JOE Ryan is confident that Kilbrittain won’t be dazzled by the bright Friday night lights of Páirc Uí Chaoimh as they go in search of hurling glory.

The men in black and amber hope to end a 15-year wait for an adult county hurling title when they take on Glen Rovers in the Co-op Superstores Premier Junior Hurling Championship final at Cork GAA HQ (Friday, 7.30pm).

But the Páirc Uí Chaoimh factor won’t knock Kilbrittain off track, insists manager Ryan. Instead, they’ll enjoy being on the big stage.

‘You have to acknowledge they are playing in Páirc Uí Chaoimh under lights – that’s class. The lads need to enjoy it and embrace it. Once the game is on, that’s all background stuff to the game itself,’ he insists, with Kilbrittain keen to maintain the consistent approach that has brought them to the county final.

Everything stays the same: training, food, warm-ups, everything. That consistency goes right back to the start of the season when Ryan, taking over from John Considine as manager, began his first campaign in charge of the club in his adopted parish.

A Ballinascarthy man, Ryan married a Kilbrittain woman, Lorna – her brother James Hurley is full back on the team – and home is now near Harbour View Beach.

‘I’ll forever be a blow-in!’ he laughs, ‘but this is a great way to get involved in the community.’

Ryan, who was a coach for Considine last year, has certainly made an impact in his first season in charge, but insists he’s just one part of the Kilbrittain juggernaut that has momentum this season. The junior footballers went all the way to the last four in the Carbery JAFC, and now the hurlers are within touching distance of a county title.

‘I don’t think there was much of a change from last year, to be honest. The message is still the same, but maybe it’s more consistent across hurling and football – for example, the strength and conditioning covers both; everyone did the same stuff with Mark Eaton, who has been very good,’ Ryan explains.

‘There has been a good balance between both codes; it’s well set up. We were focusing on fitness throughout the league, and when it came to the championship it was about winning.

‘We won our first game against Barryroe, a local derby – that was a disappointing draw for us last year. We won that, got a bit of momentum, and then we took confidence into both hurling and football. Beating Cloughduv was a big one for us, and we have gone game by game since.

‘The fitness has stood to the players – they are finishing games strongly in football and hurling. Winning breathes confidence.’

Kilbrittain boss Joe Ryan.

Three victories in the group stage against Barryroe (0-22 to 1-15), Cloughduv (2-17 to 1-17) and then Nemo Rangers (3-19 to 1-10) sent Kilbrittain directly into the semi-finals. That was already an improvement on 2024 when Kilbrittain didn’t advance from their group. But this group wants more: they beat Ballygarvan (1-17 to 0-18) in the semi, thanks to a late Conor Ustianowski goal, to set up a clash with Glen Rovers. 

‘There is a buzz around the club and the community these weeks,’ Ryan says, before he’s quick to add: ‘It would be remiss of me not to mention Oisín Gillain, a young player who passed away earlier in the year – he remains a very big part of the group. If the hurlers and footballers are giving people a bit of joy and a distraction, that’s great.’

This is a club success story, too. Look at how Kilbrittain football manager Cian O’Leary helps on the line with the hurlers, and then Ryan vice-versa with the footballers. That collaborative approach has worked brilliantly, Ryan says.

The hope is the hurlers can go one step further than 2021 when Kilbrittain lost the lower intermediate championship final to Lisgoold. Two stalwarts who combined for 0-9 that day, Ross Cashman and Maurice Sexton, have exited stage left, but the emergence of Conor Hogan, Luke Griffin and Ronan Crowley in attack have been positives. Also, the return of Seán Sexton and Aaron Holland, who were in Australia, was another boost – two really important players, physically and hurling-wise.

‘You also have lads who were involved in 2010 when Kilbrittain beat Ballygarvan in the county intermediate A hurling final, and who played in the 2021 final, so this will be their third county final – they are good people to lean on in terms of perspective,’ Ryan adds, as he navigates the week of a final.

‘I am “less is more” – keep it nice and simple,’ he maintains.

‘The message will be the exact same. The lads are probably sick of me saying the same things over and over again, but it’s about consistency. You can’t start throwing these left-field ideas into the mix at this stage; it needs to be consistent with what our strengths are.’

That consistency could hold the key on Friday night under the bright lights of the main stage.