Rathmolyon to make it count
Mickey Cole's appointment as new Meath senior hurling manager a couple of weeks ago sparked memories of the glory days for Rathmolyon when 'Goal King Cole' terrorised defences and led the Village to Jubilee Cup success in 1993, '96 and '06.
Those heady days are still recalled fondly, not just for the impact of Cole, but for what a great side they were.
Martin Smith, Sid Gorry, Cole's brothers, including Gary who scored the winning goal in the final against Dunboyne 20 years ago, Kevin Fagan, John Farrell, Stevie Ennis, Tommy Lynch - all legends who lit the spark for future generations.
However, as is often the case in small, rural areas with one tiny primary school the conveyor just stopped producing them like they used. There have been brilliantly skilful hurlers emerge from the Village, but they couldn't sustain those heady heights of three SHCs in 13 years.
The fall down through the ranks has been painful and the journey to get back to the top table even more so, but now Rathmolyon have made it to base camp in their attempt to scale Everest and they seem determined to climb higher.
Standing in their way in the IHC final in Kiltale next Saturday at 1pm are a Clann na nGael side who have yo-yo'd between the top flight and second tier with frustrating regularity over the last 20-odd years.
The Athboy/Rathcairn club have won the Meath IHC title 2004, '07, '15, '19, but have struggled to consistently retain their top flight status and now find themselves on the cusp of a return to senior hurling again, albeit Senior B.
You have to go the whole back to 1972 to find the last time a club from the parish, Athboy, last won the SHC and it is 1987 since they last appeared in a final.
Rathmolyon have endured their ups and downs too. Relegated from senior in 2011, they bounced back at the first time of asking the following year, but quickly lost their status and have been living a purgatory in intermediate hurling ever since.
They went close to returning to the top flight in 2022, losing the final to Dunderry, and then again last year when Kilskyre/Moylagh proved too strong.
So will their third final in five years be third time lucky for Rathmolyon or will Clann na nGael continue to prove that they are consistently too good for Intermediate hurling, but just short of what's necessary to stay senior - much like the Meath senior hurling team hovering between Christy Ring Cup and Joe McDonagh.
Remarkably Clann na nGael qualified for the IHC semi-final with a negative scoring difference (-1), with their six-point less to Rathmolyon in round two contributing to that stat as they won three games narrowly and only lost to Donaghmore/Ashbourne by a point.
Since those losses in the opening two rounds Clann na nGael have been playing knockout hurling and that 'backs-to-the-wall' approach appears to suit them as they do their best work under pressure.
The narrow win over Gaeil Colmcille in round three was the perfect confidence booster and after edging out St Peter's by a point they secured second place with a thrilling 'must-win' victory over Drumree.
That set-up a semi-final against the same opponents and the upcurve continued as they hammered the Drumree men in their second meeting to set up this final.
The return of Joe Ennis and Eamonn O Donnchadha have been significant factors in Clann na nGael's recent charge and they are a significantly better side now than they were back in August.
Can the same be said about Rathmolyon? Probably not, but then again they don't need to be because they were already a very good side back at the start of the campaign and have shown little sign of waning.
After winning back-to-back promotions in the league by claiming the Div 2 title Rathmolyon were little sluggish in round one against Gaeil Colmcille, but once they hit their straps they excelled.
They issued a serious statement with their six-point win of Clann na nGael and while their 4-8 and 1-9 returns in wins over Drumree and Donaghmore/Ashbourne suggests struggles up front, they also show that Brian Gilsenan's side know how to get the job done.
Even though there have been questions asked about their scoring return there isn't a huge reliance on one or two key players as Stephen Mulligan, Kevin Mulligan, Cathal regan, Simon ennis, Jack Payne, Jarlath Ennis are all capable of chipping in with significant contributions and it's on that fact, and the hunger to make it third time lucky that suggests Rathmolyon might just edge it.