Mullen's heroics unable to save battling St Brigid's side

Davidstown-Courtnacuddy 4-21, St Brigid's 3-9

By Brendan Furlong

Westmeath Intermediate champions St Brigid’s found the bar too high despite a battling display as they eventually succumbed to a 15-point defeat against a superior Davidstown-Courtnacuddy outfit, in the Leinster Club junior hurling championship quarter-final at McCauley Park, Enniscorthy, on Saturday afternoon.

While it may be a time for reflection for the Dalystown side, there will be no such thought down Wexford way, as Davidstown-Courtnacuddy showed no signs of tiredness, despite having won the county junior football title seven days earlier, their superior brand of direct hurling proved too much for their opponents.

St Brigid's lined out with a full strength squad, hoping to build on their late county final victory, but the home side were minus the services of former inter-county attacker, David Dunne, who missed out with a hamstring having proved their most influential attacker through the championship campaign.

It is fair to say that one could not doubt the battling qualities of the St Brigid's side, with Joe Hyland and Sean Deegan being particularly prominent in a defence that was over-run for long periods of the game, while Conor Slevin and Niall Cully showed up effectively in midfield. But despite their 3-9 final scoreline, their attack struggled, being solely dependent on the exploits of corner-forward Mikey Mullen for the majority of their scorers, either from play or frees.

The Wexford champions made a decisive start racing into a 0-6 to 0-0 lead inside the opening eight minutes when assisted by the breeze, their scores arriving courtesy of Paraic Doyle, two, one free, James Doyle, two, Lucas Fitzpatrick and Joe Doyle.

St Brigid's had to wait until the ninth minute for their opening score, a neat Mikey Mullen point from play having created the space to finish from an acute angle. The score seemed to settle the side for they went on to enjoy their best passage of play, hauling themselves right back into contention towards the end of the opening quarter when midfielder Conor Slevin - following a fine run at the defence - finished excellently to the corner of the net, leaving just two points separating the sides, 0-6 to 1-1.

Both teams had settled into the game with the St Brigid's recovery continuing when Finbar Coyne pointed off the wing to reduce the deficit to the minimum, but that was as good as it got for the visiting side, as they allowed the Wexford club to regain the initiative. The Saffrons were heavily punished for a number of mistakes.

Paraic Doyle and Mikey Mullen went on to exchange pointed frees, but once James Doyle found the net after 22 minutes for the home side’s opening goal, giving them a 1-7 to 1-3 lead, their dominance became more pronounced. They proceeded to add a further 28th minute goal through Oisin Hayes which gave them a comfortable 2-10 to 1-3 interval lead.

The expected St Brigid's second half recovery, when breeze assisted, failed to materialise and instead it was the home side who settled back into the game straight from the restart. Davidstown-Courtnacuddy built on their explosive finish to the opening half as Paraic Doyle pointed a free with one minute of the restart.

When Mikey Mullen pointed a free almost immediately there was brief hope for the St Brigid's side, but that quickly evaporated as Paraic Doyle responded with a pointed free, while midfielder Joe Doyle finished a fine move to the net, leaving his side leading 3-12 to 1-5 after thirty-five minutes.

Mikey Mullen (65’) and Paraic Doyle (free) exchanged points, with the Westmeath champions still battling to try and haul themselves back into the game, but they were unable to make real headway against a solid defence on which most of their attacks perished.

While the end result was decided from a long way out, the home side still sought out scores with big full-forward James Doyle, better known for his rugby exploits, shooting his second and the team’s fourth goal at the end of the third quarter, leaving his side with a 4-14 to 1-7 lead.

With the eventual winners now happy to pick off their points during the closing stages, St Brigid's in contrast were seeking out goals, getting their second ten minutes from the end through Mikey Mullen.

They continued to battle to the final whistle with their third goal arriving in additional time, also from the stick of capable corner-forward Mullen.

While a provincial semi-final awaits the Wexford champions, St. Brigid's will now have time to reflect back on their county championship success, and their initial appearance in the provincial club championship, giving them a true indication of the progress needed for 2026 and a higher standard of club hurling.

St Brigid's finished the game with 14 players having had wing-forward David Hanlon dismissed on a straight red card six minutes from the end.

Scorers - Davidstown-Courtnacuddy: James Doyle 2-3; Joe Doyle 1-2; O Hayes 1-4 (0-1 free); P Doyle 0-7 (6 frees, 1 '65); L Fitzpatrick 0-2; T O'Connor, S Nicholson, E Cloke 0-1 each.

St Brigid's: M Mullen 2-8 (1-5 frees, 0-1 '65); C Slevin 1-0; F Coyne 0-1.

Davidstown-Courtnacuddy: Sean Cooper; Sean Fitzpatrick, Eddie Kelly, Jack O'Regan; Tomas O'Connor, Barry Hassey, Mark, Murphy; Sean Nicholson, Joe Doyle; Barry Nolan, Lucas Fitzpatrick, Rhyan Whelan; Oisin Hayes, James Doyle, Paraic Doyle. Subs: Eoin Cloke for P Doyle (45); Dylan Sharkey for Murphy (48), Tom Quigley for Whelan (50), Cillian Doyle for Nicholson (55).

St. Brigid's: Paddy Carroll; Billy Arthur, Conal Dunne, Stephen Quinn; Sean Deegan, Joe Hyland, Chris Daly; Conor Slevin, Niall Cully; Kieran Geraghty, Finbar Coyne, David Hanlon; Mikey Mullen, Seamus Faulkner, Michael Geraghty. Subs: Eddie Whelehan for Slevin (50), Jack Carroll for Faulkner (51), Cormac Eighan for Geraghty (54).

Referee: Richard Holland (Kilkenny).