Kilbrittain joy at 'incredible' All-Ireland achievement 

LITTLE KILBRITTAIN: Eoin O'Neill and Colm Sheehan celebrate. Pic: ©INPHO/James Lawlor

Kilbrittain 0-19 Easkey 0-18

In front at the finish. The only count that matters. The count that dictates the tone and tenor of every conversation thereafter.

Standing almost deliriously on the correct side of an error-strewn one-point squeaker meant manager Joe Ryan was able to wear a smile as he announced that the hour of chaos just concluded was Kilbrittain’s “worst team performance of the year”.

There was no lamenting from his captain, Philip Wall, as the centre-forward went through this miss and that miss in a game where the West Cork outfit had three wides clocked within the first four minutes and then clocked the same figure in a near-identical timeframe at the beginning of the second half.

Similarly, Ryan did not have to rue their long-time struggles to mine any benefit from the numerical advantage they held following Andy Kilcullen’s 40th minute red card.

The final count makes no exception of the vanquished either.

It didn’t matter that the 14 men of West Sligo had lived with the Cork champions for 22 minutes after Kilcullen’s dismissal. It didn’t matter that they stayed hammering at the opposition door when reduced to 13 in the second-last minute following a second yellow to Fionn Connolly.

Philip Wall of Kilbrittain celebrates with his brother Jamie Wall. Pic: ©INPHO/James Lawlor.

The sole taste in their mouth was defeat and disgust. Keep your moral victory talk to yourself.

An hour of standout showings from Rory McHugh, Finian Cawley, and Thomas Cawley were almost forgotten footnotes in the deep injustice felt by the Easkey camp.

There’s sporting injustice and there’s the unfairness of real life. Kilbrittain have stood with the latter. They spoke so articulately of their experience and the young teammate they lost last March.

When you fall on the correct side of the final count, there’s freedom to bring the conversation far beyond the hour just concluded. Winning manager Joe Ryan did so beautifully.

“I will use the example of Ronan Crawley getting man of the match. One of his best friends, Oisín Gillain, passed away during the year. The county final was on the night of Oisín's birthday.

“We have a cohort of lads that are 19, 20, 21, and I don't think I'd be able to do what they did when I was that age, they’re incredible,” Ryan remarked.

“On reflection, it's probably maturity on their part, but at the time it was so tragic and we were all in a state of shock that the only outlet the lads had was sport.

“The night after Oisín passed away, we all met up in the hall. There were about 40 to 45 lads. I don't think we spoke a word for 30 minutes, but we were just with each other, and that's been the case for training.

“The lads putting internal pressure on themselves to do it for Oisín, that couldn't be it because it would be exhausting, and that's not feasible really.

“In the build-up to this game, we were telling them to just enjoy every second because we know what the flipside is. To have won it is just incredible. It's amazing.” 

Their ninth victory of the campaign was well down the list for its impressiveness. What it had were different players delivering key moments to deliver a seventh Cork club All-Ireland junior glory.

Mark Hickey converted the winning free in the 62nd minute. The same half-forward led the comeback from 0-10 to 0-5 down on 22 minutes. It was sub Conor Ustianowski who won the winning free. It was another sub, Tomás Harrington, who helped bring on-field shape after Kilbrittain had descended into a state of sitting and hurling far too deep when going a man up.

No moment, though, towered above Kilcullen’s incredibly harsh sending off for his head-high collision with Hickey. Gone from the contest was the forward who entered the contest with 15-77 beside his name and who’d already chalked six white flags. He also had a kicked green flag chalked off for an earlier foul called back.

The sides were level at 0-12 apiece when he walked. They were level thrice more thereafter. Easkey had their chances to crown one of hurling’s great modern success stories. Thomas Cawley struck a pair of wides at 0-18 apiece.

“The red card was a shocking decision,” said manager Padraig Mannion.

“From where I looked at it, his eyes were fixed on the ball, he was coming up out of a tackle. The biggest day of their lives out on Croke Park and it got ruined.

“Our goal was to win the All-Ireland, we got robbed.” 

 Scorers for Kilbrittain: M Hickey (0-9, 0-5 frees); R Crowley (0-4); P Wall (0-2); S Sexton, C Hogan, L Griffin, B Butler (0-1 each).

Scorers for Easkey: A Kilcullen (0-6, 0-3 frees, 0-1 sc); T Cawley (0-5, 0-2 frees); F Cawley (0-2); O Moylan, R McHugh, R Molloy, E Moylan, D Rolston (0-1 each).

KILBRITTAIN: D Desmond; E O’Neill, J Hurley, D Considine; T Sheehan, A Holland, E O’Neill; S Sexton, J O’Donovan; M Hickey, P Wall, R Crowley; B Butler, L Griffin, C Hogan.

SUBS: T Harrington for O’Neill (49); D Harrington for Butler (54); C Ustianowski for Hogan (56); E Byrne for Considine (62).

EASKEY: A Rolston; O Moylan, J Weir, S Molloy; D Hanley, R McHugh, E Rua McGowan; R Molloy, N Kilcullen; D Rolston, F Connolly, E Moylan; T Cawley, A Kilcullen, F Cawley.

SUBS: F Moylan for E Moylan (HT); C Vereker for D Rolston (49); P Walsh for Molloy (58).

REFEREE: E Furlong (Wexford).