SuperValu Sam: Heartbreak and joy for Castlerea and St. Brigid’s
St. Brigid's joint-captain, Mark Daly, celebrates with supporter, Pádraig Keenan, following last Sunday's victory against Castlehaven at FBD Semple Stadium. Picture: INPHO/Ben Brady
Your heart would go out to Castlerea on Saturday. They gave it everything. They would have had a great shot of beating St. Patrick’s, Cullyhanna, in the intermediate final next Sunday, a final Sam expects the Armagh champions to win.
Two goals in 29 seconds were killer blows in Portlaoise. But Castlerea were fantastic county and provincial champions. Their tackling, tracking runs and general discipline were immense all season. Above all, their spirit was remarkable.
Dara Bruen and his management team have done a great job. If they can add a fraction more to the supporting cast up front, they have every reason to believe that they’ll become an established senior side again.
St. Brigid’s weren’t expected to win the Connacht title and end up in the All-Ireland final. But St. Thomas’s of Galway weren’t expected to be in the club hurling final either. Now they’re both there.
St. Thomas’s are slight favourites, but Brigid’s are big underdogs.
Coincidentally, 11 years ago, both St. Thomas’s and St. Brigid’s won their respective All-Irelands on St. Patrick’s Day in Croke Park.
It’s a 45-minute spin from Kiltoom to Kilchreest. They’re both experts in nurturing. St. Brigid’s can track a half dozen players from an U-12 team in 2013 that are on the current panel. St. Thomas’s can track a similar number from an U-14 team.
John Tiernan scored a very important goal for St. Brigid’s 27 years ago. It was the county final of 1997. St. Brigid’s defeated Clann na nGael by 1-8 to 0-8. The team, managed by John O’Mahony, won the club’s first county senior title in 28 years. A 28-year wait — imagine trying to explain that to the young generation around Kiltoom!
St. Brigid’s lost the finals of 2000, 2002 and 2003 before defeating Pádraig Pearses in the final of 2005 by 2-9 to 0-11. John Tiernan scored both goals.
Since then, they’ve won a total of 12 titles in 18 years, and five Connacht championships in the same period.
Unlike the team that won the Andy Merrigan Cup in 2013, this team don’t enter the final with the experience of having won three Connacht titles in succession. Hopefully, that won’t count against them.
While Castlehaven will point to the width of a crossbar denying them twice, St. Brigid’s will feel that there were a few soft calls against them. They looked shaky at times, but yet Sam felt that they had a lot left in reserve.
Technically, it’s a typical St. Brigid’s side. They’re well-coached. They’ve brilliant hands, and their timing when it comes to support play is superb when they’re in top gear. A number of players are still physically developing. But that generally points to marginal gains in athleticism. And in this area, St. Brigid’s credentials are more than marginal.
The countdown to Sunday week against Glen has commenced in earnest.
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