It has taken O’Loughlin Gaels over a decade to find their way back to this stage, but on Sunday at Croke Park they hope to complete a Kilkenny clean sweep when the take on St Thomas’ of Galway.
Mark Bergin scored six points on the only previous occasion O’Loughlin Gaels contested an All-Ireland club senior hurling final, but it wasn’t enough for the Kilkenny city club to hold back a Clarinbridge onslaught in that 2011 decider.
For much of the last decade Ballyhale Shamrocks dominated the Kilkenny SHC and also the All-Ireland club competition. But O’Loughlin Gaels broke the stranglehold last October and are now just one victory away from what would be a maiden Tommy Moore Cup triumph.
Bergin, the O’Loughlin Gaels captain, was at home last Saturday watching as first Tullogher-Rosbercon won the All-Ireland junior club final and then Thomastown added the intermediate title in the main bill of the evening at Croke Park. All that’s left now is for O’Loughlin Gaels to complete the hat-trick.
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“On the day of our All-Ireland semi-final the ‘Boro [Dicksboro] camogie team were playing that evening and it was a special performance by them,” says Bergin.
“Then seeing Tullogher last weekend and Thomastown, you’d be watching thinking, ‘Oh God in seven days are we going to be celebrating or are we going to be disappointed?’
“The Tullogher team clapped Thomastown out on the pitch before their game, that’s what it’s all about. Thomastown and Tullogher wouldn’t be a million miles apart from one another in Kilkenny, and to see that support was great.
“One of the Donnellys referenced it in an interview after the match, he kind of said he hoped O’Loughlin Gaels can continue the trend [and win the senior final].”
But Bergin knows the pain of losing, not just for the players but for the entire club. And as such he also realises how much it means to those involved.
“It’s a special time to be an O’Loughlin Gaels member. We’re the fortunate ones who get the opportunity to represent the club on the biggest day of all, but there’s an awful lot of other people working tirelessly behind the scenes too and we’re very conscious of those people.
“The people who have gone before us, we’re very respectful and mindful of those people. There would have been family members of the team who have passed away since the last time we won a Kilkenny Championship in 2016.
“We’re the lucky ones who have been given a green and white jersey to represent the club next Sunday, but there are an awful lot of past players and other people who put a huge amount of effort in to the club to get us to where we were.
“O’Loughlins will continue for many, many years. Our careers won’t. We’re just passing the jersey on. I know it’s a cliche but you’re trying to leave it in a better place. You’re trying to lift the standards within the club as well.”
The 34-year-old forward’s accuracy in front of the posts has been central to his side’s march to Sunday’s final against Galway champions St Thomas’, which throws in at 1.30.
“I remember the buses leaving O’Loughlins that morning in 2011. I remember the expressions on people’s faces, just how proud they were of the team and family members being extremely proud.
“At the time I was very young and you’re maybe telling yourself that it’s going to happen again soon, but you slowly realise just how difficult it is to win a Kilkenny championship. My overriding memory is disappointment but also [of being] extremely proud to have been given the opportunity to play for O’Loughlins in an All-Ireland club final.”
On Sunday Bergin and O’Loughlin Gaels get a second shot.
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