Kilmurry show no pity as St Joseph’s freeze

Kilmurry Ibrickane                   0-17
St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield  0-5
KILMURRY Ibrickane will remember their 2011 county final display as possibly the most complete in their club’s history. In winning by 12 points, they equalled Kilrush’s 3-11 to 0-8 hammering of North Clare in 1977. Prior to that, the biggest winning margin in a county football final was in 1899, when Ennis Dalcassians beat Clarecastle Shamrocks 2-13 to 0-4. Depending on a person’s allegiance, either Kilmurry were brilliant or St Joseph’s putrid.
Given that Kilmurry Ibrickane are this week cradling their parish’s 12 county titles, it would be remiss not to first laud their magnificence and reflect on St Joseph’s paucity later.
After a mere 26 seconds, it was clear that Kilmurry were up for it. Mark McCarthy turned over possession, robbing Ivor Whyte, allowing Enda Coughlan to shoot the champions ahead. Coughlan swapped positions with Ian McInerney before the throw-in. The moved worked. Both players vied with Martin McMahon for man of the match. McInerney’s eight-point return, three from play, swayed the accolade his way. Taken off 12 minutes from time in Kilmurry’s one-point semi-final win over Cratloe, McInerney pointed the first of his haul in the second minute. Already the sizeable crowd (the official attendance was not revealed) was mute. People feared the worst for St Joseph’s, who were competing in their first county final since 1898.
Two fouls on Noel Downes and one on Mark McCarthy allowed McInerney to stroke over three more points as the St Joseph’s supporters in Cusack Park increasingly peered at the pitch from between their fingers.
Leading 0-5 to 0-0 after eight minutes, Kilmurry only added three points in the closing 22 minutes of the first half. Yet St Joseph’s didn’t mount a meaningful attack until the 15th minute, when Gavin O’Sullivan kicked wide from play.
Minutes prior to that Stephen Moloney, who started at corner-forward, finished one of the moves of the game with a lovely point. The build-up started with Shane Hickey at corner-back and involved Michael O’Dwyer and Downes, before Moloney’s classy finish.
Five minutes from half-time, St Joseph’s could have goaled after an Enda Lyons line ball broke to Damien Kennedy, who was shipped from corner-back to centre-forward after a torrid spell in the full-back line. Kennedy had a half a goal chance but spilled possession. It broke to Alan O’Neill, who pulled on the loose ball but it went wide.
Ian McInerney pointed Kilmurry’s seventh score, while just before half-time, corner-back Martin McMahon was fouled well over 120 yards from his natural habitat of corner-back. McMahon’s unlikely location, two minutes before half-time with Kilmurry seven points up, underlined their ruthless hunger. It was akin to finding a penguin in the Sahara.
The champions had St Joseph’s in an inescapable corner and were showing no pity. Enda Coughlan pointed that free, leaving Kilmurry 0-8 to 0-0 ahead at half-time. In living memory, nobody could recall when a team last failed to score in the first half of a county football final.
St Joseph’s introduced Mark Hallinan and Colm Mullen at half-time, although the latter was the only Doora-Barefield player not to take part in the pre-match warm-up. Straight from the throw-in, Noel Downes pointed Kilmurry 0-9 to 0-0 up. All St Joseph’s could now aim for was to put a few scores on the board and get out of Cusack Park as fast as they could.
Mullen pointed their first score in the third minute of the second half after Ivor Whyte had been fouled. A couple of minutes later, David O’Brien was fouled and pointed the free from a tricky angle on the 14 yard line. At least St Joseph’s were on the board and restoring some colour to the cheeks of their management and supporters.
Kilmurry didn’t feel like allowing their opponents any semblance of hope though and responded with four successive points, as Enda Coughlan, Ian McInerney and Johnny Daly all scored. Daly was introduced 10 minutes into the second half and started kicking frees over as if he had been on the field since minute one.
Fifteen minutes from time, Enda Lyons kicked St Joseph’s first point from play after Seán Flynn had ran at Kilmurry. Three minutes later, Cathal O’Sullivan won a free, allowing David O’Brien to kick his side’s fourth point, though they were still 0-14 to 0-4 adrift.
Corner-back, Shane Hickey and McInerney, with a brace of magnificent 55-yard frees, completed Kilmurry’s 17-point tally. The frees were as cleanly struck as ever seen on county final day in Clare.
Colm Mullen’s injury-time point from play saved St Joseph’s from the biggest county final defeat in 112 years, although it merely tied them for the heaviest final defeat in 34 years.
As deflating as their defeat was, it would be arguably more demeaning to St Joseph’s to gloss over their non-performance. They would get over being beaten if they had at least shown why they had made it as far as the county final in the first place. Beating Doonbeg indicates clearly that St Joseph’s are a decent team but they will be remembered for freezing to the point of having to be defrosted on October 16, 2011. That’s what will hurt them most. The crowd left Cusack Park asking how poor must the other 14 senior football clubs be if St Joseph’s are the second-best team in Clare? Doora-Barefield expected much more of themselves, as did anybody who paid the €15 entrance fee.
A litany of Kilmurry players produced their best form on the biggest day, even if they were largely allowed to. Ian McInerney, Enda Coughlan and Martin McMahon were the best players on the field, while Shane Hickey, Peter O’Dwyer, Mark McCarthy and Noel Downes also played exceptionally well.
St Joseph’s are better than they looked on Sunday. They played Cusack Cup football for the first time in their history this year and deserve some recognition for reaching the county final. That they collapsed completely though will haunt them. Only Ger Fannin, Stephen Collins and David O’Brien could say they tried to keep going when all about them were freezing, although Declan O’Keeffe could be excused, as his main task was to take his side’s 23 kick-outs.

Kilmurry Ibrickane: Peter O’Dwyer; Shane Hickey, Darren Hickey, Martin McMahon; Declan Callinan, Evan Talty, Enda Coughlan; Paul O’Connor, Peter O’Dwyer (captain); Mark McCarthy, Michael Hogan, Ian McInerney; Noel Downes, Michael O’Dwyer, Stephen Moloney.
Subs: Johnny Daly for Noel Downes (40), Niall Hickey for Stephen Moloney (45), Odran O’Dwyer for Michael O’Dwyer (52), Thomas Lernihan for Declan Callinan (53) and Seamus Lynch for Michael Hogan (54).
Scorers: Ian McInerney (0-8, 5f); Enda Coughlan (0-4, 2f), Johnny Daly (0-2f(, Stephen Moloney, Noel Downes and Shane Hickey (0-1 each).
Wides: 6; frees won: 27; 45s: 0
Yellow card: Mark McCarthy.
St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield: Declan O’Keeffe; Ger Fannin, Stephen Collins, Damien Kennedy; Greg Lyons, Kevin Dilleen, Gavin O’Sullivan; Mark Rafferty, Alan O’Neill; Paul Dullaghan, Seán Flynn, David O’Brien; Enda Lyons, Cathal O’Sullivan (captain), Ivor Whyte.
Subs: Mark Hallinan for Mark Rafferty (half-time), Colm Mullen for Damien Kennedy (half-time), Christy O’Brien for Paul Dullaghan (38) and Cathal Duggan for Ivor Whyte (54).
Scorers: Colm Mullen (0-2, 1f), David O’Brien (0-2f) and Enda Lyons (0-10.
Wides: 10; frees won: 24; 45s: 1
Yellow cards: Damien Kennedy, Stephen Collins and Enda Lyons.
Referee: Pat Cosgrove (Corofin).