Kill Shamrocks’ band of brothers go forth

By Niall Gartland

BROTHERS-in-arms? Band of brothers? Take your pick because they certainly apply to Cavan Junior finalists Kill Shamrocks, who take on Munterconnaught in Saturday’s final.

There’s nine sets of brothers on the team, so brace yourself: Shane and Gary Tiernan are two starters. There’s Kevin, Seamus and Ciaran O’Reilly – Kevin is captain, Seamus is a starter, and Ciaran always comes on as a sub.

There’s Barry and Darragh McMenamin – Barry starts and happens to be club chairman.

Luke and Damian O’Brien. Luke’s another starter. The McIntyre brothers, Aaron and Ben, both start.

Liam Gaffney is a regular starter while brother Sean has just come back from an ACL injury. There’s Colin, Liam and Brian McCauley – Colin and Liam both start. Liam and Brian happen to be twins. We’re nearly there…

Killian and Ronan Brady are both subs while last but not least, there’s Cian and Ronan Flynn. Both are out injured at the moment but the hope is that Cian will tog out for the final.

It is also important to remember at this time another brother, Cillian Boyle, brother of wing-back Darragh, who the club lost in January 2022. Cillian’s hunger, drive and leadership would undoubtedly have seen him take a central place in the team, and his teammates will take inspiration from him when the battle commences on Saturday.

Given the close family connections, it’s no coincidence that they’re a small rural club and they’re bidding to bring back Junior silverware for the first time since 2013.

They’re managed by Glen Nulty and former Monaghan ladies boss Darren Greenan, and they’ve made commendable progress in recent seasons.

And it’s fitting that they’re taking on Munterconnaught in the final, in a number of respects. They’ve a similar record in the championship down the years, and they actually met in the Junior Shield final two years ago – a sort of ‘B’ competition at this level. So both are making good progress, it’s fair to say.

And there was that rather controversial league semi-final between the two teams a few months ago. Munterconnaught claimed a narrow victory but Kill were aggrieved by a number of hugely consequential decisions made that day by the referee.

An appeal followed but Kill joint-manager Greenan dismisses the idea that there’s any lingering resentment between the respective camps ahead of this weekend.

Instead it’s all about the day itself and the chance to win a cherished championship title.

“It’s actually the fourth time we’ve played Munterconnaught this year. We played them in the group stages and it ended up a draw. We were missing a few players and they needed a result that day.

“Lo and behold we’re facing each other in the final and the media here think there’s going to be fireworks but there’s actually no real animosity between the clubs and players on the field.

“There is that backstory of the league semi-final and resulting appeal, but that’s been more of a committee-level matter. We’re just really looking forward to Saturday at this stage.”

Even though it was 12 years ago at this stage, Kill can still call upon quite a number of players who were involved in their last success at this level.

On paper there’s not much between the two teams, though Kill’s defensive record has been particularly impressive en route to Saturday’s showdown.

“Seven or eight of these boys would have been around the panel when they won in 2013, and then there’s a younger group of lads coming through so there’s a nice blend.

“They’re very coachable, they take instruction well, they’re very fit and are able to transition fast.

“Munterconnaught would be similar to ourselves, they’ve three brothers playing for them. If you look at the stats between league and championship there’s very little between us.”