‘It’s our first title, but it won’t be our last’ - Doyle
er, well-known referee John Doyle, stressed that their goal after that loss to Coolera/Strandhill was to go one better in 2019.
“There were a lot of people who didn’t believe in this team but from last year’s county final we knew where we wanted to be this year and that was going up these steps. That was the plan, no matter what went on before we wanted to be back on the last hurling day in Sligo. It’s our first title, but it won’t be our last.”
The Cork native spoke of his pride in the playing group, and the effort his side put in to clinch a historic title.
“We don’t get enough credit. There’s an element out there that think we’re soft – we’re not soft. Our lads battle for that jersey, each and every one of them and as I said to them at the start they battled for every man who has worn that jersey over the history of this club. We now have the monkey off our back and we can get stronger.”
Team captain Tommy O’Callaghan, who scored a first half point, also referenced that the county title was Naomh Eoin’s goal from the outset in 2019.
“It’s unbelievable really, I’m speechless at the moment,” the wing forward said post-match. “We worked so hard all year after reaching the final last year after losing to Coolera/Strandhill.
“We met at the start of the year and our objective really was to win the county and it’s so emotional now there at the sideline, this is a special team here, there are lads who have soldiered on for years and years and young lads coming through as well so it’s just such a special day for the club and we’re thrilled.”
Another of the Naomh Eoin management team, and a long-serving stalwart of the club, Bill O’Kelly-Lynch, said reaching the pinnacle of Sligo hurling was the fulfilment of a long-term goal for the club: “It has been a long while coming, we started underage there fifteen years ago and it’s taken us till now to get a senior team out to get a county title.
“We were disappointed to lose last year but it’s great to win this year, it’s a big achievement and I’m delighted for the lads, a lot of the old people in the club are back supporting us today, but it’s been a long time coming.”
It was a disappointing afternoon for an Easkey side who had already captured the Martin Brennan Cup and the Dermot Molloy Hurling league, but their manager Michael Gordon stressed that the future will be bright for the Sea Blues.
“On the day today, Naomh Eoin were the better team and they deserved the win,” he said. “We have a decent hurling team, we have a lot of young talent, they are a very young team and that’s not in any way to make excuses, but we have youth on our side and we had a very good year.”