They say that it takes a community to raise a child but realistically also sustain a GAA club, especially in rural settings, something that Kilmurry Ibrickane can certainly attest to as they continue to punch above their weight by remaining at the top table in Clare despite a dwindling population base.
Cherishing and nurturing players from generation to generation has become a way of life around Páirc Naomh Mhuire over the past two decades, with Keelan Sexton the perfect example of this initiation to become their talismanic forward and top scorer over the past few seasons.
“That’s something that the older lads have done, they’ve really put their body on the line in that sense. When I came in, it was probably the likes of Johnny Daly, Odran and Peter O’Dwyer who were literally getting the maximum out of their bodies for us. They didn’t want to go out at the one time as that could have been detrimental to the team and that is the way it has been with the older guard slowly stepping away.
“They just wanted to make sure that everything was in safe keeping before they decided to hang up their boots, having giving everything they could until they’re happy enough to pass it on and that’s kind of a cycle of a GAA club isn’t it?
“We’ve just been lucky in that sense that we’ve had such an unbelievable group over the past decade or so who are absolute legends that have been slowly stepping back into the shadows having left the jersey in a better place.”

𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 💚❤️

Send us in your pics or tag us on our Instagram page @kilmurryibrickanegaaclub and we’ll share all the pictures on our story 👏 pic.twitter.com/ncgt3ZpE1k

— Kilmurry Ibrickane GAA (@kibgaaclub) November 5, 2021

Sexton has certainly taken up that mantle as even before his county final breakthrough in 2016, the county senior has been Kilmurry Ibrickane’s chief threat, with his scoring responsibility levels incrementally increasing, particularly this year with so many absentees from the 2020 return of the Jack Daly.
“I try to be more of a leader off the field a little bit. I think it’s one of those things that you have to pick and choose your moments. I can be a talker and an over-talker at times but you quickly realise that every player is different and therefore approach games and scenarios in various manners.
“Some lads like to have ice in the mind and fire in the belly, some lads enjoy chaos to get the surge going while others would like to blank out everything and just play the game.
“We’re just so lucky that there are probably ten or twelve generals on this team, lads that you could turn to at any time as each one of them have bundles of experience and having played in Munster and All-Ireland Club Finals and played for Clare.
“It’s probably more important to younger lads come in like myself a few years back when I was in that scenario and looking up to these lads. You don’t want to step on anyone’s toes when you come in first but theses lads encourage that as everyone has a voice and if you see something specific, you need to say it.
“It’s important to be honest and ultimately genuine within a squad and that’s something that I’d like to think we have in this group.
“That was needed this year. Having won back the title last year, there were probably a lot of things that we didn’t want to happen in 2021, a lot of injuries to a lot of guys that were massive for us. I suppose being from a rural parish, everybody counts so between injuries, retirements etc, there are probably seven or eight lads that you could could on being at training missing so that’s a massive gap to fill in the dynamic and energy of a group.
“Being without county players too for much of training, it’s a testament to the group that we have been able to dig in because there were times during the championship that every time someone went down, I was saying to myself ‘please get up’.
“So it’s an accomplishment for us to get back to the final but it’s about finishing the job now, something that Éire Óg are also determined to do. But we’re in with a 50/50 shot now anyway.”
They certainly are, with Sexton better placed than most to accurately assess their final opponents, having been part of Colm Collins’ set-up just as long as he has been starring for the ‘Bricks, with Éire Óg consistently having a strong contingent throughout that time.
“We’ve always known that we’d come up against them in a big game at some stage. They have been coming and we probably caught them last year a little bit but they are a serious side and the most in-form team in the championship, there’s no denying that. Whereas we kind of being trucking along scraping by, they have stuck to their gameplan and have dominated most games that they played so we’re under no illusion that we’re going into the lion’s den over in Ennis the next day as Éire Óg are going to have a big backing behind them.
“I remember being over in the Park watching them in the final against Cratloe I think in 2014 and they had some atmosphere there, there were even flares going off.
“Look, I’d be friendly with a lot of the Éire Óg lads and they are serious athletes so we know that we have to go out on Sunday and really put the shoulder to the wheel to leave everything on the field. And hopefully that will be good enough to get us over the line.
“You’ve got to rise to the occasion as experience counts for nothing, it’s about performing on the day and whoever does that will win, it’s as simple as that.”

by Eoin Brennan