Easkey see red as decisions leave a sour taste

The rebirth of hurling in Easkey came in the formation of an under-12 team in 2009. By 2013 the club had won an All-Ireland Féile Division 4 title. In 2018 enough players had been developed to field a senior team. In 2020, Easkey won a first Sligo SHC title since 1963.

Last Saturday should have been their finest hour. That it wasn’t, wasn’t of their own doing. At least, that’s the majority opinion, and definitely the opinion of Easkey manager Padraig Mannion.

“I could think of a few words to call it, but we didn't deserve that,” began Mannion following his side’s one point defeat to Kilbrittain of Cork in last Saturday’s All-Ireland Club junior hurling final in Croke Park.

Among the most contentious of several very debatable decisions by referee Eamonn Furlong was that in the 40th minute when he sent-off Easkey’s free-scoring Andrew Kilcullen for a high challenge on Kilbrittain’s own top marksman Mark Hickey. The anger and feeling of injustice from Mannion was palpable who was still in a state of disbelief afterwards.

“If I say something here, I'll only get in trouble. A shocking decision. Shocking,” said a seething Mannion, who knew Easkey, as underdogs, would need some luck along the way.

“Today, we were the better team by a mile, and we didn't get the luck.

“From where I looked at it, his eyes were fixed on the ball, he was coming up out of a tackle. I don't know what the red card was for.

“Any red card to your marquee hurler, it is just devastating. I am devastated for Andy. He scored 15-77 in the championship up to today, in seven games. What do you do then when he is gone? The biggest day of their lives out on Croke Park and it got ruined.” 

While Mannion had no complaints about the second red card, which saw Fionn Connolly pick up a second yellow for a foul that led to Kilbrittain’s injury-time winner, he questioned why Kilbrittain centre-half-back Aaron Holland, only minutes after Kilcullen’s dismissal, was not sent off for what he perceived a shoulder to the head of Connolly.

“The tackle on Fionn Connolly, that was an intentional tackle, shoulder into the face, chest-to-face whatever it was. Andy's was unintentional. He was trying to win the ball. He didn't line him up. There was no intent.” Easkey refused to buckle despite being a man down for more than the final quarter, but staying with Kilbrittain until the end was no consolation for Padraig Mannion.

“We set out at the start of the year to win it. It is a failure in my eyes. Our goal was to win the All-Ireland, we got robbed.” 

Kilbrittain manager Joe Ryan himself admitted that they struggled to see off Easkey with the numerical advantage and saluted the fallen side.

“I said it before the game that we're from West Cork, so people have a perception of people from Cork being really cocky and probably rightly so. We have no right to that, hurling in West Cork. We have to earn it. Similar enough, I'd imagine with the lads in Easkey, they'd have to earn respect above to play hurling. But I will say after that game I have a massive amount of respect for Easkey, to keep coming back.

“We were two points up at one stage and I thought we had done enough and to come back again after that was incredible.

“We were already playing with a sweeper and then when they went down to fourteen men, we had two men back there and were playing too much hurling back there instead of just sticking to our game-plan and being direct.

“Tom [Harrington] is a very experienced player. Putting Tom into something like that, he just talks to the lads, he's an excellent communicator. I knew he'd shore it up. Now whether that would be good enough to win it was another question.” 

Joe Ryan himself admitted his surprise at the red card to Kilcullen. “It's a huge thing in the game if someone gets sent off and then if someone of the calibre of Andrew Kilcullen gets sent off, then it's like Mark Hickey getting sent off for us really, you know? And probably more so actually.

“If I was on the Easkey side, I probably wouldn't agree with it. It's easy for me to say that now that after the fact.

“I thought it was high. It didn't enter our conversation on the sideline when the ref blew the whistle for a free that it was a red, to be honest.” 

Kilbrittain’s victory means a first All-Ireland title for the club. It has been tough year the club following the tragic and unexpected passing of Oisín Gillain last March at the age of 18.

“The night after Oisín passed away, we all met up in the hall. There were about 40 to 45 lads. I don't think we spoke a word for 30 minutes, but we were just with each other, and that's been the case for training.

“The lads putting internal pressure on themselves to do it for Oisín, that couldn't be it because it would be exhausting, and that's not feasible really.

“In the build-up to this game, we were telling the lads to just enjoy every second because we know what the flipside is. To have won it is just incredible. It's amazing.”