Captain Coughlan hoping to heal wounds on and off the field

Dermot Coughlan has suffered more than his fair share of injuries but the mere thought of missing out on another county final only adds to the county senior’s frustration especially as he is Kilmurry Ibrickane’s captain.
Having also missed the 2021 decider against Éire Óg due to an ACL injury, a fractured foot suffered in their comprehensive quarter-final victory over St Joseph’s Miltown has left the ‘Bricks playmaker in a real race of time to be available to tog out for his first final since 2020 this Sunday.
“It’s disappointing when you’re injured. Obviously nobody wants to be injured, you want to be out there and even the last day it’s a lot tougher watching from the sidelines. I’d taken playing over watching any day as we never seem to make things easy for ourselves.
“Everyone gets injuries at some stage but it’s just about getting over that disappointment and trying to keep the head as high as possible and seeing what you can do.
“We just seemed to be motoring when I got that foot injury against Miltown. We were going so well and things had been going super in training so it was very frustrating but we’re very lucky in this parish that we’ve great people around us that are more than willing to pick you up.
“I mean the following Tuesday at training, the boys made me a promise that they do everything in their power to get back to a county final and they did that so you can only admire them for it.
“It’s important to be sporting as best you can too as this is a community that cares so much about football. It’s a team game not a one-man game so if you can’t play you’ve got to support those around you so that will be a crucial role leading up to the final as well.”
So what’s the diagnosis then?
“It’s not looking likely for Sunday but I will try everything I can to be back and if not, I will be there to cheer on the boys and give any support I can.”
It has always been Dermot Coughlan Junior’s dream to emulate his father and lead Kilmurry Ibrickane’s flagship team but to realise his dream as only a teenager in his first year at adult level in 2017 only made it even more special.
“I suppose when you’re young and you get to a county final in your first year and win it, you think this is going to be the norm and you’re going to get loads of opportunities to play in county finals and win them but I can tell you that’s not the case.
“I was lucky enough that I was coming into a winning team and that I had lots of experience around me. From that team, we still have the likes of Shane Hickey playing, Marty McMahon, Darren Hickey, Keelan Sexton, Ciaran Morrissey, great guys to come into a team alongside because it was a big learning curve for me.
“I’d say this year is the first in about five or six years that we’ve had such an influx of younger players, the likes of Evan Cahill and Conor Kearney in their first year while Josh Moloney and Cathal Talty are also establishing themselves and I suppose that has given new life to the likes of myself, Dan Walsh and these players who have been there a while at this stage and also the older lads who have been there throughout the golden period for the club.
“Those older lads see this new crop as a great boost and I would say that this is the strongest panel we’ve had for a few years. We’ve five or six lads trying to break into the starting team and I know everyone says that a a bench is so important but for us you can see that it really is.”
A strong bench wasn’t in situ in the 2021 decider as along with Coughlan’s ACL injury, the ‘Bricks were also without the evergreen Shane Hickey for their title defence against Éire Óg.
“My cruciate went in training for Clare, a few weeks later Shane Hickey did his achilles so we were down to the bare bones that year but showed serious resilience to get back to a county final.
“Éire Óg were the better team on the day and they were young and hungry whereas we have been trying to get back to one since and it has been tough.
“We’ve had plenty of heartbreak over the years in semi-finals and quarter-finals so it’s been a long three years since so we’re delighted to be back there but we’re also looking forward to seeing can we take that chance now.”
Coughlan and Co. have had to bide their time to get another shot at exacting revenge against the Townies but three years on, a new-look Kilmurry Ibrickane are determined to provide the ultimate barometer for Paul Madden’s side
“Everyone wants to have a crack at the best team in the county. That have been the standard-bearers of the last few years and look, you’ve got to respect them for that. I mean they have a superb panel, superb players and they’ve really showcased their talent this year again after a set-back in the semi-final last year.
“They’re in a county final on merit too so they are the team that you want to be playing in a final. You want to test yourself against the best and you’ve also got to back yourself in a final and we’re no different.
“We’ll be confident going into the day but we also know the task that’s ahead of us. So our performances to date won’t overturn a team like Éire Óg with the talent they have so that’s the challenge for us now to build towards and see can we reach new heights of performance and overturn the result from 2021.
“Look, we played Éire Óg in our first game and they managed to edge out on top but I think we’ve improved game-on-game from that day. Look, there’s no denying that Éire Óg will be strong favourites on Sunday but these are the challenges you relish as a player and I know that nobody here will back down from that challenge.”