Kevin Feely relishing a return to Croke Park with Athy

​By Paul Keane

Not long after Athy's milestone Kildare SFC final win over five-in-a-row chasing Naas, the Cedral St Conleth's Park pitch was a sea of red.

Someone tossed Niall Kelly, the club's experienced forward, a red and white hat and his broad smile after pulling it on summed up the giddy atmosphere.

As star studded a team as Athy possess, it was still a rare occasion and one to be celebrated.

Kevin Feely indulged for sure but he also had an eye on what was coming down the tracks. He was part of a young Athy team that won a county championship in 2011 and which went on to contest a provincial semi-final.

He presumed there'd be more occasions like that but Athy didn't win another county title until 2020, the year the provincial competitions were cancelled because of the pandemic.

It wasn't until this season, 14 years on, that players like Feely finally made it back to the province. So the 33-year-old, and long-time colleagues like David Hyland and Kelly, weren't about to blow the provincial opportunity they'd been handed.

"Oh definitely," said Feely, speaking ahead of this Saturday's AIB Leinster club SFC final against Ballyboden St Enda's. "Leading into the Baltinglass game, the first one in Leinster, our mindset was, 'We're not going to waste this opportunity'. We didn't get that opportunity in 2020. We said we're lucky to be in this position now and we made a promise to ourselves that we were going to continue to prepare for every game just as well as we'd prepared for them in the Kildare championship.

"There can be a temptation to over-celebrate, especially when you win your first championship in a good while. But we kind of made that promise to ourselves that we were going to knuckle down straight away and we put a big focus on that and thankfully it's worked so far."

They've looked the part in their Leinster campaign, advancing beyond Baltinglass, Summerhill and Portarlington with a cumulative 33 points to spare, to go a step further than the stage they reached in 2011. Back then, Athy were narrowly beaten in a semi-final by eventual winners Garrycastle. A late goal clinched it for the Westmeath side.

Feely and his clubmates must have thought they'd get another shot at Leinster sooner than they did?

"Oh 100 percent," said Feely. "We were a ridiculously young team back then, I think 11 or 12 of the starting team were U-21. We thought we were going to win championships for the next 10 years. Obviously that was our downfall in the end, that bit of arrogance that we couldn't get rid of.

"You always dream of getting back to these days again. Things have been building so well since the Naas game. The people of Athy, all our supporters, they've been great. After each game there's a pitch invasion and explosion of pure happiness. It's pretty emotional stuff."

Kelly helped himself to 10 points in all in last weekend's defeat of a Portarlington side that had reached semi-finals in 2021 and 2022. But arguably the most impressive thing he did all afternoon was a headfirst dive into a group of players to flick the ball out to Leaving Cert student Ronan Kelly for a point. That's the sort of indefatigable spirit that has summed up Athy's provincial campaign.

"It's so important, particularly at this time of the year," said Feely. "There's so much scrappy ball, breaking ball. Any ball going into contact is nearly always going to spill. It feels like since the Sarsfields game in the Kildare championship, a foundation has been built on that work-rate, attitude, desire.

"It's controlled aggression, David Hyland actually used that term after the Summerhill game and that's it, that's what we're trying to harness, that controlled aggression, trying to toe the line without ever crossing it. It's definitely been a foundation for most of our wins."

Feely and Hyland featured in all of Kildare's Tailteann Cup games last summer, a run that culminated with the July final win over Limerick at Croke Park. Five months on, the duo will return to the venue and will feel right at home though for their team-mates who haven't played there before, it could be a daunting experience.

"There'll definitely be a job for the lads who have played there to try to comfort or familiarise the lads who haven't been there," said midfielder Feely. "In terms of a pitch, to show your best football, there's no better one. It's a big open expansive pitch that's protected from the elements. Winter football isn't as much of an issue in Croke Park as it is in other grounds. So you'd like to think that it'll suit our game, our style, but in saying that, Ballyboden are a strong, athletic and fast team and they'll probably feel that it will suit them as well."

James McGrath, another of Feely's Kildare colleagues who has been in strong form, tweaked his hamstring in the win over Portarlington. Young full-forward Colm Moran came off with a quad issue. Both of them will be assessed throughout the week, according to joint manager Ross Bell.

So deep into the year, it's almost impossible to avoid knocks and injuries. Athy certainly won't be complaining or feeling sorry for themselves as they gear up for perhaps the most significant fixture in the club's history.

"It's a very different November and December to normal years," said Feely. "I haven't experienced anything like this since 2011, and I was much too young to appreciate it back then. It just keeps getting better every weekend. Every match that comes along, you think, 'Oh God, let's hope it doesn't end this week'. It's great, we just seem to be going from strength to strength."