Cody Mulhall says Clonmullion 'deserve to be recognised on a higher level'

As part of a remarkable year of sport for Athy teams, Clonmullion AFC have continued their unparalleled level of success in Kildare that has seen them dominate the county’s soccer scene for much of the past decade.

In August, Clonmullion secured their fifth KDFL Senior Division title in the last seven years with an emphatic 6-1 victory away to Newbridge United. By the time they lifted the trophy, the Athy club had finished the season undefeated, with 14 wins, three draws and zero defeats for a league-winning tally of 44 points.

Speaking to the Kildare Nationalist, star player Cody Mulhall explained how Clonmullion maintain this outstanding level of consistency.

"We've had a core of players there for the last six, seven, eight years,” he said. “We've been there, we were part of the club for that length of time, and we've brought in a couple of players here and there from the outside that have come in and just fitted in perfectly and understood everything that the club stands for. We've a couple of younger lads that have come through at the same time and that are still coming through now.

“It's been a core of lads and then there's been fresh bodies here and there to keep us going forward and then just that quality that's in the squad that is frightening for other teams I suppose.

“I always say that the best team in Kildare, the best team in the league, is the team that goes and wins the league, because they have to do it over a long period of time. We didn't lose a game, so it shows how strong we are and how much quality we showed throughout the season."

Clonmullion then completed the league and cup double in October when they beat Kildare Town 2-1 to lift the Lumsden Cup. Winning has been a habit in the cup as well as the league, with the club also getting their hands on the coveted Lumsden Cup in 2019, 2022, 2024.

"I wouldn't say we're used to winning but we expect to win things,” Mulhall said. “We set out a marker at the start of every season where the three cups are there to be won in Kildare. The Lumsden Cup is the biggest cup in Kildare so it's always an honour to win that.” 

Clonmullion were 2-0 up within 12 minutes thanks to goals from Nathan Robinson and that man Mulhall, but Kildare pulled one back after the break and were only denied an equaliser by a series of incredible saves by Clonmullion goalkeeper Evan Grattan, who's performance in the final earned him the Man of the Match distinction.

“He was unbelievable,” Mulhall said of Grattan. “He came into the club and he had big boots to fill with Mick Lawless there before him for the last five or six years. Mick's been the best goalkeeper in Kildare for as long as he's been playing. To have Evan come in and show the level he showed is brilliant.” 

While Grattan stole the show in the final, Mulhall was the man singled out at the end of the season, winning the KDFL Player of the Year for the first time, thanks in no small part to the 29-year-old’s 18 league goals and a handful more in the cup.

“It's always nice to be acknowledged and stuff, but for us as a club it's about picking up them trophies for the club, for the lads,” he said. “It’s such a tight-nit group. You have to gain trust down there that when you cross the line you're there for each other and you do anything to win.

“As nice as it is to win Player of the Year, it's a nice bonus to get at the end of a season but it's always the end of a season where you have trophies at the club more than anything.” 

There was further individual recognition at the club for Timmy Doyle, who was named KDFL Manager of the Year – quite an accomplishment in his first season as a manager.

"Timmy’s been good since he came in,” Mulhall said. “It's nice to get a manager who's recently just finished playing. He's been part of that group for the last five-six years, so he knows what that club is, he knows what's needed and in truth he knows what's expected.

“For Timmy to come in, he's been really, really good for everyone. He's helped everyone a lot. And he's come in with massive help with Barry Hughes as well. Barry Hughes is a serial winner. He's an unbelievable coach. If you phone Barry now and ask him any questions about the club, he'll have every stat, every date, everything to be fair.

“This season we've looked into other teams more and we know what we're coming up against. We beat Evergreen in the Leinster, so Barry's watched them two or three times during the season. He had everything up on the board. He had stats, what side they played on most, did they play through the middle. He had everything right down to a tee.” 

The game in question saw Clonmullion's year culminate with a 2-1 win in the Leinster Junior Cup when Clonmullion beat holders Evergreen of Kilkenny – the side that knocked them out of the competition in two of the last three years - to set up a game away to Enniscorthy in the next round on the weekend of January 25th.

"Leinster’s been a massive goal for us for the last few years,” Mulhall said. “There's no disrespect to the Kildare League, but we can win as many league titles and Lumsden Cups as you want, but nobody outside of Kildare will recognise that. We have a group of players that deserve to be recognised on a higher level, and I think we're good enough as a squad.

“I think we're unbeaten at home in Kildare in the league for eight years. No one's beaten us down there. We've had 14 trophies in eight years; we're the first club to ever win a treble in Kildare; and for all that to be recognised on a higher platform, we need to go and win a Leinster.

“For the last few years we've fell short, whether it be fatigue, tiredness coming into that end of the season, lack of match sharpness because of the way the league falls. So, there's been a couple of factors but for us this year beating Evergreen is massive for us mentally just to think we've knocked the winners out. It's there to be won now."

2025 was yet another remarkable year for the club, but if Clonmullion have their way then 2026 could be even more monumental.