Brigid’s final march stirs ‘great memories’ for current stars

When St Brigid’s last contested the All-Ireland club final in 2013 - and went on to lift the Andy Merrigan Cup - current stars Brian Derwin and Ciarán Sugrue were among the young cohort of fans.

“I remember well sitting in the Cusack (Stand) beside a lot of these lads that were playing. The goal was to get back there and thankfully we’re there now,” said Derwin, who was the goalscoring hero in last Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final win over Castlehaven.

St Brigid’s will now face Watty Graham’s Glen of Derry on Sunday week, January 21 as part of a double header with the All-Ireland club senior hurling final between St Thomas’ (Galway) and Loughlin Gaels (Kilkenny).

“We struggled in front of goal for the first ten or 15 minutes of the second half, myself included. We missed four or five shots. Once Robbie (Dolan) got that score (their first of the second half), it kind of settled us down a bit and that was important for us,” said Derwin.

Recalling the build-up to his early goal, Brian said: “I remember I popped it into Eddie (Nolan) and Ben (O’Carroll) got it off him and made a great run. Ben gave it to me and I squeezed it in at the near post. There seemed to be a delayed reaction from the crowd but it just snuck in there. I can’t really remember it to be honest.”

Last Sunday’s game in Thurles was another example of St Brigid’s getting off to a good start which left Castlehaven playing catch up.

“We have got off to good starts in most games, maybe apart from the county final. It gives us something to build on and at least we can control the terms of the game then. Hopefully we can get another one the next day,” said Derwin.

As the West Cork outfit applied strong pressure in the closing stages, a late point from substitute John Cunningham proved crucial in giving the Kiltoom side breathing space.

“Yeah, it was crucial. It was one of those ones where you don’t know if he should shoot or not, and then he splits the uprights, but he’s done that a lot to be fair and that was a huge score,” said Brian.

As for a break of just two weeks before the All-Ireland final, Derwin is happy with the schedule. “I think two or three weeks is perfect. It doesn’t look like we got too many injuries today so hopefully we’ll be fresh for the final,” he added.

Meanwhile, Ciarán Sugrue reflected fondly on “great memories” when supporting the Brigid’s team on their journey to glory back in 2013.

“They were brilliant days following the team, and we’re delighted to be back there now and we’re really looking forward to the final,” Sugrue told the Westmeath Independent.

Looking back on last Sunday’s contest, Ciarán said: “We’re absolutely delighted. Castlehaven are a really good side - the Hurleys, the Cahalanes - they really brought it to us. It was looking shaky going down the stretch but we came good again. We stayed composed and we’re just absolutely delighted to be in the final.

“We started well and it was a great start but we knew they would come back. A team like Castlehaven was always going to come fighting back and they did narrow the gap before half-time. In the second half they were on top of us and we found it very difficult, but we’re delighted to get through that and come out the right side of it.

“It probably took us too long to score in the second half, some rash shots, they might go over on another day. Scores from Robbie (Dolan) and John (Cunningham) off the bench were crucial and they settled us.”

Speaking before their final opponents were known, Sugrue described Ulster winners Glen and 2022 All-Ireland champions Kilmacud Crokes as “two unbelievable clubs”.

“We’re just delighted to be there. We’re going to really enjoy the next two weeks’ training and we’ll be ready for the final.”

About a third of the pitch was covered with a white blanket of frost as the action got underway in Thurles. Asked about the conditions, Ciarán said: “Running out at the start you weren’t sure but when the game starts, you don’t take much notice. It thawed out in the end. The pitch was in unbelievable condition for this time of year and it was absolutely brilliant to play on that kind of surface. It was a really enjoyable game to play.”