SOME Might Say it’s not surprising that Jamie and Philip Wall’s mom often referred to her two boys as Liam and Noel when they argued in their younger days – this was a home that loved Oasis.

‘My mother will claim credit for both of us being Oasis fans,’ Philip laughs.

‘Her favourite song is She’s Electric. Well, it was at some stage.

‘She calls us Liam and Noel when we’re arguing, especially when we were living together.’

So, when Oasis got the band back together for their reunion tour over the summer, Jamie and Philip both made their own plans to get to concerts. But another of their sporting passions, Kilbrittain GAA, almost put a kibosh on The Masterplan.

‘Bertie Butler and myself were supposed to go to see them in Dublin but it was on the day of the Cloughduv game,’ Kilbrittain hurling captain Philip explains – both the premier junior hurling group-stage tie with Cloughduv and the Oasis concert in Croke Park were on August 17th.

Older brother Jamie came up trumps.

‘Jamie and one of his friends were already going to watch them in Manchester, so we were able to go with them,’ Philip adds.

Kilbrittain’s own Liam and Noel were there in Heaton Park, in the Gallagher brothers’ home city, to watch the magic unfold.

‘It was class. Unreal,’ Philip says.

Acquiesce is the Oasis song that stands out from that gig – it’s a duet by Liam and Noel, and one that both Jamie and Philip have chatted about before. Originally a B-side, it’s become an Oasis classic. The lyrics of unity and belief resonate, perhaps even for Kilbrittain’s hurlers as they prepare for Friday night’s Co-op Superstores Premier Junior Hurling Championship final against Glen Rovers at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

Manchester United fans Jamie and Philip at Old Trafford.

There’s a resolute belief that this could be Kilbrittain’s time to take that next step – to win the county title.

Philip (26) lined out in the 2021 county lower intermediate final that Kilbrittain lost to Lisgoold – and that’s the closest the club has come since winning the county

intermediate hurling title in 2010. Any thoughts he could just Roll With It didn’t last long.

‘When I was 20/21 and we got to the county final, maybe I thought it would be like this all the time, but as you get older you realise how difficult it is to get there,’ Philip explains.

‘We lost the semi-final after extra time by a point in 2022. The year after that we got knocked out on penalties. Last season we didn’t get out of the group. The years can start to fade into one.

‘My first year with the hurlers was 2017 – I was a minor, and we got to the quarter-finals that year. I remember thinking “this is brilliant”, but then we got hammered by Ballincollig. That doesn’t feel like it was eight years ago.

‘I can appreciate it a small bit more now – this is a big day for the club and the parish.

‘I know it’s a cliché, but we have a job to do on Friday night, and to get over the line.’

He feels this current Kilbrittain group is in a good place to take that next step. The hurt of failing to qualify from the group stage in 2024 focused minds this season.

Kilbrittain captain Philip Wall and Glen Rovers' Ben Murphy ahead of the Co-Op Superstores Premier Junior Hurling Championship final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. (Photo: Jim Coughlan)

‘There was a reset this year. We were very disappointed with last season – we didn’t win a game and that hurt us. Between hurling and football, we didn’t win a game last year – three draws, three losses. We did speak about getting back on track,’ Philip says – and they have.

Four successive wins see Kilbrittain in the county final after topping their group, and Philip sees a few reasons for that. The group is maturing, developing and improving. Plus, the squad is stronger, too.

‘We got players back – Aaron Holland and Seán Sexton are home from Australia, Luke Griffin came up from the minors. You have fellas like Ronan Crowley and Eoin O’Neill stepping up. Conor Hogan has been really good, too. Conor Ustianowski is back; he wasn’t playing last year and is a huge addition now – he scored a brilliant goal against Ballygarvan in the semi-final.

‘One feeds into the other – fellas are willing to go the extra mile when they see everyone back and fighting for the same cause.’

He adds: ‘This isn’t a one-off year. The core of this team has been together for a number of years, so this has been building.’

Don’t Look Back in Anger feels apt right now – Philip and Kilbrittain are determined to seize the chance, and don’t want any regrets by Friday night.

‘For some lads this will be their first county final, for others their third. For a few of us, we were there in 2021, so it’s great to get back there – to come from a small place like Kilbrittain, these days don’t come around as much as you’d like. We want more of these big days; they are important for the club,’ he adds, with the Champagne Supernova on ice.