An Ghaeltacht cruise to All-Ireland intermediate title and seal Kerry double

An Ghaeltacht became to second Kerry side to claim All-Ireland honours on Sunday, adding the intermediate crown to the junior title claimed by Ballymacelligott

An Ghaeltacht are the eighth Kerry team to win the All-Ireland Club IFC title. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

All-Ireland Club IFC final: An Ghaeltacht 0-12 (0-2-8) Glenullin 0-6 (0-0-6) 

Glory for An Ghaeltacht. Glory at their ease. None of the drama or distress of 22 years ago. An utterly comprehensive All-Ireland intermediate final win.

A club of 181 adult members won’t care that this was an awful spectacle of a decider. They won’t care that they went the first 19 minutes of the second half without a score. They won’t care that they managed just two scores across the 34 minutes of the second half.

There was more than enough theatre in last week’s extra-time semi-final squeeze against Sallins. There was more than enough in today by simply being the team with more scores on the board at full-time. The how and why were irrelevant to them.

The bottom line is that they’re the eighth Kerry club to finish this competition as champions.

A hard watch of an opening half. A throwback to unhappier and uglier football times. Complicity lay at the dressing-room door of both teams.

Glenullin sat in a rigid, defensive block and showed no rush at all to deviate from this containment-first approach the further and further behind they fell. The further and further they went behind, it became clear that they weren’t able to deviate.

For An Ghaeltacht’s part, and even though the interval scoreline showed them 0-9 to 0-1 in front, were far too pedestrian in their approach play. Incisions didn’t come quickly. Incisions came after two and three-minute holding patterns outside the Glenullin 45-metre line. One half-time graph had An Ghaeltacht at 89% in the possession stakes.

Chrissy Dempsey provided Glenullin’s sole first-half point on eight minutes. There were other chances. Seán Ó Luing saved an Eoin Bradley goal effort on 13 minutes. There was a Conrad Mullan handpass across the square that came to nought. There were two point attempts short and two more wide.

In-from-the-start Cathal Ó Beaglaoich fetched a Gaeltacht restart in the second minute, fed Ruaidhrí Ó Beaglaoich, and the West Kerry men were on their way.

So many of their white flags thereafter stemmed from the different class of Brian Ó Beaglaoich. An All-Star standing out in an intermediate club final should have come as no surprise.

He had the assist to Seán Ó Cuinn for their second. For their opening two-point free, kicked by Ruaidhrí, it was Brian who was fouled. He won the break on the following restart. He broke the tackle and offloaded the assist to Éanna Ó Conchúir for a 0-7 to 0-1 lead. And in the last play of the half there he was on his own 20-metre line dispossessing Eunan Boylan.

His half-back colleagues, Pádraig Óg Ó Sé and Aodhna Ó Beaglaoich, had their moments of effectiveness too.

Ó Sé’s kick inside to Seán Ó Gairbhí - a rare kickpass inside - was at the root of Ruaidhrí’s third on 16 minutes. For their eighth, it was Pádraig Óg with the intercept and Aodhna’s burst drawing the foul.

The third quarter was home to not a single score. Glenullin registered three wides, kicked a fourth short, and twice were hunted away from the goalmouth as they sought green resurrection.

Seán Ó Gairbí shoved the gap out to nine - 0-10 to 0-1 - on 49 minutes. Glenullin sub Fearghal Close’s successful kick on 51 minutes brought an end to their excruciating 48-minute wait for a second score.

Cathal Ó Beaglaoich’s orange flag was the second period's outstanding score. There weren’t many nominees for the same prize.

The team who posted 5-8 in the All-Ireland semi-final and 3-15 in the Ulster decider finished with 0-6. The lowest scoring total in an All-Ireland intermediate club final since fellow Derry side Eoghan Rua managed just 0-5 in 2007.

No contest, just glory and the spoils for An Ghaeltacht.

Scorers for An Ghaeltacht: R Ó Beaglaoich (0-6, tp free, 0-2 free); C Ó Beaglaoich (0-2, tp); S Ó Cuinn, É Ó Conchúir, S Ó Gairbhí, C Ó Corrduibh (0-1 each).

Scorers for Glenullin: N McNicholl (0-2 frees), C Rafferty (0-2 each); C Dempsey, F Close (0-1 each).

AN GHAELTACHT: S Ó Lúing; C Ó Murchú, A Mac Amhlaoibh, JJ Mac Liam; P Óg Ó Sé, B Ó Beaglaoich, A Ó Beaglaoich; A Breathnach, C Ó Beaglaoich; S Ó Cuinn, R Ó Beaglaoich, PJ Mac Láimh; C Ó Corrduibh, É Ó Conchúir, S Ó Gairbhí.

SUBS: Tomás Ó Sé (DC) for Ó Gairbhí (54); G Ó Cinnéide for Ó Cuinn (55); C Ó Riagáin for Ó Corrduibh (62).

GLENULLIN: N O’Kane; E Boylan, D O’Kane, E O’Kane; C Rafferty, J O’Kane, D McNicholl; T Bradley, N McNicholl; C Hasson, C Dempsey, C Bradley; C Mullan, E Bradley, R McNicholl.

SUBS: WJ Bradley for Hasson (41); F Close for Mullan (44); C Hasson for F McNicholl, J McNicholl for R McNicholl (both 48); D O’Kane for Dempsey (55).

REFEREE: F Kelly (Longford).