Ward is expecting strong challenge from St. Ergnat’s
THE 2020 Connacht final, played in June of 2021 because of Covid, was Willie Ward’s first game in charge of Kilkerrin-Clonberne.
Six months later, Ward managed the team to their first All-Ireland crown, when they beat Cork’s Mourneabbey in Birr, making up for the heartbreak of the one-point final loss in 2019 to the same opposition.
The turnover of players from that first All-Ireland win has been few. Eleven of the side who started that All-Ireland final in 2022, were also lining out from the throw-in against Comeragh Rangers in the All-Ireland semi-final a couple of weeks ago. Go back even further to the 2019 All-Ireland final, and 10 of the starters against Comeragh Rangers were also starting.
“Yeah, there’s a core there that's been there the whole way through,” said Willie Ward, father to two of those 11 players, Louise and Nicola.
“There was a few ready to come in then, the likes of Niamh Divilly and Aisling Madden. There were already ready-made replacements coming through.”
The competition for places amongst the Kilkerrin-Clonberne panel of 30 is intense, which in turn drives them to maintain the remarkable standards they’ve reached at county, provincial and national level for more than a decade.
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