It’s fitting that Shane Hickey is able to mark his remarkable 20th year at senior level with a 14th final appearance against Éire Óg this Sunday.
After all, having started his unrivalled journey against the Ennis side in the 2004 final that went all the way to a replay before Kilmurry Ibrickane prevailed, eight senior medals later he has bookended his storied career by facing the Townies once more.
Indeed, this would have been his 15th final, only for an achilles injury denied his the opportunity to face Éire Óg in the 2021 final.
“In 2021, Dermot [Coughlan] and I were watching it from the sideline. Earlier on in the year I had ruptured my achilles and he did his ACL and watching it was harder than playing as most people do say.
“It was one of those games that Éire Óg in fairness, were well in control of in the first half but with ten minutes to go, we actually had a chance to get it back to a point and we kicked it wide.
“They ended up winning it by three or four points in the end so it was a tight enough game but Éire Óg were full value for their win that day.
“For whatever reason it seems like a long time ago now and Éire Óg have gone on to probably dominate since that day but I suppose the strangest thing for us is that we’re going in as underdogs.”
The term underdogs is not something you’d associates with either Shane Hickey or Kilmurry Ibrickane who have largely dominated the Banner landscape over the past two decades.
“It’s a new position but t won’t change our mindset, we’re going to give it a bash on the day and see what happens.
“And that always has been out mantra from the very start when we hit the ground running in 2004 with that final win over Éire Óg. We were fortunate really as we were nine points down at one stage and ended up clawing it back to squeak a draw and we managed to beat them in the replay before going on the win the Munster Club.
“Lord it’s hard to believe that it was twenty years ago now so I’m nearly closer to getting the 25 year honour than anything else. Look, it’s strange because twenty years ago if you asked me what would I be doing now, I’d have obviously hoped to be still playing football but not necessarily county finals at senior level anyway.
“Look, I’m very fortunate to be in this position. If you look around the country or even abroad, it’s such a privilege to be playing in a county final at whatever level. It’s an honour to be still playing as many of the guys that I’ve played with would still love to but can’t.
“There are young people sick or disabled around the country so it’s great to be playing at all so to be still playing at nearly 40 is unbelievable for me and I’m just so delighted to be put on that jersey every day I go out.
“With new lads coming into the set-up from underage every year, It’s spurs you on and keeps you going. This is where I’ve grown up and played all my life, it’s here where I switch off from any stresses in life and I can relax with the lads and the craic is good.
“So it is a privilege and the fact that we’re back in a final is an extra bonus and if we win it, it would be fantastic altogether.”
With his family steeped in the club, Hickey has as close a bond to Kilmurry Ibrickane as anyone could ever wish for and it’s that ‘one life, one club’ motto that he is thrilled by be still imbuing to this day.
“I’m playing with my brothers [Darren and Niall], my father is known to shout and roar at matches and get carried away a bit but that’s just shows the passion. It means a lot, this club means a lot and going back not that famous Páidi Ó Sé quote about the Kerry supporters that ‘sometimes they can be lunatics’ but at the end of the day, most of them are your friends and family.
“We’ve a great bond back here and this all means a hell of a lot to us. I mean when you’ve experienced that many finals, you know how special they are for everyone. We’ve seen that down through the years in players, their families and the entire community are caught up in the fortunes of the team and it’s so, so special when you win.”
To earn a ninth winners medal this Saturday would be arguably Hickey and Co’s greatest achievement as Éire Óg, backed by only one solitary defeat in their last 20 championship matches are equally motivated to wrestle back the new Jack Daly cup.
“We knew from the start of the year that Éire Óg were favourites. Look, they’re a very good team, are well coached and it’s regularly noted that they’ve six inter-county backs but we know too that we’ve a good group that have a lot of potential.
“Obviously we’ll do our homework on Éire Óg but we’re predominantly going to focus on ourselves and getting the best out of ourselves for Sunday.
“Honestly I don’t think there’s a whole pile between us. Going on the semi-final and quarter-final results, you’d have to say that they should have the upper hand but finals are quite tight from what I’ve seen in the last couple of years so it could well come down to a bounce of the ball or a bit of luck on the day.”
Indeed, Shane Hickey is just delighted to be still in a position to face Paul Madden’s side, having thought it was the end of the road for him in 2021.
“I thought it was because with the achilles I wasn’t sure if I would ever come back from it as I was roughly 36 at the time so it didn’t look great.
“There was a bit of doom and gloom after that final against Éire Óg as the future didn’t look too bright initially but fortunately the big lads like Keelan [Sexton] and Dermot [Coughlan] have stuck around.
“I mean they’re probably two of the best forwards in the county and when you have that kind of firepower you always have a chance.
“So on Sunday, we’re just hoping to write the wrongs of 2021.”