2021 - The year of Kilcock and Intermediate glory
Daragh Nolan chats to three Kilcock players, who helped their club sweep Kildare Intermediate Championships across men's football, ladies football and camogie in 2021
2021 was the year of Kilcock in Kildare football as three of its adult teams promoted themselves to Senior level with Intermediate Championship wins. Perhaps the only thing more drained than the entire senior playing contingent was the local supply of kegs.
The Intermediate treble was on in ‘21 when the Kilcock GAA, LGFA and Camogie side’s all reached the county final in mid-October.
The first two jewels to be placed in the crown were the GAA and camogie wins, who played on the same day. The camogie girls faced St Laurences in Hawkfield and came out on top 0-6 to 0-5.
Kilcock forward Sarah Lavin said, “It was a huge relief. I was up front that day and it kind of felt like it was slipping away from us. We came back and it was great to get the win. We had great celebrations anyways, we are good at that in Kilcock.
“Katie Goodman got the winning point of the game with a free, it was a fantastic score.”
The camogie celebrations would be initially rapturous but soon-changed to rush as they made their way into Newbridge to catch the Intermediate men’s final.
“I remember going straight from Hawkfield to St Conleth’s after we had gotten our hugs and done the pictures. We stopped in the off-licence on the way, which I don't think went down too well with some people in the club, but we got a bottle of prosecco and off we went,” Sarah recalled.
“It was a really nice community to be part of that year. The football girls always came to support the camogie and vice versa. ”
Not as she had perhaps anticipated, but Sarah would also be a part of the next Kilcock side to get the job done after the men’s side drew 0-12 to 1-9 with Ballymore Eustace. The replay would be set for two weeks later and the club now had the serious matter of a ladies final in the meantime.
The Kilcock ladies faced Kilcullen in their Intermediate final and were up against their toughest challenge as they faced the only team to have beaten them in 2021. It would be the green flags that made all the difference as Kilcock upset The Rags to win 4-6 to 1-13 after extra-time.
Title-winning captain Aisling O’Connor said, “It was very action-packed. It was nerve-wracking. I’m sure from the sideline too and being out there. We had a couple of really good full-forwards (Eve Powderly and Grace White) and that was huge for us. We scored a lot of goals that year.”
Despite being just 25 years old, Aisling is a veteran of the Kilcock ladies team having joined the senior panel at 13, while in her first year of secondary school.
“We enjoyed that one, you don’t always get those wins. You have good days and bad days, so it is important to enjoy the ones you do get,” she said.
“My sister was on the team too and it was brilliant winning alongside her. She played midfield on the day and I have a few memories of passing the ball between us and running off one another and it is special to have that with your family.”
After their initial draw with Ballymore, the men’s side would end up being last in the potential treble sequence and then Kilcock selector Donal Cummins said that brought about a responsibility of its own, “We were the last of the treble and we were delighted for the girls, but in its own way it put pressure on us to get over the line.
“We didn’t want to be the odd one out. We did speak about it before the final and we said to the lads that the girls have already done it, we can’t let the club down. It was definitely part of the pre-match speech.”
Kilcock had been knocking on the door of a Senior return for some time. A final defeat the year before and a semi-final loss in 2019 all added to the feeling of needing to get over the line in the Intermediate Championship.
It was nearly so close yet so far once again as Ballymore had a chance to win the first fixture late on with a free that dropped short. The favoured Kilcock would not let it get that close again as they ran out 1-16 to 0-7 winners in the replay.
“The second game, we were on top early, and got into a lead. We had been slow starters all year, but in the second Ballymore game we were five points up at half-time and were still somewhat playing within ourselves. We hadn’t even been brilliant,” Donal said.
“Finals are never comfortable, but at half-time we were a lot more comfortable than we ever were in the first game.”
The men’s side winning the Intermediate at the second attempt in 2021 meant they registered their first Championship title since 1982.
“We remember when we went down from Senior to Intermediate, we were 12 years down and in that period had lost several finals, semi-finals, and just couldn't get back up. There was great excitement then in ‘21 because as a club we hadn’t done anything that substantial in a long time,” Donal recalled.
“The players were outstanding. Fantastic as individuals, not just footballers, but as people. They were a super group. Then to see eight or nine year old kids then buying Kilcock jerseys and being excited about Shane Farrell and Brendan Gibbons, that is what it's about. Whatever about football, being in a club and trying to create that culture was what we took out of it as the greatest thrill of it all.”
The three teams were finally united in celebration as Kilcock took home a haul of Intermediate titles in 2021. Rarely has a club celebrated in such unison as their senior sides reached the top tier of their respective competitions.
The Leinster Leader will be doing a feature article from every club in Kildare over the coming weeks and months as part of the Love of the Game series.
If you have a suggestion for an article on someone from your club, a legendary player, selfless volunteer or an idea of your own, send them to [email protected]