Laois SHC final: 'Hurling’s everything really over here'- Clough-Ballacolla captain Aidan Corby

Clough-Ballacolla captain Aidan Corby is feeling confident and focused ahead of his side’s Laois SHC County Final with Rathdowney-Errill. 

With preparations going smoothly, Corby is pleased to have a fully fit squad ready for the big day. “Just training away the last few weeks now, looking forward to the final. Just another week really for us, normal week preparation and stuff, so it’s going well. This is the first time we actually have a full-strength panel, thank God,” he said.

Reflecting on the semi-final win over Camross, Corby acknowledged the fierce rivalry between the two sides but emphasised that Clough-Ballacolla’s sights were set firmly on the final.

“It’s always a close game when we play Camross, it’s always nice to get one over them, and the same for them with us, but we’re just delighted to be back in the final really. We don’t really care who it is we’re playing,” Corby explained.

Corby highlighted the difficulty of competing in the Laois SHC, where several teams are in the hunt for the title every year, making each victory all the more valuable.

“We were just saying that we’re delighted to be back in it because you’d give them all up to win the next one. You don’t know when you’re going to get back here, you don’t know when you’re going to win one. They’re fairly hard to win here. There’s always the four or five teams that could win it in any given year, so all we want to do is just win this one,” he stated.

The final marks the first time Clough-Ballacolla and Rathdowney-Errill have met in a county final since 2012, when Rathdowney-Errill won after a replay. Corby is hoping for a different outcome this time around.

“It’s been a long time coming. There’s a lot of finals between the two of us and it’s a bit mad that this is only the second one since Rathdowney-Errill joined up. They beat us in the last one, so hopefully we can get one over this time,” he said.

Corby praised the younger players in the squad, who have cemented their places alongside the more experienced members of the team. He believes their contributions will be vital in such a closely contested final.

“First year for Joe (Corby) and Cormac (Hogan) and maybe one of the other boys, but it’s a big week for them, they’re looking forward to it. They have plenty of experience to get them through. The last 10-15 minutes there, there’s not going to be a puck of a ball in it, so they have plenty of lads around them to get them through it,” Corby said. “Cormac and Joe, they’re nearly leaders in the group anyway. They’ll probably be helping us over the line rather than the other way around.”

On a personal note, Corby expressed his delight at being named captain for this year’s campaign, describing it as a dream come true.

“I was delighted when I got picked to be the captain. It’s something you’ve always wanted to do, captain your club to a county final, so it’s a massive honour, and hopefully we can get over the line now,” he shared.

Corby also reflected on what a victory would mean to the club and the community, where ‘hurling is everything.’ 

“Hurling’s everything really over here. It’s all most kids really do from when they’re growing up, so it’d be huge for the whole of the parish again to get another one,” Corby said.