Mayo influence is big part of Kildare semi-final

A pair of Mayo men are making an impact at the business end of the Kildare senior football championship and are about to cross paths next weekend.

Vinnie Walsh from Claremorris is in charge of Sarsfields who will locks horns at the semi-finals of the competition with Celbridge who are managed by Alan Costello, originally of Hollymount-Carramore GAA club.

For Walsh, it’s his third year at the helm with Sarsfields who reached the last four courtesy of a resounding 1-20 to 1-07 win over Moorefield last time out. He’s a former coach of several of the players who this year helped Mayo end their 75-year wait to be crowned All-Ireland champions, and he is taking a leaf from Andy Moran’s playbook by encouraging his players to always believe in themselves.

“I would always be one that likes to play football. I have lost more finals not knowing when to close it up and see it out and keep having a go.

“I think the Mayo story was the final nail for me. If Andy ever gave a lesson to anyone, it is to believe in yourself, and play with no fear.

“I said that to my lads this year. We have the tactics, we have the team, let’s just play with no fear. I told my lads just to play, dust yourself down and keep trying.

“I am probably on a bit of a wave of Mayo winning, which has been a boost and made me confident about it. I do think you are as well off under the new rules to have a go, then actually be afraid of losing.” 

While it was a summer that will never be forgotten in Mayo, it was a disappointing season for the Kildare senior footballers. After relegation from Division Two, their championship was ended by Kerry in Round 2B. But Walsh enjoys the disconnect that Kildare players have when the club championship begins.

“There wouldn’t be the same connection, I feel, as a Mayo man, between county and what is going on in club football. It is much tighter back home in Mayo. Here, the county and the club is different. The county is not going great, but club football is strong.

“The junior champions last year became Leinster champions. The intermediate champions won the Leinster intermediate. Naas usually get to the (senior) final, Athy got to the Leinster final last year, so club football does not stand up to how the county is performing.

“As a club manager, I find it a bonus for clubs. Sometimes [the players] come back and they see it as a second part of the season; I can dust myself down and have a good club season and enjoy my football.

“I am sure they would love if the county were going well, they came back and the club were going well. They are finding the county part mentally tougher than anything,” says Walsh.

Being outside of Mayo, the Claremorris native heard what those outside the county felt about Mayo’s chances in the build-up to this year’s All-Ireland final. And when the full-time whistle blew, it was only then that those outsiders realised what it meant to people like Vinnie who have given so many years to GAA.

“The sense I got was just pride. I felt a real joy that people like Stephen Coen and Cillian O’Connor, and Boyler, that they finally done it.

“I got to see what people think of us outside the county, and that people not understanding the weight that was on the county. It was only afterwards that people came up to me and said ‘Oh Jesus, that was actually emotional'.

“The best way I could explain it is we can actually now enjoy following Mayo.” 

Next Sunday’s semi-final for Sarsfields against Celbridge is an all-Mayo tie of sorts, with Alan Costello on the opposite sideline. Costello has previous managed the Wicklow senior and under-20 teams and is someone who Vinnie knows well, both on and off the pitch. He’s fully aware of the tough test Costello’s side will provide, as the Newbridge-based Sarsfields aim to reach their first final since 2021 – and win a first title since 2019.

“I think [Celbridge] are in their thirteenth semi-final in-a-row, they are very consistent,” explains Vinnie Walsh.

“I know Alan, his brother was a groomsman at my wedding, we are both St Colman’s men.

“Alan will have them set up. He is a very good manager, tactically, he is very good.

“I think it is going to be a cracking semi-final. Both teams are going to have a go at each other.

“Rather than trying to stop each other, I think it will be a very open semi-final.”