Thomastown back in Croke Park after more than their fair share of heartache

Stephen Donnelly doesn't even have to think when asked which one was the worst one.

Thomastown have had some tough ones. But one of them is on the tip of his tongue. Before finally winning the Kilkenny intermediate championship this year, Thomastown had lost three finals, a semi-final and a quarter final in five years. But it was the Covid final in 2020 that hit hardest, when they were red hot favourites, when they were three points up in injury time, five points up in extra-time and then two penalties up in the shootout, and still lost. No question. Donnelly admits that he still thinks about it 'every now and again.' "That Lisdowney one still stings," he says. "That was hard to get over, but you have to get on with it, and that's it," he adds flatly. That was pain but there was more to come, the following year when, even though Henry Shefflin came in as manager, Thomastown took a step back, beaten by eventual champions Glenmore in the semi-final. [caption id="attachment_296758" align="alignnone" width="1000"] 16 January 2022; Stephen Donnelly of Kilkenny during the Walsh Cup Group B match between Kilkenny and Laois at John Lockes GAA Club in Callan, Kilkenny. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile[/caption] Was it ever going to happen? There was more pain down the tracks, in 2022, when despite scoring 4-25, they lost another county final, again after extra-time, this time to Danesfort. They'd have been forgiven for thinking it just wasn't meant to be. But Stephen Donnelly says that even through the gloom, Thomastown stuck together. He remembers last year quite well, when every underage team in the club had won something but the intermediates had won nothing other than a League medal which he says 'didn't really matter at the end of the day.' "Obviously you would be happy for everyone and happy for the club but I remember last year, there was a dinner dance. "We were the only lads that didn't go up because even though we won the League and got League medals, they don't really matter at the end of the day," he says. Donnelly praises Thomastown's young players who have re-invigorated the panel. He says they've made a huge difference but nobody made as big a difference as him in this year's county final, when he put the nightmares to bed with an incredible display that saw him score a whopping 1-8 from play. “I don't know how to explain it, everything just fell right for me that day,” he reflects. “That doesn't happen too often, it was a once in a lifetime kind of a thing. I was just lucky it happened on that day.” "It was worth the wait," he adds. "We had a great time. The whole town got behind us. And they still are. "The young lads coming through have made a huge difference. "Obviously you'll lose a few lads, lads who are going to Australia or whatever. But the young lads keep pushing it. If you can get one or two every year, which we have, it makes a huge difference." This Saturday they take on Castlelyons in the AIB All-Ireland intermediate final in Croke Park. The club won a junior All-Ireland final back in 2013 and they'll be hoping to win another, eleven years on. "It takes a while to get over them alright. "People would be saying to us 'what are ye going to do now, are you going to head off?' "We'd just be like 'no we're going to keep on coming back, try again and try again. "That's all you can do and we did that. "In previous years, when we were under pressure, we might have got away from the game-plan to a degree. "But there's no real individuals in it now. Losing all those county finals too, that brought us all closer together. "The team spirit we have in this group is unreal. Everyone gets on and every time you go down training, the craic we have is unreal." "We knew within the group as well that we were good enough to win it. "It was just getting a performance out of ourselves on the day. In fairness to the management team that we have now, even after last year's loss, they still had belief in us. They instilled that into us." "It's what dreams are made of now. "But you can't get too caught up in it either. "I know it's an All-Ireland final, but you have to treat it as another game and go out and get a performance." [caption id="attachment_296753" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Stephen Donnelly of Thomastown pictured ahead of the AIB GAA Club Hurling All-Ireland Intermediate Championship Final, between Castlelyons and Thomastown. This season, AIB will honour #TheToughest players in Gaelic Games - those who persevere no matter what, giving their all for their club and community. AIB is in its 33rd year supporting the AIB GAA All-Ireland Club Championships. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile[/caption]