Physicality key in making step up to PIHC ranks, insists Lisgoold's Liam O'Shea
The Intermediate A crown was secured for Lisgoold after a replay against Erin's Own, and O'Shea, along with John Cronin and Cork senior starlet Diarmuid 'Dudsy' Healy, were part of the Premier Senior county-winning Imokilly side.
"It was great for me and great for the club, we also had Johnsy (Cronin) and Duds (Healy) as well, they played that day, they started. It was great for the club to win two counties in the one year, and especially for us," O'Shea said.
That replay win over Erin's Own was a special one for O'Shea, who led the charge that November day, scoring 1-2. 'Dudsy' also played no small part, of course, earning the man of the match gong.
Forward O'Shea told of their journey from the East Cork Junior A ranks to the Premier Intermediate level of Cork hurling. It hasn't been easy, highlighted by the difficulty of bouncing back from the drawn county final last year.
"It was a tough week to recover for the next day, but we got there in the end," he said. "We were thrilled to get over the line.
"We actually started Junior A, my first year up would have been 2017, and we lost to St Catherine's, who went on and won the county. We had a few years of heartbreak, but we finally got over the line in 2020. We won the East Cork and county that year and we've just been on a roll ever since."
Having progressed from Division 4, it was a league campaign spent solidifying their place in Division 3, no bad preparation for the test that awaits them in the PIFC, where a group consisting of Valley Rovers, Mallow and neighbours Dungourney.
"There was a lot of senior teams in it (Division 3)," he said. "They were good, tough games and we finished mid-table. Our first year up, we learned a lot off them now, they were so physical and that's what championship is going to be all about now this year, the physicality and how hard we work."
First up is for Lisgoold - under the stewardship of proven coach Niall O'Halloran - is Valley Rovers, followed by Mallow and Dungourney.
"I'd say we'll back ourselves (against Valleys), they're a big side so we'll have to bring our physicality and we know what we can do and we know what they can do... Dungourney would be our very close neighbours, so that'll be a great game, an East Cork derby. We went to school with a lot of those boys, played Harty together."
"We'd have very good friends down there, we were actually with them at the All-Ireland, so there was good craic around the bunch of lads we were with.
"We've actually never played them in club before, so it'll be a strange one," added O'Shea.
Friendships will be parked, but for O'Shea and Lisgoold, it's full steam ahead for the 2025 edition of the PIHC.
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