Shane keen to protect Bridge’s Golden era

Having unceremoniously been dumped out of last year’s championship at the group stages for the first time in seven years, many people around the county were beginning to pen Sixmilebridge’s obituary.
Having dominated the Banner landscape with five senior crowns in eight seasons up to 2020, such a flooring finish initially appeared like the end of an era for such a remarkable core. However, that external viewpoint certainly wasn’t reflected inside the camp according to five time champion Shane Golden.
“Last year I just don’t think we did ourselves justice. We kind of let ourselves down and the management down and the club down and just didn’t approach it in the right manner so regardless of how this year went, the main thing was that we gave a good account of ourselves.
“If we never won a title again, we were determined to just put things right and have a real go. There wasn’t the aim of winning titles or anything like that, our aim was to perform and hopefully get out of the group as that’s arguably the hardest part of the Clare championship. Once you get out of the group, you have some momentum behind you but the important factor is to build up that momentum at the group stages first.
“So we just took every game as it came, respected each opposition and fortunately it has worked in our favour.”
Were there doubts that this group might never again contest a final?
“Absolutely, look everything is relative and when you’re used to being regularly competitive in the knock-out stages and suddenly you have a gap, clearly you start to wonder what’s gone wrong.
“We know exactly how hard it is to get to a county final. As we’ve often said amongst ourselves, no-one knows exactly what the future holds so after a four year gap to the final, we’ve got to grasp this chance with both hands as you never know if it might be our last as a team.
“Getting to a county final itself is a huge occasion. It’s very special and if you’re from the ‘Bridge, it holds a huge significance as there’s a great buzz about the place and it holds such resonance with the entire village.
“With the age profile of this team, I don’t think we can take anything for granted anymore as no-one knows what going to happen next year or the year after.”
What happens on Sunday is very much in Sixmilebridge’s control however but former county senior Golden is acutely aware of the threat that Feakle pose.
“Feakle have a serious tradition and a proud tradition, they’re hurling mad. We’ve played them in league and championship in the past few years and it has always been tough. It is an interesting pairing as they are in god form. I’ve seen them a couple of times this year and they’ve a lot of good players and a few on the county panel so we’re under no illusion as to what’s ahead of us on Sunday.”
Ultimately however, it’s that innate trust and understanding amongst the ‘Bridge that constantly keeps Golden reassured that they always have a chance in any game, not to mind a final.
“There’s a very good bond between the lads. We’ve been lucky that lads have stayed around in the last decade and if they’re going traveling, they tend to do so on a short term basis. Winning helps that of course because even if you are abroad, you are more likely to come back when you know that you have a chance of winning it out.
“It might be harder to keep players together if you’re regularly contesting relegation play-offs so we’re lucky in that regard and more than anything else, we enjoy each others company and we get along together. So we’re hoping that this dynamic can work its magic one more time.”