As Ballymac know too well, semi-finals are for winning

SEMI-FINALS ARE FOR WINNING:   Ballymacelligott's manager Ian Blake after defeating Buttevant in the AIB Munster club JFC final at Mallow. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

Ian Blake had trouble finding the football field the first night he traveled to meet the Ballymacelligott players.

Blake is a Ballybunion native, Beale his football family. He’d never worked with any club but his own when venturing uncertainly down the road in search of the Ballymac bunker.

That first spin was three years ago. He’s still making the journey. It is this very journey he’s making when we catch him on New Year’s morning.

Ballymac is no longer the first outside club he has ever worked with. Ballymac has become his “second home”. They’ve been through the wringer together - on and off the field. They’re now plotting a winning course out the far side.

Extra-time county final heartbreak, county semi-final penalty-shootout pain, league relegation, spot kick Kerry glory, Munster ribbons, and the possibility of more beyond.

The gloom and glee of the above results catalogue found perspective in the middle of last year. The jerseys Ballymac will wear in Saturday’s All-Ireland junior club semi-final have the hashtag #liveforluke stitched just below the crest.

For those unfamiliar with the hashtag and the tragedy it arose from, Luke is Luke Silles. He began 2025 as a member of the club's minor football panel. A water accident at Fenit last May took the teenager from his family, friends, teammates, and community.

His dad, Tony, has been a selector in Blake’s management. The Kerry County League had run maybe two-thirds of its course at the time of Luke’s passing. Tony, understandably, took time away from the set-up. He returned the week of their championship opener, quietly slipping into the stand one evening as training progressed.

The words he spoke at the end of the session still sit with the group. That evening was a starting point in turning around their on-field fortunes.

“This parish, they’ve had tough times, but if you can create a few good days for these people, just to make things easier for them, it’s great too, isn't it,” remarked Blake.

“At the end of the day you are representing your parish, the people you grew up with. That’s who you are doing it for."

Blake is replaying the moments that have them one hour from booking a bus bound for Croker. He pauses the tape at the county premier junior semi-final. Listry were their opponents, the same crowd that beat them at the same stage three years earlier.

Ballymac, with a slight wind advantage, went in at half-time 1-6 to 0-6 in front. They came back out a quarter of an hour or so later and posted 2-3 without reply in the eight minutes after the restart.

The opposition, managed by John Evans, belatedly launched their challenge thereafter. They had a 12-point deficit eaten to two on 58 minutes. The once dominant Ballymac hadn’t raised a flag of any description in 20 minutes.

“We were under severe pressure, but the way they held Listry out to see out the game was a small turning point within the camp. When you've gone to the well that couple of times and haven't crossed the line, and I know that was only a semi-final, but they realised they can see out games,” the manager continued.

“Coming back at the start of the year, they were a bit down, especially after losing on penalties in the semi-final to Firies, a game where we probably thought we were the better team. They’ve always had a never-give-up attitude, but how they went to the bitter end against Listry was something I hadn't seen as much of as I saw that day.” 

Another semi-final stands before them. The record of Kerry clubs at this stage of the All-Ireland junior series is remarkable. 15 wins from 17 appearances.

Blake doesn’t care for the win rate of those that came before them. This journey has been for themselves and those no longer present. That’s for whom they want to keep the calendar and minds busy.

“Hopefully we can put on a performance, but semi-finals are there for winning. There's a lot of outside noise, but our focus is solely on the 60 minutes in front of us and just trying to keep it going.”