'The future is bright for the 'Bridge' - O'Reilly

IFC final reaction

For the longest time, Butlersbridge were classified as a ‘yo-yo’ club, constantly hopping between junior and intermediate ranks. Those days seem long in the past now, as their captain Caoimhín O’Reilly stated after the final on Sunday.

“This is all I dreamed of when I was playing club football. When I was young we were looking at the players winning junior titles and getting relegated again and when we came along, we changed the whole thing,” said the county panellist.

“We were going for that intermediate, we knew we were good enough, we had been wrote off, saying our defence isn’t good enough and all this craic but we knew ourselves that we were going to win it.

“I read stuff that Butlersbridge have no chance but I know for a fact that we played poorly in the group stage, we didn’t go well where other years we went really well but we came good at the right time. We came good against Cuchulainns two weeks ago and now there this evening.

“We got lucky against Bailieborough in the quarter-final but sometimes you need that bit of luck to win.”

In his acceptance speech, O’Reilly heaped praise on manager Daragh McCarthy as well as his predecessor George Dugdale.

“George changed the culture completely. Daragh came in and done a great job, don’t get me wrong, but George changed the culture. When I started off, there was 10, 11 at training, you couldn’t get a session done. Relegation battles and all that.

“George came in and the boys started not going out on Saturday nights and turning up for training Sunday morning. It changed. Nobody would miss a Sunday morning session now, that’s the way it has changed.

“And we can see it in underage, it’s a great platform for them now, we’re a senior club, it feels good saying that. You look at it, U13 Division 1 final next week, best of luck to them.

“The U15s won Division 2 on their own yesterday. The minors lost the semi-final to Ballyhaise by a point, the Bridge are a real coming club and it’s great to see.”

Butlersbridge were prepared for a battle and got one, with Ballyhaise pushing them all the way.

“We knew what we were coming in for, we knew it was going to go down to the wire. We got a good start, I think we were up 6-2 and thoughts were going through our heads that we got a good start against Ballinagh last year and we were letting them back into it but I think we showed our character, we showed our experience.

“Last year was our first ever intermediate final, this year we really ground it out. We got the goal at the right time, I thought the defenders played very well, Fionntán was brilliant. Everyone really put in a shift.”

Caoimhín’s younger brother Fionntán picked up the Man of the Match award after a sparkling performance.

“I said it during the week, I know the talent Fionntán has and I think we all saw it out there today. He’s a quality footballer, he’s just gone 19. I wasn’t doing the things that he is doing when I was 19.

“Cathal Leddy there, only 19, unbelievable today. Michael Sheridan in goals, only 18 years old. Them boys are young, I’m one of the oldest and I’m only 25.

“We’re going up to senior now and we want to stay up there, we don’t want to be coming back down.

“Liam McEntee was on the county minors last year, he wasn’t getting a game. If you played county minors a few years ago with the Bridge, you were nearly the main man. That’s the way the quality’s gone within the club, you see boys coming off the bench, something we didn’t have any other year which was the big difference this year.

“We had Shane O’Rourke coming off the bench, Shane Leddy, boys like that and really making an impact. We have a full squad, not just 15 any more.”