PREDICTION: Kilmeena one hour from Connacht intermediate glory

This Sunday, at 1.30pm in MacHale Park, Kilmeena stand on the verge of writing another chapter in their incredible recent history when they run out for the Connacht intermediate final.

In 2020, the men from the shores of Clew Bay, then under the tutelage of John Reilly, vowed they would be back after their heartbreaking loss to Kilmaine in the Mayo junior decider.

However, few could ever have envisaged the dizzying heights which John McGlynn, Jack Carney, and company have gone on to achieve since then.

A staggering record of reaching eight championship finals in six years speaks for itself, and to have only lost two of those is to be applauded and admired in equal measure.

Last season's relegation from senior was a setback on their upward trajectory.

However, a rebound was on the cards.

Kilmeena got knocked down, but they got up again, and the thrill-a-minute county final proved nobody would keep them down.

That Mayo intermediate crown, their second in three years, secured them a shot at unfinished business in the Connacht series.

Two years prior, gut-wrenching heartache was the presiding emotion for the Kilmeena faithful as Monivea Abbey pipped the Mayo champions at the post in a roller-coaster Tuam semi-final.

They retruned to Tuam on their provincial journey this season and Damian Egan's band of brothers banished those ghosts in a war against Caltra. They then cruised to an accomplished ten-point besting of Coolaney-Mullinabreena in the Connacht semi-final.

On Sunday next, in MacHale Park, they will face off against the might of Roscommon, the men of Strokestown.

Strokestown will arrive with a team packed with top-class footballers while the stacks of talent flowing through the Kilmeena arsenal is frightening.

Whether it be the dynamic Jack Mulchrone, pulling the strings and dictating the tempo in a way that all good talismen should, or the deadly trident of Darragh Keaveney, John McGlynn and Liam Moore, who combined for 15 points last weekend, there's danger from back to front.

This was epitomised against Coolaney-Mullinabreena. In all, nine men troubled the scoreboard, and Kilmeena were dominant against their Sligo counterparts without even rattling the net.

For the sixth game in a row, they won while scoring 20 points or more.

Their squad is deeper than the Ailwee Caves, and this is underscored by the fact that they were able to rest star forward Caolach Halligan for the second week in a row.

Kilmeena may wear the colours of a chessboard, but determining a winner is far from black and white.

Strokestown will prove a mighty difficult adversary when they venture into Castlebar.

In 2022, they were hoisting the Fahey Cup aloft as they were crowned Roscommon senior champions, underscoring their pedigree in mixing it with the big boys.

The following year they were relegated back to intermediate ranks but the black and amber bounced back at the second attempt, with the likes of Diarmuid McCann a match for some of the finest backs in the land.

Time will tell who will be ascending the steps of the stand in MacHale Park on the sabbath. Numerous twists and turns are guaranteed, and those who brave the winter weather to roar on their brothers, sons, siblings, and friends may even see their heart rates tested by extra time.

However, winning is a habit which Kilmeena have become accustomed to after ending a 19-year drought for silverware in 2021, and I'd back those brave men to add another medal to their glittering collections.

VERDICT: Kilmeena