“The feeling afterwards is magical. The roar of the crowd when that went in was really special.” Rioghan Murphy

Last Sunday, Rioghan Murphy won his third Laois Senior Championship medal. He has been an invaluable asset to the Portarlington side and was a consistent stand-out performer throughout the championship. Last Friday Rioghan sat down with the Leinster Express to discuss the extraordinary year.

Rioghan scored a crucial goal in last week's final which really put an end to any chance of O’Dempseys getting back into the game. Rioghan spoke about what was going through his mind at the time.

“ I suppose in moments like that, you just have to stay cool, I was lucky enough that it opened up for me. The feeling afterward is magical. The roar of the crowd when that went in was really special. But I consider myself very lucky to be the one who was on the end of the move. It was a very special moment.”

Rioghan went on to speak about some of the motivational factors that drove both himself and his teammates in advance of the final.

“Going into the game, there was a lot of talk about how Portarlington has regressed. There was motivation within the team to really put that to bed. We wanted to prove the doubters wrong. The fact that it was against O’Dempseys as well was an added bonus. It all just came together for us, we knew that that sort of performance was in us all year. So it was

great that we got the job done in the manner that we did."

Portarlington had only won by the minimum one-point margin in all three of the games leading up to the final. Murphy spoke about how getting tough battles in those games brought on the team in leaps and bounds but ultimately it was O’Dempseys style of play that suited the county champions.

“Getting them narrow wins are a sign of a good team. It's a sign of a team that knows how to win. We knew going into the final that O’Dempseys play nice football and we were expecting a different game than say Ballyroan or Portlaoise. It always going to be more open and end-to-end. That definitely suited us and suited our play and it showed on the day.”

Rioghan plays a vital role in the team. He covers an awful lot of ground and is constantly running. One minute he could be back on his own 45 helping out his half-back line, the next minute he is getting on the end of a score.

“Yeah, that kind of role really suits me. This is the third year in a row playing and I really enjoy the job I've been given within the team. Some lads might shy away from it as it's an awful lot of running. I would have always been fairly fit though having done athletics when I was younger, so yeah I really thrive on it, to be honest.

Rioghan will be hoping he and his teammates can put in another huge performance this Sunday when they take on Castletown in Wexford Park in the opening round of the Leinster provincial championship.