IMMEDIATELY AFTER BOOKING their place in the Leinster final, the Kilmacud Crokes hurlers held an important meeting out on the pitch in Croke Park.
Knowing that they would be returning to the stadium for the provincial showpiece the following weekend, they made a firm agreement about what they expected from each other for the next day out.
“We said we had to make sure that we’re coming back next week for one reason and that’s to make sure we walk up the steps and lift the trophy,” says Kilmacud forward Oisín O’Rorke as he reveals the take-home point of that gathering. Before even returning to their base in Stillorgan, they had settled on a plan for how they intend to dethrone the reigning Leinster champions, and four-in-a-row chasers, Ballyhale Shamrocks.
For much of their modern history, the Kilmacud Crokes footballers were the princes of the club. Since 2005, they have claimed four Leinster titles, including their triumph in last year’s final. They’re back in the Leinster final again this Sunday where they await the challenge of Westmeath champions The Downs.
The hurlers are working on creating their own legacy, and they’re making good progress. on their football counterparts. They’ve established themselves as the kingpins of Dublin for the last two years, while also winning county titles in 2012 and 2014.
This breakthrough is the culmination of many years of toil, according to O’Rorke, and is rooted in a time of struggle for the Crokes hurlers.
“We went through a bad era in the noughties and things like that. Massive underage work went into the hurling side of the club. Football was always strong and there or thereabouts but huge work has gone into the hurling and that’s all come through in the last few years.
“It’s a different perspective and the footballers are nearly favourites for the All-Ireland the minute they win Dublin whereas we’re kind of underdogs but look, it’s a role we’ll take on and embrace. It’s a good place to be especially coming into Sunday against Ballyhale.”
Sunday could potentially be a unique day in Kilmacud Crokes’ history. Should both their footballers and hurlers prevail, they will be the first senior men’s club to win Leinster titles in both codes in the same year.
Such an outcome would be a remarkable achievement for the Dublin side, but getting to this point has come at a slight cost to one of their dual players. Brian Sheehy is a member of both squads and has a hectic day ahead of him on Sunday. But the Leinster Council has intervened to relieve some of the pressure on him by staging the hurling final first, where his services will be needed most.
“It’s common sense,” says O’Rorke. “He plays more of a role with us than the footballers so swapping the games around to let him fully focus on the hurling makes more sense. I haven’t talked to him personally but I’m sure he’s happier with that. Maybe the ideal thing would have been to have it on a different day but I don’t think that was possible. This makes more sense.”
O’Rorke says he’s “really enjoying” his hurling at the moment, which is no surprise given the 0-11 tally he racked up against St Mullin’s of Carlow in the semi-final. A shift in his playing position on the team has contributed to that, moving him from an inside forward position to a more central position on the half-forward line.
He wasn’t involved with the Dublin set-up this year after struggling to earn much game time in recent seasons. As a result of that dry spell, O’Rorke said he felt “almost unfit” when he returned to Kilmacud Crokes.
Committing all of his energy to the purple and gold has revived O’Rorke’s form and he’ll need that class when he comes up against the mighty Kilkenny champions Ballyhale Shamrocks on Sunday.
“There’s no point turning up if you don’t think you’re going to win,” he says defiantly. “We’re a very driven team and we set goals for ourselves. Our main goal this year was winning Dublin but going on from that we said there’s more silverware to win this year. We’re there definitely to get a good performance out of ourselves and get out on the right side of the result at the end on Sunday.”
Oisín O’Rorke was speaking ahead of the 2022 AIB Leinster GAA senior hurling final which takes place this Sunday, 4 December at Croke Park. The AIB GAA All-Ireland Club Championships features some of #TheToughest players from communities all across Ireland.
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