KILBREE hurling manager Timmy Byrne and coach Mark Prendergast have made an instant impact since taking charge of the club.

In their first season on the line, the West Cork outfit captured the Carbery Hurling League Division 1 title and also reached the Carbery junior A hurling championship final, laying down an early marker of the progress being made.

That momentum has carried into the new campaign.

Kilbree have powered their way back to another Division 1 league decider, winning all six of their games to set up a mouth-watering final showdown with Clonakilty on Thursday, June 11th.

Clon have matched that perfect record, setting the stage for a clash between the division’s two form teams.

Byrne believes the Super Blues are moving in the right direction.

‘We made a bit of progress last year. Getting to the West Cork final gave us a taste of the big days. We were short on experience that day and Ballinascarthy deserved the win,’ Byrne told The Southern Star.

‘We’re trying to get back there and have another shot at it. We’re going in the right direction and enjoying the journey.

‘The league season is going fine. We’ll learn a lot in the league final against Clonakilty. We’re not exactly shooting the lights out, but we’re tipping away nicely all the same.’

Prendergast, a Na Piarsaigh man, brings a wealth of experience, having been part of the Cork senior hurling panel from 2001 to 2004. His influence on the team has been significant, and the results on the pitch reflect that.

‘For the younger hurlers coming through, you can’t help but improve with someone like Mark Prendergast taking most of the training sessions,’ Byrne insists.

‘It has been absolutely massive to have Mark on board. To have someone with his experience, both as a player and a coach, is the type of appointment that helps the club as a whole.

‘He’s big on standards in the dressing room and big on lads becoming better men off the field too. He’s a great guy to have around and he knows everything there is to know about hurling.

‘He came in last year with plenty of new ideas and has had a major influence. We’re working well together and we have a good management team around us too. That makes a big difference.’

Kilbree manager Timmy Byrne.

The club is also bringing through some serious talent. Howard O’Donovan is the only Carbery player on this year’s Cork minor hurling panel, while Rory Twohig has been a key player for the Cork minor footballers.

Kilbree are developing players as well as competing strongly at adult level.

‘There are loads coming through, which is great to see. There always seems to be one or two good young players coming through with every underage team,’ Byrne said.

‘This is a relatively small area, but it’s a GAA-mad place. The field is at the centre of the parish and the numbers in the club are great too.

‘We have good young lads coming through and they’re all eager and hungry. They saw last year that there’s scope for the club to succeed and they all want to be part of it.

‘We have a good mix. There’s a strong group of lads in their late 20s and early 30s who came so close last year. It’s a nice panel to come into.

‘The more experienced lads are brilliant with the younger players. They are mad to include them in everything. As soon as a new fella comes into training, he’s part of the panel.’

In their most recent victory over Newcestown (2-19 to 0-12), Cillian Twohig starred with 1-5 from play while Jim Shanahan contributed 0-10.

Ten of the team that started last year’s West Cork championship final defeat to Ballinascarthy featured again, highlighting the strength and continuity within the panel.

‘There were a couple of older lads less involved in the league because they maybe don’t need the hard miles at this stage,’ Byrne explained.

‘Some of the younger fellas are doing it from as early as pre-season. We should have a similar enough panel to pick from as last year. Maybe one or two little changes, but most fellas are back.’

Kilmeen will share a championship group with Newcestown, St Mary’s and St James, and a major aim will be to go one step further than last year and claim the Flyer Nyhan Cup.

‘We’d love to go further, but we’re very much in the mindset of taking it one game at a time. We have a pretty tricky group again this year, so the first job is to get out of the group stage and into the knockouts.

‘If it comes to that, we’ll be quite hard to beat.

‘The main goal for us is that we have 25 to 30 fellas coming out training every week, and we want to make sure they enjoy every session.

‘If every lad is enjoying the journey and enjoying their hurling, then what happens after that will happen.’