Reliable Kildalkey back delighted with another shot at glory

The agony and the ecstasy of the cup final day. Mairtin Doran knows all about it. He has experienced joy of final day victory and the despair of defeat, several times.

He will be looking to win his fifth SHC medal from 10 finals he has played in when Kildlakey take on Kiltale in Sunday's showdown at Pairc Tailteann on Sunday.

The formidable, teak-tough defender made his first appearance in a SHC showdown in 2005 and played his heart out only to see his side lose to Killyon (2-9 to 0-7) in Trim.

It was a similar story in 2008 when Kildalkey scored a point more and were defeated by Kilmessan 0-13 to 0-8.

Hard lessons were learned and the experience was to stand to Doran and his Kildalkey colleagues as they bounced back in style to win a golden three-in-a-row, in 2009, 2010 and 2011, under manager Pat O'Halloran.

Kildalkey made it back to the 2015 final and lost to Kiltale (0-12 to 2-15) before suffering another setback in the 2017 showdown. On that occasion Kiltale were the victors (1-15 to 1-14).

The same two teams met in the 2019 SHC showdown. This time Doran and his team-mates claimed the famous trophy but only after a replay, 1-17 to 0-11.

Now these two teams are back in big time and Doran (pictured above) is delighted in another final, an integral part of the Kildalkey team.

"It's great to be back in another final, in fairness to the lads they have worked hard, they kept going, game to game and it has worked out for us. We've had a very good year so far but nothing won yet."

Doran, who played senior football for Meath at one stage in his distinguished GAA career, has being rejuvenated this year playing at centre-half-back and he played his part in helping Kildalkey defeat Trim in last Sunday's semi-final; getting in blocks, making clearances.

"We let it slip against Trim last year and no way were we leaving Navan without a win, this time," he said referring to how Kildalkey were defeated by Trim in the 2020 semi-final with a last-gasp goal.

"Mark Healy came on made a difference and that's the way it is with Kildalkey, we have a good panel of players. There is a good group of players there now and it's great to see. Once we keep working for each other we have a chance of winning any game."

Now he's hoping he can once more help Kildalkey to victory in a final and add to his already considerable medal collection.