Captain Flynn cherishing every final

By Shane Brophy

The vast majority of GAA players don’t get a chance to play in a county senior hurling final. It can be an instance of birth or luck depending on the fortunes of a club at the time and for many of the current Kiladangan squad, they are creating history for their club as they prepare to play in their first county senior final in seven years on Sunday.

Prior to that you have to go back to 1934 for the last time a Kiladangan team played in a final, joined with Kilbarron.

“You still never really get used to them,” admitted captain Alan Flynn as he prepares to play in his fourth final.

“We would never have grown up look at senior county finals as the club wasn’t successful when we were younger so every time we get to one it is an unbelievable achievement.

“We are delighted to be back here again.”

Twenty years ago, Kiladangan were playing in the county intermediate final, where a fancied side fell to Newport, but ever since then it has been more good days than bad, from the county intermediate success in 2004 which brought them to senior level, to the All-Ireland intermediate title in 2005, a first North senior title in 2008, a first county final appearance in 2016 and then the holy grail of a first Dan Breen Cup in never to be forgotten circumstances in 2020.

It has been built on sustainable growth, helped by a regular underage success, although it was defeats that brought this group of players together.

“Once 2008 came around and we won our first North final is started rolling from there,” Flynn recalls.

“We have been there or there abouts in relation to North finals and we kept developing and winning those North Championships was excellent to build a foundation.

“Luckily a group of players came together in different eras and we got there eventually.”

“It started with Joe Gallagher’s team, they would have won an under 16 ‘A’ North final but lost a county final and contested minor ‘A’ finals.

“Our group came then and competed in a minor ‘A’ final and lost again but eventually we broke through with that team with myself, Paul Flynn, Tadhg Gallagher, David Sweeney, Willie Connors, and won an under 21 ‘A’ North final. James Quigley, Billy Seymour, Bryan McLoughney, Sean Hayes all came in behind us as our core group started stronger and stronger and one or two more every year that.”

Kiladangan were very green in the 2016 where the game almost passed them by against a dominant Thurles Sarsfields side. Three years later, they were favourites to win the final against a Borris-Ileigh side whom they beat in the North final a few weeks previous, and from where went all the way to an All-Ireland club final.

So, was there pressure going into the 2020 final not to lose a third final on the trot?

“Darragh Egan spoke to us that week, and he was still playing at the time, and he said to us, it’s just process driven,” Flynn added.

“We hadn’t hurled well in a final in ‘16 and ‘19 so the main objective against Loughmore was to hurl well and we did.

“We didn’t start well and conceded three goals but for the majority of the game we hurled well but hit an awful lot of wides. Throughout that game I felt we were at the level to win a county championship and luckily enough we did get the break at the end of it.”

That final will also go down in history as the Covid final where just one hundred Kiladangan fans were in Semple Stadium on that historic day. Next Sunday there will be no limit as the people of Kiladangan parish descend on Thurles once more in the hope of seeing their club back up that title success.

“To win our first was the best day in this clubs history,” added the Kiladangan skipper.

“We felt everyone was with us even though there was so few in the stadium. We still got the opportunity to meet everyone in the village afterwards so we don’t feel like we are chasing our first, it is just another year and another opportunity to win Dan Breen and bring it back to Kiladangan.”