Moloney: “I Never Thought There Was As Much Mixing Of The Blood”

It has been a successful return to the helm for Aidan Moloney as he prepares to lead his native club into a third county football final in the last four years.

2016 and 2017 saw the Bricks put titles back to back under Moloney’s watch, and he will be hoping that come 5pm on Sunday afternoon it will be another successful campaign.

He admits that taking the job at a club like Kilmurry involves an almost unwritten agreement that success must follow.

“It is great to be back in the final because it was a nice bit of work to get there so we are looking forward to it. We have put ourselves into this position now so we have to go out there and hopefully do the business. You can’t get away from it locally here and we are delighted with how things have gone so far. We have gotten a great response from the lads and they have done the work so they deserve to be where they are at. I am sure they will give a good account of themselves on Sunday. When you are involved with Kilmurry over the last 10 or 15 years, if you are not knocking on the door of a county final you are not deemed to be successful and that is just the way it is” said the 1992 Munster championship winner.

The Kilmurry team that will take to the field on Sunday afternoon is one loaded with championship medals along with a huge amount of experience garnered over the last 15 years. Moloney himself lined out with a number of the players he now manages during Kilmurry’s run to their maiden Munster title in 2004. He says having that experience in the group is a vital element to lean on.

“The lads have given me great respect and I could not ask for anything more. One thing I always try to do it get the lads to work with me. Most of these lads have won a lot more than I ever did and I am nearly picking their brains for ideas as much as I am trying to add my own bit to it. They are easy to work with and they know more about playing the modern game and the modern systems than I do at this stage so that is a great dynamic to have and it really is a win-win situation to be in. I have no problem going to them to ask their opinions about various things on how we set up and that kind of thing and I think it would be foolish not to get that input from them. They are the lads that are still playing and some of them are only finished long intercounty careers so they have loads of knowledge and I would be a fool if I didn’t try to tap into it” he stated.

A noticeable feature of Kilmurry’s semi-final win over Cratloe, and their championship run to date, has been the manner in which the defensive cover has leaked very few scores from play. Moloney feels it is a simple philosophy that you give yourself the best chance of winning by limiting the damage the opposition can inflict.

He said: “That is always the way I try to set up. It might be old fashioned thinking but it you can keep scores off the board you don’t have to put as many up at the other end and that is something that will never change. We have some outstanding defenders and they have put in a huge amount of work. We have worked on certain things and if you work on getting the basics right you will never be too far away and that is something we have done a lot of this year and it has paid dividends”.

With the build up to Sunday’s historic derby decider gathering pace by the hour, Moloney admits he is somewhat taken aback by the amount of connections between the two neighbours.

“Since the final has been set up, it is amazing just how many half and half households have been declared. I never thought there was that much mixing of the blood but nearly every second house seems to have some connection to the two parishes so it is amazing how many people have that and it is a difficult time for a lot of households I think. A few have been on to me already about it and it really is great for both parishes and just shows how passionate the two places are about their football. We have had a good bit of success and now Miltown have really come onto the scene over the last few years. I am sure our success has driven them on and now we are both there. I think everyone really wants to see this game and wants to see both teams with their strongest hand out because it is a guarantee that there will be no quarter asked or given. We both have to deal with the occasion and it will be important to react to it in the right way. Both teams have plenty experience to help with that and hopefully it will be a good spectacle, but more importantly that we win” he smiled.