WHILE Kilbrittain are in unfamiliar territory, their opposition Easkey have experience of playing at the final stages.

The Sligo club was in the 2023 All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship final against Ballygiblin, losing 1-16 to 0-11, but that game could provide a good learning curve for the Connacht side. Eleven of the team that started against the Avondhu side started their recent All-Ireland semi-final win over Burt. Their squad hasn’t changed much in three years.

Easkey won their provincial championship for the fourth in succession this year, beating Galway’s Ballinasloe 2-17 to 2-15 in the Connacht final. Their All-Ireland semi-final win over Burt wasn’t easy. The Donegal side brought them to extra time but an Andrew Kilcullen-inspired Easkey won 4-23 to 1-21.

Kilcullen is their main marksman, having struck 15-77 in the championship so far. When you include his tally for Sligo in the Nicky Rackard Cup and National League, it amasses to 22-158 in 2025 which is remarkable shooting.

Kilbrittain will have a tricky task on their hands here but considering James Hurley did an exceptional job on Kilrossanty’s Padraig Fitzgerald earlier in the campaign, boss Joe Ryan will no doubt have a plan up his sleeve to curb Kilcullen’s influence.

The Sky Blues, as their fans in Sligo call them, have had an average winning margin of 14 points in the championship compared to Kilbrittain’s six but other than Ballinasloe and Burt, they haven’t got a big test as of yet.

Easkey have only conceded four goals in their run to Croke Park. Three of those were in their games against Ballinasloe and Burt but it still shows that Kilbrittain will find it hard to get majors against a stubborn defence.

This is no doubt a golden crop of Easkey players. They have won six titles in a row in Sligo but before the start of that run in 2020, they went 57 years without a county triumph and had only won two in their history.

They have six players in the current Sligo hurling panel: Kilcullen, his namesake Niall, Daniel Rolston, Eoghan Rua McGowan, Patrick Walsh and Rory McHugh.

Mikey Gordon is also on the Sligo football panel while brothers Finnian (2-15) and Thomas Cawley (0-13) have been a key supporting cast.

The joint-captains of the team are Finnian Cawley and Rory McHugh, two players that play in central areas for the team as centre-forward and centre-back respectively.

Easkey will feel this is their opportunity to add the All-Ireland title that has eluded them, but Kilbrittain holds the same thought. Both sides will be hungry for a maiden All-Ireland triumph and both have been standard bearers for hurling in Sligo and West Cork. It promises to be a great clash.