impact he has had on Imokilly is huge,” says teammate Mike Russell. “The way he carries himself and prepares off the field, that experience and value provided to the young hurlers coming into this set-up is huge.

“Look at him the last day, stood up and performed when needed most. Man of the match, I think.” 

Russell joined the Imokilly ranks in 2009. He is not, though, the longest serving member of the current panel. That title belongs to Lawton.

He wore the same No.12 shirt he’s still occupying for his East Cork debut against Duhallow in May 2008. He almost finished as Imokilly’s top-scorer from play that day too, former Tipp senior Eddie Enright bettering the 19-year-old’s three-point haul.

Imokilly played 19 games during their three-in-a-row haul from 2017-19. Lawton was one of only two players, along with Lisgoold’s John Cronin, to start each and every one of the 19.

And even thereafter when Imokilly’s grip loosened and his own Castlemartyr started picking up county titles in a hurry, Lawton’s presence was unwavering. There’ve been 14 championship outings across the past five seasons. The half-forward started 13.

This season’s one-sided opener against Avondhu was the first Imokilly fixture he didn’t feature in for exactly eight years. His absence brought an end to 32 championship games of unbroken involvement.

A constant on the team sheet, ever consistent on the field.

“I grew up watching Imokilly,” Lawton begins.

“I vaguely remember the county wins of '97 and '98. I remember in the years after that going to the games in the Páirc and just having a lot of interest in the division. It was always an ambition of mine to play for Imokilly. So once I got the chance, I just gave it a crack.

“You could see there would come a point when you would have a team that would compete. There were a lot of lads in college and the time was coming where they'd be finished in college and were going to give it a crack with the division.

“All of us get on quite well too. Some of us have been on the road with different teams, not just Imokilly, so we know each other and get on very well.” 

Those on the road longest sank a few pints together after last year’s extra-time semi-final defeat to Sunday’s opponents. They vowed that would not be their final chapter in red and white.

Imokilly were three up in the fifth minute of second-half injury-time when Luke Elliott flicked a Cathal McCarthy free to the net to force extra-time. Sars finished extra-time one in front.

For Lawton, it was a cruel repeat of the year previous when Inniscarra’s Colm Casey whipped to the net in the same fifth minute of injury-time to break Castlemartyr hearts in the Premier Intermediate final replay.

“That Sars goal brought everything back. Of the recent Imokilly defeats, that is the one that probably haunts me the most for that reason alone.” 

Had Castlemartyr held on in that final, it would have been a sixth county medal for the sixth year-in-a-row. On the heel of divisional dominance was Lower Intermediate and Intermediate A honours with the home club.

“I really do count myself fortunate. It is about timing too. You have to have the crop of players to come along. No two, three, or four players are going to bring you to a county final.

“Good teams will go through change. We managed to win a few East Corks with Castlemartyr and through change we were good enough then to win a couple of countys. The same happened with Imokilly. It is just good to be back in a final.” 

From the semi-final line-up, eight will be appearing in their first Premier Senior decider come 4.15pm. The survivors, though outnumbered, continue to set the standard.

“It is hard for fellas to turn up to Imokilly training on a Monday night when you got bet with the club on a Sunday. But doing that is the way forward and showing the young lads this is what is expected. That no matter whether you win or lose on the Sunday, you show up on Monday.

“Not much is asked on the Monday anyway, but it is a case that you are there anyway. If you got a nick, make sure you are still there. If you can do any bit of the session, even just the warm-up, do that.” 

Essentially, show up. Lawton has been leading the way on that front for over a decade and a half now.