‘There is a big hunger to get back to the top table’
SHC FINAL PREVIEW - KILMESSAN VIEW
Paul Reilly has had a very important role to play this year for Kilmessan as the most decorated hurling club in Meath make their return to the SHC final this weekend for the first time since they beat Longwood back in 2013.
The Dunboyne native joined the team as coach at the start of the year under new manager Chucky Keena. From the get-go, Reilly said that he could see the hunger and desire within the squad.
“There are a bunch of lads in Kilmessan, especially the younger lads, who are very eager and hungry,” said Reilly.
“From my perspective, coaching them this year has been a dream role because no matter what I challenged them with, they just wanted more and more. There are a few older lads in there that have found their form again and everyone is gelling well together.”
At the start of the championship, no one gave Kilmessan much of a chance of getting to this stage and contesting the final. However, Reilly believes that certain players' involvement with Meath hurling sides improved the overall standard within the squad.
“People were probably foolish to write off Kilmessan at the start of the year. When you think about the amount of lads that were in with Johnny Greville and Meath this year. Those lads really benefitted from being involved in the county set up with a top class coach in Barry Hennessy. There was also another bunch of them that were with the u-20s as well. The county lads came back and slotted in with the lads who had been working hard in the background.”
Reilly was keen to praise Keena for his man management skills. He also gave him huge credit for his organisation and communication skills when it came to managing relations with other clubs in order to get the best out of their dual players.
“Chucky (Charles Keena) doesn't say an awful lot. He is very much a one-on-one type of manager. He would not be one for big speeches or anything like that. He deals with each player very much individually. He recognises individual needs," revealed Reilly.
"Even at the start of the year, he recognised that lads needed a break from hurling because they had had a long year so we actually didn’t do an awful lot early on in the year. They did a lot of strength and conditioning and we tied in with the likes of Dunsany and did a lot of dual sessions. I think that the management side of the dual players worked very well and that’s all down to Chucky.”
While Reilly may not be a native in Kilmessan he has been living in the area long enough to recognise the passion for hurling in the community and the hunger that exists for the team to get back to being the top dogs in Meath hurling.
“There is such a passion for hurling in Kilmessan and there has been such a resurgence over the last few years. That generation that have a couple of u-20 medals in their back pocket, so much hard work went into that bunch, and the senior team is seeing the fruits of that labour now.
"Underage success doesn't always translate to senior success, but there is massive passion there and for a club like Kilmessan to not be in an SHC final for 13 years is a long time. So there is a big hunger to get back to the top table.”
Standing in the way of Kilmessan and a 30th SHC title is another proud traditional hurling club, Kiltale. Reilly was not surprised but was impressed by the way Kiltale went about their business in the semi-final as they dethroned the champions Ratoath.
“I wasn’t overly surprised with that Kiltale win over Ratoath. Kiltale have very similar traits to Kilmessan in that they work very hard and even in the final that they drew last year, they threw everything at that game," he recalled.
"Ratoath did look a little bit leggy and they have an awful lot of lads around the 30 mark with a lot of miles on the clock. Kiltale threw an awful lot at them and it was a very workmanlike victory, especially around the middle.”
Reilly concluded by suggesting that the final will be a very tight encounter and one which could be decided on small margins.
"The final is going to be very tight and it will be the small margins that win it. It will come down to who is less nervous, who gets their match-ups right, it is going to be a very interesting contest," he suggested.
"We can take some confidence from the fact that we have already beat Kiltale in the championship this year. I think even since that round two game, we have improved and our confidence has continued to grow."
Regardless of Reilly’s Dunboyne background, he will surely go down in Kilmessan GAA history if he has a part to play in the club’s historic 30th SHC title.