Kilmurry Ibrickane won their fourteenth Clare SFC title on Sunday when they defeated Cratloe but that wasn’t the only bit of history set.
Aidan ‘Horse’ Moloney is now the only Kilmurry Ibrickane man to captain and manage the club to glory in the Clare SFC it is a record he will cherish. After stints managing Kilrush Shamrocks, St Senan’s Kilkee and Shannon Gaels since his retirement it was his destiny to return home to his beloved Bricks and guide them to County glory.
“It’s probably ten years since I finished playing and I was always going to come back and I’m probably fortunate that this group of players are still here very successful group of players that owe nothing to no one and haven’t won a championship in a few years but we know it’s still there and I have to mention the younger players we brought in this year, Darragh Sexton, Ciaran Morrissey done very well and fitted in great and I have nothing but praise for everyone” he told The Clare Herald.
They limited Cratloe to six points in the game, two from play. Their defence was central to the success according to Moloney. “I think our backs really had shut the game down even for the whole game as such it reflected on the scoreline, it took us a while to get the hang of things and as the game went on we kept possession better and we got the scores as a reward”.
Another plus was how well they nullified Cratloe’s key men, none of their County representatives registered on the scoreboard. “Their danger-men were kept quiet today, Podge, Cathal McInerney and Sean Collins, when you can keep those fellas quiet, we’re not too far off the mark we have the bit of quality up front to win the game”.
It’s been four years since they last lifted the Jack Daly. Having watched and studied where they fell short during this period, bringing back some players and adding to the squad was decided upon and it was a move that has reaped the rewards. “We made sure that we gave ourselves the best chance, Declan Callinan and Mark Killeen weren’t playing enough and maybe were thinking of not playing so we got them on board and it showed out there we had the experience and we had the fellas off the bench to come on”.
With two points between the sides at half-time Moloney urged his charges to respond in the second half and that they did, being able to draw on their experience of winning titles before was a big help.
“There’s great tradition in our lads and they’re used to winning and the winning habit is there, as I said to them at half-time the challenge was there and they wanted to meet the challenge and I think they responded very well in the second half”.
While the history books may tend to focus on their fourteenth title, the contribution and personal feat achieved by Aidan ‘Horse’ Moloney as manager cannot be understated. Several thousands of kilometres away his daughter Chloe was also making history as she scored for the Irish U19 women’s soccer team who secured their place in the Elite Phase of the European Championships.