Kilmurry – an hour from Croke Park

THE main factor that has separated Kilmurry-Ibrickane from their rival Clare clubs this year and last, has been Kilmurry’s depth. For example, they could afford to start Noel Downes and Odran O’Dwyer on the bench against Doonbeg in the 2009 county semi-final in Cooraclare. Both came on and played pivotal roles in helping their side to edge past their neighbours and into the county final.

With Declan Callinan a very likely absentee, unless his one-match suspension is overturned, Kilmurry’s depth will be fully examined this weekend in Limerick.
Will they simply opt to bring in, say, Evan Talty or Brendan Moloney to the half-back line and keep the changes to a minimum or will they make changes in several lines in an effort to replace Callinan?
The simplest option would be to bring in Talty, provided he is moving well in training.
However, Kilmurry may decide to start Mark McCarthy in the half-forward line, move Ian McInerney to midfield, Paul O’Connor to centre-back and Enda Coughlan to wing-back. This type of reshuffle would result in Michael O’Dwyer starting at centre-forward, where he has played his best football in the recent season.
Kilmurry definitely need to shake up their attacking game, without leaving themselves open defensively. With this in mind, they could start Enda Coughlan at midfield in a direct swap with Paul O’Connor, leaving Talty at wing-back. Coughlan would provide the forward line with good, quick possession, while O’Connor should be capable of  keeping it solid at centre-back.
Ian McInerney will have had to up his game considerably in training and challenge games in recent weeks to hold onto his place. Provided he is fully fit, Stephen Moloney will start at wing-forward, with perhaps Mark McCarthy being recalled on the opposite wing. This would leave Johnny Daly, flanked by Noel Downes and Michael Hogan, who could be asked to drop deep from corner-forward. The make up of the full-forward line is, of course, dependent on whether Kilmurry start Odran O’Dwyer, who was on the bench with a knee injury in Ruislip. O’Dwyer isn’t yet fully fit but is significantly fitter than he was three weeks ago.
Beset by injury for much of last year, Noel Downes needs to produce a big game this weekend if he is to re-establish himself as one of Clare’s best inside forwards. Conditions didn’t help him against Tír Chonaill Gaels but Kilmurry need him flying in Limerick on Sunday if they are to make it to Croke Park.
Five years ago, Kilmurry felt they lacked match practice when they fell to Ballina in Ballinasloe in the 2005 semi-final. Hopefully, their turgid struggle against Tír Chonaill Gaels in London will stand to them this weekend.
Portlaoise have some top-class footballers in their ranks including full-back Kevin Fitzpatrick, midfielder Adrian Fennelly and half-forward Paul Cahillane.
This is likely to be the best opportunity Kilmurry-Ibrickane will ever have of reaching the All-Ireland club final on St Patrick’s Day. Provided they keep their discipline and outwork Portlaoise over the hour, they are well capable of going where no Clare football club has ever gone before.

