Thomastown manager Noel Doherty reacts to All-Ireland Intermediate title success

When it comes to winning All-Ireland club titles, Thomastown manager Noel Doherty is no stranger to success.

The softly-spoken Doherty was part of the Galmoy team that claimed All-Ireland junior glory when beating Roscommon side Oran back in 2005 so it’s a unique double to win as a player and manager.

He gave all the credit to the Thomastown players as they ticked the final box in a memorable championship campaign.

“It’s a super end to the season,” he said. “It’s hard to put into words - it’s just fantastic.

“It’s mixed emotions in a way as you are absolutely relieved to get over the line but I’m just thrilled for this group of players as they’ve put in some amount of work all year and they stayed by us all the way through.”

Despite a lot of tough defeats in recent seasons, including three of the previous five county finals, Doherty always trusted that the lads would bounce back and get the job done.

“I believed in this team. The management team that was there last year, we believed in them and we knew they weren’t far away.

“The quality is there, leaders are there and even new leaders stood up all season over the course of the campaign and it’s been a super year,” the manager added.

Stephen Donnelly’s two second half goals proved crucial as the champions upped their game after a closely fought opening period.

“Stephen’s goals came at the right time,” he said. “I thought in the second half in particular, after we reassessed at half-time, we played a lot more to our strengths and worked the ball through the lines a lot better.

“We were playing too many high balls in the first half that were being snuffed out,” he added. “I just felt we went at things better in the second period.”

The victory moves Thomastown into a pretty illustrious club as just the third team after Bennettsbridge and Glenmore to bring national titles back to Kilkenny from two different grades.

“It’s a very proud club that has huge tradition and this is something that doesn’t come around too often,” he said.

“It’s been 40 years since the club won intermediate to go up senior, so it’s a huge achievement for everyone involved and it means a lot to them.”