Hunting All-Irelands after the wren - a different Christmas in store for An Ghaeltacht
An Ghaeltacht, celebrating winning the Munster Club IFC Final at Mick Neville Park, Rathkeale
Slea Head is famous for its Christmas celebrations. This year will be a little different for An Ghaeltacht’s Munster intermediate champions.
It won’t be long after the wren is drowned on December 26 that preparations will ramp up for an All-Ireland semi-final.
They have been to a senior final at Croke Park in 2004 and an intermediate semi-final in 2018. Their bid for a national breakthrough will resume against Kildare champions Sallins or Tubberclair of Westmeath on January 3/4.
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“Christmas in West Kerry is a great time for celebration, and we have often milked every last ounce out of every last day of Christmas. We possibly will try and do it a bit differently this year,” said their smiling manager Feargal Ó Sé.
“We'll leave the lads have their few days into next week, and we'll set out a plan. We'll give the lads a few days off for Christmas, of course, and we'll be back very close after the Wren, so that's the way we'll take it.”
First-half goals from Éanna Ó Conchúir and Ruaidhrí Ó Beaglaoich, both assisted by their All-Star centre-back, Brian Ó Beaglaoich, provided their platform to beat Aghabullogue by seven points in the Munster final at Mick Neville Park.
Level against the wind, they won the second half 0-9 to 0-2 despite some frustrations with the officiating.
“The last few weeks, we've been finding it very hard to score goals, and I think they were a tonic today. They came at the right time,” said Ó Sé.
“We had great patches during the first half, but we gave away three two-pointers.
“We found it tough at times, and put pressure on ourselves, and coughed up balls in the second half, but that said, we played patches of great football.
“At times, and I'll be honest, the ref was putting a small bit too much pressure on us, and there was a small bit of a taobhú to the underdog – I'm going to say it and I’ve it said.
“Other than that, I was very proud of the boys.”
Ó Sé was delighted for the likes of goalkeeper Seán Ó Lúing, who made a game-clinching second-half save from Matthew Bradley, and goal-scorer Ruaidhrí Ó Beaglaoich. Both had missed chunks of the season through injury.
Ó Beaglaoich cramped up towards the end, while full-back Rónán Ó Beaglaoich was withdrawn in the first half after going over on his ankle.
Aghabullogue manager Ray Keane felt two factors swung the game.
“We gave a great account of ourselves,” he said. “Ultimately, it came down to two things in my head.
“Physically, they’re that little bit stronger. You could see it earlier on. We'd been knocked off the ball a few times, which ultimately, later in the game, affects you because it takes it out of you.
“Secondly, in the second half, we missed maybe three, if not four or five, scoreable chances. A few dropped short; they went down the field and they got two two-pointers out of them, if I'm not mistaken. That's a killer blow, really, when you think about it. In a seven-point game, that could transfer into a four-point swing.”
Keane insisted that Munster final defeats wouldn’t define either Aghabullogue or junior representatives Buttevant.
“As I says to them, when they're old and grey like myself and they'll be looking back and they have a few kids, they've created a lifetime of memories for the parish for the last 12 months.
“They'll go again because they just love sport and they're an extremely competitive group. They have great camaraderie, great friendship.
“We had a sad circumstance there. One of the players, Dhani Merrick's wife (passed away) earlier in the year. What those players have done for Dhani and what the club has done for Dhani and his family is frightening because that, to me, is ultimately what a community in the GAA is about.”
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