Killeshin are just one win away from the senior dream
KILLESHIN are hoping to continue their rapid rise through the Laois LGFA ranks when they take on Shanahoe in Saturday’s Intermediate Football Championship final at Laois Hire O’Moore Park.
Having won the Junior Championship last year, Killeshin have backed that success up by reaching the intermediate decider at the first attempt.
Captain Ciara Malone is looking forward to another county final appearance and believes the club can continue its progress.
“It's great to get here again, back-to-back in the last two years. We won the junior last year and our aim for this year was to get to the intermediate final and here we are today, which is great. We said from the start that we'd push on and do our best in this intermediate campaign and hopefully we can get the end result in two weeks. Hopefully, we can push it on to senior again and be back here next year,” Malone said.
Saturday’s final will also give a number of the Killeshin players their first opportunity to play in Laois Hire O’Moore Park.
“We were only talking about that before, that a lot of Killeshin girls have never played in O’Moore Park. It's a great opportunity for us to push on and play in a big venue like that. Cumann na mBunscol may have been the only time when we were only children, so getting that opportunity again is great,” she said.
Killeshin have already come up against Shanahoe during the championship and Malone is expecting another difficult encounter when the sides meet again with silverware on the line.
“It definitely won't be an easy match. We've played Shanahoe already in a round-robin game and it was a tough match. All we can do is play like we normally do and go out and do our best like we always do and hopefully we'll get over the line,” Malone added.
The latest success has created a real buzz around the Killeshin club, with Margaret Davis outlining the excitement building in the parish ahead of another county final.
“It's great for the club and there’s a great atmosphere leading up to the finals. All the committee work together, the bunting is out, the flags are up. We're meeting tomorrow night to organise all the preparations leading up to the final. Now again, it's great, absolutely brilliant for the club. Great for the youngsters and the turnout at the matches. 20-30 girls are training every single night. They're all coming down tomorrow night from all their colleges, from Cork and Dublin and Galway. It's brilliant,” she said.
That enthusiasm is reflected in the numbers attending training, with Killeshin continuing to develop a young squad.
“We have some very young players on the team this year. One of our midfielders is only 15 years of age. We're a very young team coming up and they're all very enthusiastic. We have great numbers at training every night since they started in February. Sandra looks after all the girls here and looks after their every need. She has everything in her bag for the players,” Davis said.
The experience gained from last year’s junior championship success has also been significant. Killeshin went on to compete in Leinster before reaching the league final at the end of the season, giving the young group a taste of playing at a higher level.
“The occasion and also competing in Leinster. They got through the preliminary round; they won their quarter-final in Leinster. They got beaten in the semi-final. The matches were getting harder as they went along. They gained so much experience from just competing against other counties. Then they ended up at the very end of the season playing their league final in Killeshin, which was in November. They only had a break then from November and back into it in February again. It has been a great two years for the club,” Davis said.
Sandra Brennan has been involved with many of the players throughout their underage careers and has watched the same group progress from underage success to junior champions and now an intermediate final.
“It’s absolutely fantastic. It's really important to help at the underage level. We won 16s, then we went on to minor. We won minor C, then we won minor B the following year. The same girls went on to junior and won junior, and now we're in intermediate. I'm really proud of them all. It's absolutely fantastic, and I'm delighted I'm involved with them,” Brennan said.
