Kelly praises Oran’s battling qualities

Redemption — a familiar theme associated with many county final victories across the land.

For Oran, their vengeance wasn’t necessarily directed towards Athleague. Their aim was to avoid the devastation that they felt 12 months ago when losing out by a point to St. Dominic’s in the showpiece event of Roscommon club camogie.

After that gut-wrenching defeat, Colm Kelly admitted that he wasn’t sure if he would return as manager. But, as he stood in the driving wind and rain in Lisnamult on Saturday evening, there was no place he would rather have been.

“It is absolutely fantastic. After last year when we did lose it, I was humming and hawing about whether I would come back. But the commitment that the girls give and the fight that they give, they really wanted to win it. I am so proud of them, so proud to be involved. The fight they showed is just crazy,” the Oran manager noted.

With no side retaining the county title since 2021, it is an unprecedented era of competitiveness in the county. For Kelly, emerging as the top side holds extra standing as he paid tribute to the late Harry Crowley — a devoted Oran clubman who passed away in May.

“I said at the start of the year when I was talking to Seán O’Brien (Athleague manager) and a few others that whoever wins the county final this year really deserves it. There are four teams there who are all on par, so to come away with a county final win with what we were up against, it is brilliant.

“One man I would love to be here is Harry Crowley. He would love moments like this. 

"If I was looking for someone to give a phone call to this morning to calm me down, Harry would have been the man. I am sure he is upstairs now having a cigarette and enjoying the moment. He probably has it on Clubber TV as well,” Kelly stated.

Andrea Fallon was still trying to process her thoughts as she spoke on the sodden Lisnamult turf. With the Player of the Match award in her possession and cheers of delight emanating from just over her left shoulder, the corner-forward admitted that last year’s final reversal was ample motivation ahead of Saturday’s affair.

“It is unbelievable. Even in the dressing room there before, we knew the heartbreak that we had last year. We didn’t want to be experiencing that again.

“We have been putting in the work since January, going to training, not making any excuses. We just said we would come together and just train as hard as we can and, luckily, it benefitted us,” Fallon stated.

For Colm Kelly, seeing his daughters Taylor and Hazel help Oran to this triumph made this victory all the sweeter. Hazel was part of a robust Oran defence that didn’t concede a score from play.

The Oran manager felt that his side’s defence was the cornerstone of their triumph. Now, he wants his charges to attack their Connacht intermediate final against Galway’s Liam Mellows and their All-Ireland junior semi-final.

“I am going to compliment the defence for the year. They have been immense the whole year. They really have with the hooking and blocking.

“Once they got it into their heads that we were up against numerous good free-takers in the county, the simple fouls went away. They were just brilliant. In a county final to hold a team scoreless (from play), it doesn’t happen too often.

“There will be plenty of tears and plenty of celebrations. The conversations we’ve had around the table all year have been amazing, and it will continue on for another couple of weeks thankfully,” Kelly concluded.