Reliving Kilmeena’s day of glory

A quiet – or, perhaps, not so quiet – sense of satisfaction is sure to be settling in now way out west, as Kilmeena adjust to their newly elevated status in life, that of All-Ireland champions. They’re only the fourth ever Mayo club to win an All-Ireland club title, following in the footsteps of Crossmolina Deel Rovers, Ballina Stephenites and neighbours Westport, and, of course, they’re the first Mayo club ever to land the All-Ireland Junior title.

Their achievement in doing so will live down through the decades, as is only right and proper. In the immediate aftermath there’s plenty to relive from Sunday’s big day.

Today’s Mayo News (paper and digital variants) is jam-packed with reports, features and photos relating to Kilmeena’s Croke Park triumph. It’s definitely a souvenir edition of the paper this week.

So too is the bonus episode of the podcast that went online last night for club members on Patreon. Rob Murphy was at Croke Park on Sunday and, along with podcast regular Stephen Drake, he told the story of Kilmeena’s dramatic extra-time win.

But the real highlight of this podcast episode are the voices of those directly involved. Star midfielder and Man of the Match Jack Carney features along with his father Peter, himself a key member of the club’s backroom team. We also hear from goalkeeper Paul Groden, from wing back Niall Feehan and then from team manager John Reilly. Michael Gallagher of the Mayo News – who, by his own admission, knows most of the current Kilmeena lads since they were small kids – also pays a heartfelt personal tribute to this team of champions.

It’s a really good podcast episode and, if you’re not yet a club member on Patreon, you can join the club – for the equivalent of the price of a single pint per month – here.

For those who can’t tear themselves away from thoughts about the match itself – how Kilmeena had got themselves into a winning position, how that last-ditch goal by Gneeveguilla felt like a car crash in slow motion and then how Kilmeena roused themselves anew, flung off the shackles and struck for glory – the good news is that it’s still up on YouTube. For those of you in that camp, I’ve embedded the full match video below so just sit back, crack open a can and hit play. Enjoy!

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