REACTION: 'It is that feeling again. We had it three years ago and tried to get it since.'

Emotions ran high last Sunday on the sod of Semple and in the stands.

Despite one of the smallest attendances of all time for a county senior hurling final, those there had their hearts in their mouths until full-time.

The game ebbed and flowed until the final whistle with Kiladangan one ahead by the end after over two hours of county final hurling over two weekends.

The Sarsfields players waited on the field for the speeches, shocked at the abruptness of the finale.

The parishioners of Kiladangan cheered as the Dan Breen cup was hoisted in the Ryan Stand.

Their first victory was in 2020 after a last-minute goal foiled Loughmore and while they celebrated in unconventional times with crowd restrictions in place, this time around the cup will be celebrated with great cheer and pageantry.

As his teammates chanted ‘Ole, Ole’ in unison, Tipperary panelist and Kiladangan goalie Barry Hogan chatted to me on the sod at full time where he spoke of dreams coming true:

“It is unbelievable. You can’t write this script. Just look at the scenes and what it means.

“It is that feeling again. We had it three years ago and tried to get it since. You can’t buy it so it makes it extra special,” he said as the sun started to go down.

It was a game that Sarsfields proved their worth in, a game of fine margins.

Barry Hogan says it was what he expected: “Same again but there was probably a bigger stretch for them in this one because they went six up and four up. I think it is just the character in boys. We were beaten twice there but to come back again took character.

“We were disappointed last year and with how it ended we could have eased off but the resilience these lads showed mattered.

“We felt we had the legs for them.

The key thing was to see if we could be in the game until the last ten minutes.

“We finished strong the last day but they were never going to die away yet we had that kick again near the end to get us to full time ahead.

“We were willing John to blow the whistle in the end and thankfully he did in time! It is that bit of hurt in the locker we had too.

“Last year it wasn’t just the result, we were beaten fair and square granted, but our performance on the day just didn’t do us justice.

“We regrouped and prepared well and we hung in there the last day and today. We knew we had the quality to challenege a nd we did,”

Collectively Kiladangan didn’t go back training until April allowing them time to improve as the season went on without things becoming stale.

One of the stalwarts of the team was centre back Joe Gallagher who was holding his young daughterAva who is just a few months old.

The Our Lady’s Secondary school, Templemore teacher will enjoy the banter after mid term breakbut he will savour the time now to enjoy their win. Joe agreed with Barry Hogan that their character shone through in the game:

“We hung in there taking points then we got the goal. It was a tough game and the Sarsfields have improved with every game they played.“That Thurles side are a fantastic team and a great club that set the standard. We worked our socks off though.

All year, we put in the effort even though games were tough. Holycross gave us a tough game in the quarter final and the structures mean that every team is competitive at the moment,”he says.
Across the year Joe was welcoming their new born daughter into their family which kept him busy, but they still found time to ensure their hurling was up to a high level: “We love all the effort. It is a great community thing for us.”

During the game it looked at times like it was slipping away from Kiladangan but the Sean Hayes goal near the end, after a sweet pass from Deccie McGrath, proved crucial.

Joe Gallagher says he never switched off or relaxed until the game was over: “I couldn’t because the ball would be back down on you as quick. After the goal, I didn’t even realise what time was on the clock. We just went again and just about got there by full-time.

“That is how close it is really. There was very little between the teams. Sarsfields are a quality side and no doubt they will be back. For us though it is something to savour.