Kilmurry Crush Buttevant to Claim County Crown

The climb goes on. Two years after taking the JAFC and only months after lifting the Premier JFC, Kilmurry have stormed into the intermediate ranks with a ruthless, 14-point dismantling of Buttevant at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

The ghosts of 1995 and that intermediate final loss to Dohenys? Gone in the floodlights.

This McCarthy Insurance Group IAFC final never caught fire as a contest because Kilmurry never allowed it to. They won by 2-18 to 0-10, but the scoreline only hints at the control, the organisation and the swagger that the Muskerry men carried from first whistle to last.

Lightning start, one-way traffic

Kilmurry didn’t ease their way into this. They tore into it.

After just 34 seconds, Ruadhrán Ó Curraoín clipped over the opening point. Ninety seconds later, the ball was in the Buttevant net. Liam Wall, sharp and ruthless, finished superbly after an early half-chance at the other end for Mark Lenahan had gone begging.

That set the tone. Kilmurry were direct, decisive and clinical. Buttevant, chasing back, were already gasping for a foothold.

It took the black and amber 11 minutes to finally settle when Aaron Horgan pointed, with Lenahan adding another soon after to make it 1-1 to 0-2. The game at that stage felt cagey, tactical, almost chess-like, the scoring low as both sides tried to feel each other out.

But Kilmurry were finding their shots easier, their movement sharper. Denis O’Mullane converted a free, Seán O’Leary surged forward for another, and two more from Wall pushed the gap to 1-5 to 0-2 after 22 minutes. Every time Kilmurry went up the pitch, they looked like they knew exactly what they wanted to do. Buttevant, by contrast, ran into a green and gold wall.

When a rare defensive slip did come, Conor Hanlon pounced, splitting the posts. It might have been a goal on another night, and it ended a ten-minute drought, but it didn’t change the direction of travel.

Kilmurry simply went up a gear.

Kyle Kelleher, with the outside of his boot, arced over a gorgeous point. Then the killer blow. A minute before the break, Ó Curraoín found himself in space and calmly tucked the ball into the corner of the net. No fuss, no panic. Just precision. Suddenly it was 2-6 to 0-3 and Buttevant were staring at a mountain.

David Hanlon did manage to clip over an awkward two-point free on the stroke of half-time to trim it to 2-6 to 0-5, a lifeline of sorts as they headed for the dressing room. But they needed more than hope. They needed a transformation.

Defence dictates, Kilmurry tighten the screw

The restart brought no revolution.

Buttevant pressed, to their credit. They enjoyed territory, they probed, they asked questions. Kilmurry’s response was to shut the door even more firmly. The structure at the back was rock solid, the tackling disciplined, the work-rate relentless. O’Leary, in particular, seemed to be everywhere, a Duracell Bunny in green and gold.

On the break, Kilmurry almost killed the game completely. Wall’s two-point effort came back off the post and dropped perfectly for Ó Curraoín, only for Ronan Donovan to produce a fine save and deny the Galway native a second goal.

For a moment, that felt like it might matter. Michael O’Neill, sprung from the bench, pointed after eight minutes of the half and the gap was back to six. But Kilmurry simply refused to wobble.

Two quick points steadied them again, stretching the score to 2-8 to 0-6 with 18 minutes left. When O’Mullane landed a two-point free, the lead was out to ten and the air began to seep from the contest.

Buttevant needed a surge heading into the last quarter. It never truly came. Hanlon tapped over a straightforward free, but it was answered almost immediately. Wall raised an orange flag, Tomás Collins added his second point, and with nine minutes to play it was 2-13 to 0-7. Any lingering doubt disappeared.

Bench impact and a statement finish

Kilmurry’s bench only underlined their dominance.

Substitute Joe McGinn made an instant impression with two late points, one from a free, as the Muskerry men kept the scoreboard ticking and the tempo high. Another sub, Joe Ryan, knocked over a simple free for the last score of the night, the final brushstroke on a commanding performance.

Wall finished with 1-4, Ó Curraoín with 1-2, O’Mullane with 0-4, while scores were spread generously across the team – Kelleher, O’Leary, Collins, Asling, McGinn, Ryan. It was the definition of a collective display: hard running, intelligent movement, and a defensive unit that never really looked like coughing up the green flag Buttevant so badly needed.

Buttevant had their moments. Hanlon’s 0-4, including a two-pointer, and the efforts of Lenahan, David Hanlon and O’Neill spoke to their effort and their character. They battled to the end, they kept chasing, but they ran into a side on an unmistakable upward curve.

When referee Brian Crowley blew the final whistle, it wasn’t just another county title for Kilmurry. It was confirmation.

From junior to Premier junior and now into the intermediate grade, they have built something serious in Muskerry. The question now is not whether they belong at this level.

It’s how far this group can climb from here.