Lillis means business in bid to beat curse of the capital clubs
FOR Kieran Lillis, the intricacies of the Laois-Dublin football rivalry involves a mixture of potent elements, much like one of the cocktails served in the Portlaoise bar on main street that carries his name on the front.
This afternoon, Portlaoise take on Kilmacud Crokes in a Leinster club semi-final. ‘The town’ are still trying to bury the taste of three bitter final defeats to Dublin opposition in the competition since 2012 – Ballymun Kickhams, St Vincent’s and, most recently, Ballyboden St Enda’s all depriving Portlaoise, each of them one-score games.
And yet, for Lillis, Dublin also means the ties that bind. Bernard Brogan is a partner in his business, Lilly’s. Pub guru Alan Clancy is the man behind it all with the lease. Even early on a weekday morning, the place has a welcoming vibe, the interior carrying the elegant, intimate charm of a speakeasy.
‘A bit of urban feel in a country place,’ is how he describes it. ‘I got a phonecall this time last year. Alan told me of his plans down here. On the ticket was Bernard as well which had a massive draw for me.’
Part of his football education, too, he owes to his time in Dublin City University.
‘I was in DCU for three years so I lived with Paul Flynn, Jonny Cooper, James McCarthy. I was on a Fresher’s Team in 2009. On the team was Jonny, Dean Rock, James McCarthy and Rob Hennelly was in goals. I had a bond with them. Paul Flynn came in a few years later.
‘I was called up to the Leinster team in 2013. I knew Bernard from that – very nice straight off, no ego.’
In a quirk of fate, the bar’s opening landed on the weekend of the Leinster football final back in late June. Brogan’s cruciate ligament rehab meaning they couldn’t share the same field after John Sugrue had guided Laois back to a first provincial decider since 2007.
‘You couldn’t write it,’ laughs Lillis. ‘We were hoping to open in March but it was put back. Laois were going alright. We won the National League [Division Four]. Can’t remember where we went that night – it wasn’t here anyway!
‘We really felt we did have a chance. Having said that, we knew that everything had to go right – and something had to go wrong for them. And that doesn’t happen too often with Dublin. They don’t really have many chinks, or even have many lulls in games.
‘We let them in for a goal early but recovered well. Our gameplan of kicking the ball long – we pride ourselves this year on playing football, letting the ball move with the foot. Donie Kingston and Evan Carroll were doing serious damage in there.’
After his father Mick took charge for the 2016 season, it was some turnaround for Kieran who didn’t think he would be involved again after what felt like a lost year in 2017 under Peter Creedon.
‘I wasn’t getting much of a look-in. I was on the panel for the Clare [qualifier] game, then got whipped. I remember coming off just before the final whistle, coming out of the stand, really disillusioned with it all. I walked out and said, “I think that’s me finished”. I wasn’t coming back in with Laois.’ Facing the end to his inter-county career at age 27, a phone call from new manager Sugrue quickly won him over. And so on Leinster final day, he was squaring off against Brian Fenton, Footballer of the Year in waiting.
‘In the game, I decided that I was going to stick with him. He was intelligent enough to pull out of an awful lot of attacks that he would have maybe gone in to other times, maybe when people dropped off him. I pushed out on him.
‘I remember when Ciarán Kilkenny scored a goal, he said to me, “That’s it, you keep tight here with me and leave all that space in front of your backline”. I didn’t know what to say to that. I was raging! I just said I’d try and get on the ball, make something work.
‘They’re a very talented bunch. They seem to have an intrinsic drive, no matter who they are playing. If we were to play them again, we’d probably do a few things differently. But you’d still need a 10 out of 10 – nearly 11 out of 10 – performance. And they’d have to be down at a six to catch them.
‘Their communication on the field is unbelievable. Between Jayo coming on the field, saying a few things, they’re so clued into what they’re doing all the time.
‘They seem to be able to change. It’s like putting your finger in the dam. You could man-mark one person, or two people, and 10 others could produce.’
From being within a point by the 26th minute, Dublin ultimately coasted off into the distance.
‘They were very humble in victory. We were all disappointed. We came back here though and there were crazy scenes. Such pride from all quarters.
‘We didn’t park the bus in front of the goals. We went out to have a cut. The players are footballers at the end of the day. We stayed at it right until the end. I think it was important for the people of Laois to see we want to play football, and can play football.’
Portlaoise’s dominance of Laois football includes nine county championships in a row from 2007-2015, and they will look to bring a similar approach to their clash with Kilmacud. Lillis was just a cub when they won Leinster outright in 2009.
‘I was 19, third year on the panel, second year starting. I kind of assumed that this would happen all the time. If we can get over Kilmacud it will be massive – one of the best days in a Portlaoise jersey.’
Ironically, the same arguments about breaking up Dublin to thwart their dominance are starting to gather around Portlaoise’s local dominance.
‘One solution being bandied about is make Portlaoise weaker, which I don’t think strengthens the county team.
‘Saying, “It’s a big town, it should be split, put in another club...” I don’t see the benefit to the county team in that rather than pumping in more resources to other areas. Other areas will still be the same.
‘The GAA has always been: you play for your county – about identity. If you go against that and split Dublin, you go against that. They’re a great team. No-one can begrudge them that. Kerry will have a good team with all that minor success. They’re not calling for the Dublin hurlers to be split.’
Originally from Clare, his father put down roots in Portlaoise after being stationed as a guard in the town. Lining out centre-back on the team that won the club’s landmark All-Ireland in 1983 gives him the family bragging rights.
‘It’s one he has over me. He has the jersey framed in the house at home. And the medal in it. It’s one thing I can see but I can’t touch, at the moment. I’d like to touch my own, if I ever could.’