Naas captain Gallagher keen to help his side bridge 14-year gap by winning senior hurling title on Sunday

It has been so long since Naas were in a senior hurling final that their current captain Cormac Gallagher can’t even remember it. For a club the size of Naas, and for all the talent that has come through in the intervening years, a 14 year gap is one that feels far too long for all involved with hurling in the club. Gallagher says that there are plenty of players on the team, because of their young profile, won’t remember that day in 2002 when Naas brought the Sean Carey Cup back to the County Town following an epic victory over Coill Dubh in the final.

“It’s far too long really. It has been a long time coming. All the lads on our team were young lads in 2002. You see some of the photos from then and they were kind of at the front and in the celebrations as mascots and waterboys. It has been a long time coming, too long really,” explains Gallagher.

From his position in goals, Gallagher has had a good vantage point to view everything that is going on in their games so far this year, and he thinks that momentum has played as big a part as anything during their unbeaten championship run.

“We set our stall out at the start of the year and we kind of slowly built momentum. Last year, the first game in the group stages we got bet and we were chasing it from there. So we got a bit of momentum going and we slowly built game by game, and all of a sudden you’re into a semi-final and it’s anyone’s game from there. Two games to go, and there’s no point going unbeaten all year and then getting to the final only to get beaten,” he says with an air of confidence.

In other years Naas might have been accused of not having the bottle to finish off tight games when they were in the balance. That accusation can’t be levelled at them this year, especially when you consider the composure they displayed to defeat Éire Óg/Corrachoill in the semi-final two weeks ago.

“That’s what you want, and you’d expect nothing else when you get to that stage of the championship so that’ll definitely stand to us. It wasn’t that we were coasting, but we had built up a good lead against Éire/Óg and they whittled it back down. That will certainly stand to us, because I’m sure it’s going to be that close on Sunday.”

In contrast to Naas’ failure to make a county final for so long, Celbridge have contested six of the last seven finals, winning four of them. The north Kildare outfit pose a different challenge to most other teams that play in the Kildare championship, with powerful runners around the middle combined with the serious physical threat of Mark Moloney at the edge of the square. Gallagher is wary of that physical threat, and the other bits of ammunition that Celbridge hold in their arsenal.

“When you look at the scores they can build up with their scoring prowess, defensively, we’ll have to be good. They’ve been there and done that. Between themselves and Coill Dubh over the last couple of years they have the experience of winning county titles, so it’s something new for us, but something we’re looking forward to.

“It’s not just the big lads there. They have the likes of Gerry Keegan and Leo Quinn too. Any chance they get they’ll look for the back of the net, so it’s between myself and the six backs it’s going to be a tough challenge to snuff them out. If we can lay the platforms there at the back we have the forwards that can do the damage up the other end.”

Next weekend is a massive on for Naas hurling, possibly the biggest in their history. The talented U16 side play in the Kilkenny Shield final against Lisdowney on Saturday morning, while later that day the intermediate side contest the county final against Maynooth. The minor ‘A’ hurlers and the minor ‘B’ hurlers begin Sunday’s festivities with county finals of their own, before the showpiece event of the senior final that afternoon. Gallagher hopes for a clean sweep for the club.

“It’s a good thing to have. You’d rather have all teams fighting for any title at all. It’s a good weekend for the club, for everyone to get around. But, you don’t want it to come Sunday evening and have nothing to show for it, so we’ll be doing our best in all five competitions.”