By Shaun Casey

FOLLOWING Cullyhanna’s historic run to All-Ireland Intermediate success last season, the St Patrick’s club are now back up competing at senior level in the Orchard County and eyeing up more silverware.

Cullyhanna reached Senior Championship finals in 2013 and 2016, but lost out to Crossmaglen and Maghery respectively, and were relegated to the Intermediate ranks via the league in 2022.

But they bounced back in eye-catching fashion last season and Stephen Reel’s men are looking forward to group stage clashes with local rivals Silverbridge, Killeavy – who they host on Friday – and Culloville in the ‘group of death’.

“This is where we felt that we belong, in the Senior Championship,” said defender Mickey Murray. “We fell down to intermediate and we deserved to be there, but we’re back up in the senior and I think we’ll just keep to ourselves and see how we go along this season.

“It’s the same for every team in the Senior Championship – your ultimate goal is obviously to get to the final and hopefully win it and that would be an ambition for ourselves.

“We’re a tight-knit group and we know what we’re capable of. I think that we’ll give anybody a good game of football and we would be confident in our own capabilities of what we can do with the ball.”

There were a few extra unexpected All-Ireland medals welcomed back to Cullyhanna this year too, with Aidan Nugent, Ross McQuillan and Jason Duffy earning Celtic Crosses with Armagh while Ciaran McKeever was part of Kieran McGeeney’s management team.

“Armagh winning was extremely special for us all,” added Murray. “To have four of our own amongst it, we’re very, very proud of those boys and their contribution, not just this season, but over the seasons previous that have led to what we witnessed there a few weeks ago.”

With those county men unavailable for the majority of Cullyhanna’s Division 1B league campaign, it gave them a chance to bleed through some younger players that otherwise wouldn’t have experienced football at such a high level.

On the players coming through, Murray added: “It’s a panel that’s needed for each of the championship games and the league as well.

“It was definitely good this year to get another few boys blooded in, to let them find their feet at senior level again after last year’s success.

“Those young lads have come in with a wee bit more confidence behind them and a couple of boys are really stepping up with places up for grabs as the season progresses.

Murray was also pleased with the fact that they managed to maintain their senior status:

“It was good to be back up into the senior leagues. I suppose we didn’t get much time off for winter with the All-Ireland run but the league was about trying to make sure we maintained our status.

“That was one of the first goals we had written down this year, to maintain our league status to ensure Senior Championship football next year and then build upon it as the season progresses.”

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