Sallins and St Laurences should serve up a ding-dong battle
Sallins captain Darragh Mangan and St Laurences captain Niall Clynch with Larry Malone, of Intermediate Football Championship sponsors National Electrical Wholesalers Photo: James Lawler
Sallins have been there or thereabouts for the last couple of years. They could have got over the line in the Intermediate Football Championship in any one of the last four years but perhaps, in the long run it might just work out better for them.
Certainly, captain Darragh Mangan feels they are a fully mature side now after all their experiences.
“I was just joking with someone there, we’ve almost been experts in failure, finding different ways to lose but to be perfectly honest with you, as much as they were massive failures at the time the group is probably only fully ready now. We probably thought we were for a long time but I think it’s only now that we’ve matured into the team that we wanted to be for a long time. We’ve massive motivation now to hopefully get the job,” said Mangan.
After their impressive showing in Division 1, they were strong favourites coming into the Championship but had to dig deep at times.
“I think we’ve been challenged at different times throughout the year, It’s been a really, really strong championship. Every team we played we had massive respect for and saw everything they could bring to it but this group has been on a journey over the last few years and it’s been more about ourselves reaching our own potential. The growth within the group has been massive,” said Mangan.
Anybody who has seen this impressive team this season will know that they are far from a one man team but at the same time, Colm Dalton has really caught the eye on the back of his debut intercounty season and Mangan doesn’t hide his admiration for him.
“Colm is still young but we’ve had lads like him stepping up and leading it and driving it.
“I’d also give a shout out to Luke Killian who has been massive for us since he came back. He’s a super player and gives massive legs around the middle and he’s another one to drive standards.
“But on Colm, he’s still a young man but the way he carries himself is an absolute credit. He’s a leader on the pitch with his actions and for someone so young that’s so impressive. His brother James has come on leaps and leaps and bounds. I would have played with him when he was younger and the improvement he has made year on year is massive,” said Mangan.
It promises to be a big day for the Mangan family with Darragh's brothers Diarmuid and Ciaran involved for the Leinster 'A' rugby team in the IRFU Interprovincial 'A' Championship earlier in the day. Diarmuid has been called up to the Ireland senior squad while Ciaran has played recently for the under 20s. Darragh is extremely proud of both his brothers but admits that his love of the GAA makes him the outsider in the family.
"You’re talking to the black sheep! You’re talking to the lad who has been told to sort his stuff out! No, look, I’m super proud of my brothers. I played a bit of rugby when I was in Newbridge but probably quit early enough. I actually stopped playing GAA too for a year after I left school but I realised it was my passion and that it was what I wanted to do and I got back into it.
"On the two lads, Diarmuid was playing for Leinster's firsts recently, we are so proud of him and the journey he is on. He deserves everything he gets because he is the most professional and hardest working person I’ve ever come across. Ciaran as well is making savage strides as well and hopefully has a big future ahead of him so we are all very proud of them in my house," he said.
The big midfielder himself was in with the Kildare panel at the turn of the year and still have ambitions for Kildare in the future but for now, he is very much focussed on helping Sallins win their first Intermediate title since 2003.
“I’d be honoured to be approached in that sense but I’m not trying to be cliched but I’m just so focused now on this final. It’s such a massive thing for this group and the village as well, we’ve been on a journey. Hopefully we can get it done and then after that, I’d be absolutely honoured,” he said.
After making his debut in 2006, Niall Clynch has been through the highs and lows with St Laurences.
He won a Senior title in 2009, a year after playing in an Under 21 All-Ireland final for Kildare, but there’s no getting away from it, the last few years have been a slog.
Laurences have been struggling at the foot of the Senior Championship and in some ways, relegation has given them a new lease of life. They are now fighting at the right end of a Championship and that has been a huge benefit to their young players, and the likes of the older brigade in Clynch too.
“It’s been tough, and it’s been tough on the younger lads who have come in to the club in the last few years. It’s always been a battle for them so it’s great for them to have a day in the sun and get out there for a final. Last year was a tough one to take so it’s great to be back in a position where we are playing for something.
“We’ve been on the wrong side of it over the last number of years. These young lads bring a breath of fresh air for the likes of an older lad like me. These boys just go out and play and it’s great to see the youth just going and doing that. It’s great to be back here and we have a chance now,” said Clynch.
St Laurences have always been a club in which family is hugely important and Clynch is enjoying playing out the final years of his career with his brother Paul behind him in goal. Their proximity on the field can lead to some strong words between the pair, but all for the common goal.
“It is special. Driving over to training and stopping to pick him up, it adds something to it for me. Especially when I’m getting towards the end of my career. Look, there’s a few arguments of course, I’m in the backline and he’s in the goals, it happens. But it does certainly add to it and it’s great to be going into a final with your brother behind you,” said Clynch.
The Larries captain admits the team are underdogs going into the game but that won’t bother them one bit and they are prepared to fight for every ball in an attempt to overturn the odds.
“They are rightly favourites. They’ve been setting the standards. They’ve been unlucky there the last couple of years. We’re under no illusions, we’ve played them twice this year and they’ve got over the line twice against us, we know the battle we are going into but it’s great to be there. We’re not just going to make up the numbers, we’ll give it a good rattle,” he said.
