Bounce back

and Sligo.

‘Obviously we will try to regroup now. It’s proved extremely difficult historically speaking for clubs who do go down to come back up, but there’s no reason, if that bunch of lads stay together - and that’s the focus, to keep that bunch together and add up a couple of the young lads coming through the system - that we can contest to come back up next year.

‘There is good talent there, but the cherry will be dangled for one or two players in terms of senior clubs coming in, and that’s the problem we face. That’s why we’re focused on the Under-20s squad to make sure we have home-grown talent coming through the whole time.’

Eastwood and player/assistant coach Niall Kerbey were in their first season in charge and there has to be a question mark over whether Eastwood will continue at the helm, although nothing has been decided yet.

‘We have to review our season now and sit down and have a chat and see where we go from here,’ O’Reilly responded.

‘Obviously we’d like to thank Graham [Eastwood], Niall [Kerbey] and Gary Downey for all their hard work over the season and the two managers Mick Quinn and Derek Carolan, and Finbar Murphy and our physio Shane, and the whole team around them.

‘They are obviously bitterly disappointed in there and it’s very hard to take. [Scrum half] Nick Smith is inconsolable and young players feel it an awful lot. It’s hard on them, but they can only get stronger from it and it’s how you deal with adversity that is the key question.

‘I think that group, if they stick together, can come back next year and compete in that Junior league.’