Nolan says Laois not overconfident
LAOIS GAA analyst Jack Nolan feels  Portlaoise have learned from their last tilt at All-Ireland club glory in 2005. The Laois and Leinster champions lost to Ballina in the All-Ireland final that year. Incidentally, Ballina had defeated Kilmurry-Ibrickane in that year’s semi-final.
Nolan told The Clare Champion this week that Portlaoise trained right throughout the recent Christmas period in an effort to retain their Leinster championship-winning sharpness.
“The last time they were in the All-Ireland semi-final in 2005, they took a break over the Christmas for three weeks. They felt that they dropped the momentum and never picked it up again,” he said.
“Now they beat Crossmaglen in the All-Ireland semi-final and were beaten in the All-Ireland final after. But they thought they never got back to the level they had before the break. They didn’t drop training this time. They kept it going right over the Christmas and tried to keep the tempo up. Whether that works or not remains to be seen. But even over Christmas week, they still trained. They haven’t had a competitive game but they’ve had quite a number of practice games and I think they seem to be in good shape,” he added.
Along with thousands of Irish people and hundreds of businesses, Portlaoise GAA have ended up in significant debt following the death of the Celtic Tiger. In fact, the club is several million euro in debt. Nolan dismisses the suggestion, however, that this development is motivating the Portlaoise panel and management to win their second national club title.
“I don’t know really about that. Players by and large wouldn’t even know about that. You’re talking about young players, most of them, and they really wouldn’t have an interest in it. They leave that to the club officers. They play football and that’s the be all and end all of it,” he suggested.
Nolan is also adamant that Portlaoise don’t see Kilmurry-Ibrickane as a soft touch. He says that several members of the team management travelled to London on January 24 to witness Kilmurry at first hand in their win over the London champions.
“They’re taking it so seriously that seven of the management team en bloc, travelled over to watch Kilmurry play the All-Ireland quarter-final in Ruislip. Portlaoise know they face a huge task. There’s no question about taking anything for granted, being over confident or anything else. They’re taking this as a very, very serious challenge. I know Kilmurry looked poor the last day but they’ve watched videos of other games and they’ve been highly impressed with them. They know it’s going to be a huge, huge task,” he stressed.
Nolan says Portlaoise badly miss Australia-based Zac Tuohy.
“By and large, this is a very young Portlaoise team. I suppose one player they really miss is Zac Tuohy. Zac is off playing Aussie Rules football. He’s a big loss and they probably haven’t played as good football outside the county as they did right throughout the championship in Laois. A lot of that could be down to the loss of Tuohy. He was centre-forward and was scoring goals. While they’ve been winning games since, they haven’t been winning with the same flair and they haven’t been getting the same scores. They’ve been trying to readjust and the team hasn’t settled,” he explained.
On another note, Nolan is chairman of the 2010 Portlaoise St Patrick’s Day Parade committee. However, he rebuffs the suggestion that the town parade will be held on Sunday, March 21 because the club and town are confident of being engaged in Croke Park on March 17. He says that, for example, the army band have to be given a definite date for the parade. 
“We couldn’t say to them, ‘it’ll be Patrick’s Day or the following Sunday’. That’s no use when you’re dealing with people at that level. We then had to come along, make a decision and put it back to the following Sunday. It was nothing got to do with being over confident of being in an All-Ireland final,” Nolan maintained.

Discipline key to victory, says Moloney
If Kilmurry-Ibrickane are to learn anything from their defeat in the All-Ireland semi-final in 2005, it is that they must be disciplined. That’s the view of one of the stars of that team, Aidan Moloney, who is confident that his beloved club can progress to the All-Ireland final by beating Portlaoise this Sunday.
“There was nothing between ourselves and Ballina in 2005. We made a good start but what will stick in my mind about that game was that our discipline let us down.
“In London, a few weeks ago, things were beginning to go the same way. Kilmurry play a certain style of football and we drifted from that style a bit in London. When the discipline goes, the style of play goes,” said Moloney.
“On Sunday, the lads will have to be disciplined at all times and they must not change their style of play because of the opposition. They must stick to their own game plan, as that style has stood to them.
“Sometimes you feel that you have to change to match the opposition. Kilmurry have been very successful with their style and they should stick to it,” the former club and county star emphasised.
Now a highly rated coach, Moloney is currently in charge of the Cooraclare senior side, which he guided to Cusack Cup honours last year having taken over following a spell in charge of Shannon Gaels.
“The London game was a dodgy one for us and the lads were a little lucky to drag their heels out of there,” added Moloney.
“There is a lot more in them and I am satisfied that we will see a good performance this week. Portlaoise are the strong favourites but I expect our lads to do well.”
“The experience of 2005 will benefit Kilmurry. There are about nine or 10 from that team involved. They have a lot of success behind them and I believe that this will stand to them.
“They are not used to losing. They have won a lot and the occasion won’t be too big for them,” he said.
What about the Laois outfit? “According to all reports, they have a few good forwards but they have struggled at midfield at times.
“There is no doubt that our boys are breaking new ground everyday. They are as good as anyone out there and they believe that, which is one of the things that is missing from Clare teams over the years.
“ If you have that belief, you are halfway there. There is a big opportunity there for Kilmurry to make history and get to an All-Ireland final and the lads realise this,” said Moloney, who played in almost every position for his club and who was at midfield for Clare when they won the 1992 Munster senior football title by beating Kerry in Limerick.
Another thing in the Clare champion’s favour, according to Moloney, is the huge following they have. “It was amazing to see so many travel to Waterford for the game with Stradbally and to Limerick for the Munster final, while there was a huge following in London.
“There was support from everywhere, which is pleasing, and I am confidant that we will have another huge following on Sunday,” he added.
The loss of Declan Callinan is, in Moloney’s view, a massive blow to the Clare and Munster champions.
“He is a very experienced player and will be a huge loss,” he concluded.