THE stories behind Kilbrittain’s All-Ireland triumph are what make the success so special.

Among them was the sea of people from the local parish who travelled to the capital, first to roar on their heroes at Croke Park and later to celebrate with them at a banquet in the Crowne Plaza on Saturday night.

It was a night for the 520 who managed to secure a seat – and for many more who packed into the bar outside.

‘More people wanted to get in but they were too late booking,’ Kilbrittain chairman Dermot Hayes told The Southern Star.

‘There were probably another 100 people in the bar outside who didn’t sit down for the dinner but came in afterwards. They just wanted to be there to mark the occasion.

‘There were people there that I hadn’t seen for 60 years.

‘We had the oldest player, David Desmond, playing in goal at 40, and the oldest person there was Kitty Madden, who is 87 and was also at the hotel.’

For Hayes, the scale of the celebration reflected just how far the club had travelled in such a short space of time.

Chairman Dermot Hayes with the cup.

‘It’s a dream come true,’ he said.

‘At the start of the year, our aim was to win a county and end up playing intermediate. Playing in the Munster championship was a new chapter – it was brilliant for the players and especially for the fans and the whole parish. They all took the road to Croke Park. I’d say there were very few left in the parish.

‘Over the last few days, we’re still getting our heads around the fact that we are All-Ireland champions. We’re the first team from Carbery to win an All-Ireland hurling title. That’s another milestone.’

Hayes, who took up the role of chairman in 2020, is now basking in the success – and rightly so.

‘For myself as chairman, I was just lucky to be in the right place at the right time,’ he said.

‘It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but seeing the amount of kids on Sunday night running over to the players asking them to sign their jackets was something special. The players could have stayed there all night signing autographs.

‘This is massive for the younger players in particular, because eight years ago those lads were in Páirc Uí Chaoimh at an under-12 match. They never thought they’d be playing in Croke Park themselves. The day meant so much to them – it really made everyone’s night.’

Hayes hopes the experience will inspire the next generation.

‘Hopefully one day they’ll get the opportunity to play in Páirc Uí Chaoimh or Croke Park again,’ he said.

‘It’s so hard to win a county, never mind go further. We’re a small country club and when Seán Kelly introduced the intermediate and junior All-Ireland championships, it was really to give small clubs recognition. Seán deserves huge credit for that.

‘Every club is getting recognition now after winning their county and going up to Croke Park. I know Tooreen and Easkey both lost, but it was still a huge day for Mayo and Sligo hurling as well. Kilbrittain is on the map at the moment, and that’s very important.’

The noise generated by the Kilbrittain support in the capital was also something to savour.

‘When we ran out onto the field at 3pm and saw all our supporters, I couldn’t get over it,’ Hayes added.

‘It meant so much to the fans sitting in the Hogan Stand.’

And there is still more to come in what has been a magical week for the club.

Kilbrittain will take centre stage at the 2025 West Cork Sports Star Awards this Saturday night, where they will collect the Team of the Year award.

‘That will be another huge occasion,’ Hayes concluded.

‘As I said, this may never come around again, so we have to enjoy it.’