Duffy hoping to make most of Robe’s second chance

If Ballinrobe are looking for inspiration ahead of Saturday’s county intermediate football final, there are any number of examples to draw upon. Beaten in the intermediate final as recently as 2023, the South Mayo club are back in the decider hoping to make amends for an agonising two points defeat at the hands of Kilmeena. History is full of stories about teams having had to lose one (or more) in order to win one quite soon after.

The aforementioned Kilmeena had actually lost the 2022 intermediate final before beating Ballinrobe 12 months later. The Ballyhaunis side that had beaten Kilmeena had themselves lost the 2019 and 2021 finals. The Neale team that beat Ballyhaunis in ’19 had lost the 2015 final to Hollymount-Carramore who themselves had lost the 2014 final. Tourmakeady suffered a loss in the 2009 final before winning in 2010.

“Getting to play in MacHale Park is a good day but to learn from our loss is a big thing for us,” remarks Ewan Duffy, the current captain of Ballinrobe who played at left half-back that day.

Things had been going well for Ballinrobe when they held a four points first-half lead but five points on the spin gave Kilmeena the half-time advantage. Again ‘Robe started the second-half well and regained the lead only for the game to turn against them when Caolach Halligan fired home a superb Kilmeena goal in the 37th minute.

“A final is a final, it doesn’t matter who’s playing, it’s whoever turns up on the day is going to get the glory. When we go out there on Saturday, our goal will be just to go out and perform,” says Duffy who doesn’t necessarily believe the fact it’s a South Mayo derby against Davitts heightens the importance of this fixture.

“It does and it doesn’t. It’s a final at the end of the day. It doesn’t matter who you are going out against, you’re going to have to try and perform. Definitely the fact that we’ve played them a good few times over the years, we’re going to know each other well so it’s going to be winner-takes-all.

“We lost to Ballyhaunis in the first round and we knew from that moment forward it was do or die. You go out with that attitude, that you have to play well and there’s no second chances.” 

Playing another South Mayo rival, The Neale, in Round 2 helped Ballinrobe get back on the horse, because of the “extra bit of spice” to that fixture, says Ewan Duffy. But Davitts have also had to bounce back from adversity, having been beaten in the second round of the group stage to Moy Davitts, who Ballinrobe got the better of in the semi-finals.

Both of the finalists have had players involved in Mayo’s All-Ireland triumph this year and in the case of Ballinrobe it’s the captain’s brother, Diarmuid Duffy. Returning afterwards to the Ballinrobe team brought a massive bounce to the club, says Ewan.

“It’s massive. For the young lads coming in, they have someone to look up to. And when he comes to training he’s lifting standards straight away.

“When I was younger there wasn’t really anyone of that calibre there so it’s massive for the club to have somebody like that to look up to.” And Diarmuid Duffy isn’t the only All-Ireland winner involved with the Ballinrobe team as former All-Star Kieran Fitzgerald, the holder of one Celtic Cross with Galway and four All-Ireland senior club titles with Corofin, is part of manager Eoin Hughes’ backroom team.

“Kieran has done it all with club and county so he has a wealth of knowledge,” says Ewan Duffy. “Every time you go out on the pitch you’re trying to get a little bit off him. He’s a person you can approach, no problem. And as a leader he’s there that way too,” adds the captain, who hasn’t given too much thought to lifting the Sweeney Cup on Saturday.

“Personally it would be just a job done. The team is more important than just an individual effort. It’s an honour to be there but to do it on behalf of the lads would be the main thing.”