‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it’

When Senan Kilbride was summoned off the bench late on during the thrilling drawn county final, it was one of many talking points from a pulsating encounter.

Much of the build-up to the replay revolved around how St. Brigid’s and Pádraig Pearses could gain an edge. But there were few who predicted that the former intercounty forward would be in from the opening whistle.

Yet, Anthony Cunningham put his faith in the former All-Ireland winner and the move has paid rich dividends.

His brother Ian, who was also an integral part of the famous St. Brigid’s team that tasted All-Ireland glory 12 years ago, revealed to the Roscommon Herald that his younger sibling’s comeback started two days after he moved home from Abu Dhabi.

“He came back on a Wednesday from Abu Dhabi for good and he came to visit me in Dublin. I said we have a match Friday for the Masters (against Dublin). Over the next couple of days, I just asked him how the body was but I didn’t push him. Then I found out he had the gear packed.

“It is funny, Dad (Seán) said he would drive us down to the game. I was slagging him saying that I bet he didn’t think he would still be driving us to matches 30 years on. 

"We went down, played that match and then, next thing, he was playing junior football with Brigid’s. I could tell from the start that he was really good at that level, and he had enough in the body to play senior if he wanted to.

“It is an incredible story. His body was shook at the start with the impact of playing at that level but he seems to have adjusted well. He looks stronger and fitter. I knew he would bring a calmness to the dressing room, a maturity, a determination, and he is vocal as well.

“If he could bring half a per cent or a per cent to their effort, it was worth going in. I was with him when he got the call (to join the senior set-up) and he wasn’t sure. He was very aware that there was a panel there already and wondered how it would be perceived going in this late in the year.

“But he said he would go in, in a training mode and give a different look for the defenders. If he could contribute on the training pitch or to the dressing room, he would. One thing led to another and he has been starting the last couple of matches, which is great,” Ian noted.

Although he admits that the games are more nerve-wracking for the family following Senan’s return to the panel, Ian still feels the same pride towards the club and their success on the pitch than he did at any stage in his playing career.

“I was bringing my daughter to the last couple of matches and Mam said she would walk her out to the back of the stand because she would be too nervous to watch. She still goes behind the stand when Senan plays. You just want Senan to do well and the team to do well.

“Some lads that I played with played in 2023 were still there, so there was still a sense of attachment, pride and worry leading up to those matches. I live in Dublin but I am still travelling down to the games and I have a lot of friends still involved. It is a fantastic club with such a great crew behind the scenes as well. It is a club that has ambitions and is always striving for the next thing,” he noted.

Both Kilbride brothers helped St. Brigid’s to the famous three-in-a-row of Connacht titles between 2010 and 2012, and Ian knows that the air becomes thinner even in the days leading up to a provincial decider.

But he believes that the team’s experience in 2023, when they beat Corofin in their last provincial decider, will be a huge help on Sunday afternoon.

“Going back to our first one (Connacht final), it was against Salthill/Knocknacarra in 2005. We had won our first county title as a group that year and that was our All-Ireland at the time. We enjoyed that and turned our attention towards Connacht but it hadn’t been thought of in the dressing room before that point.

“While we trained hard and beat Kiltubrid to progress through to the final, we were young and naïve, and we just weren’t ready at that time. Then, in 2006, we got over Corofin and it was different. We were setting our sights a bit higher and you are thinking we are good enough to go a bit further.

“It is rare enough a team goes the whole way the first time. I know Salthill/Knocknacarra did after beating us, but usually there are stepping stones. You see that with the current team.

“They have played in an All-Ireland final and I am sure they feel there’s unfinished business there. But they still have to come through a tough game against Maigh Cuilinn first. They have been setting their sights on playing in big games like this Connacht final,” he stated.

For Kilbride, he hopes that St. Brigid’s play with the same sense of enjoyment that permeated through their impressive win against Ballina Stephenites.

“The template is there. What works for them is being energetic and playing with a sense of abandonment. That is what it looked like two years ago. There was a youthfulness and abandonment, and they have that in spades this year too.

“In conceding the goals the last day, they will have looked at that and there may be some caution around some elements and making sure they don’t get opened up like that again. It will likely be a similar template to what they have done before.

“If it’s ain’t broke don’t fix it,” he concluded.