'Dream stuff' - Dr Crokes riding wave of momentum and they don't want to disembark
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Neither the start nor the end of the year went as Micheál Burns had envisaged.
The half-forward did not expect to be deemed surplus to Kerry requirements last February. And given the very low place Crokes were coming from in recent seasons, he did not expect the year to finish with provincial club glory.
A smiling finish, so, to a 2024 that began in difficult circumstances.
“I’ve been on the record a few times talking about it,” the 27-year-old said of the abrupt end to his Kerry chapter.
“Look, today is just unbelievable. To have three trophies in Kerry and provincial honours here today, it’s dream stuff really.”
The Crokes panel met on Saturday evening. Burns spoke of a “powerful feeling” running through the group. After two years of drifting off course and down the local pecking order, they have, under the returning Pat O’Shea, rediscovered the self-confidence that is a trademark of the black and amber they wear.
“We didn't get out of the group in the county championship last year, so it is some turnaround to have a clean sweep in Kerry and to come up here now and get provincial honours is some achievement.
“All the players are a credit to themselves. The sacrifices they have put in this year, the work that has gone on behind the scenes. We are riding on momentum, and nobody wants it to stop. Thank God it is going for another while.”
It is six years since the lights remained on at Lewis Road over the Christmas. This is a very different Crokes team. Burns hailed newcomers and first-time Munster winners such as Evan Looney, Maidhcí Lynch, Charlie Keating, Tom Doyle, and Cian McMahon for sacrificing their own game for the collective.
“When I came into the senior group, there was a fierce talented team there. We rode on the coattails of them for a small bit. We are back now with a new group, albeit a few of the older lads are still there. The new group have really driven it on, they’re serious footballers. It is a brilliant feeling to be back because in 2018, I don't think we would have thought it would have been this long.
“These days don’t come around often and so you have to cherish them. You can see what it means to people out here on the pitch. Brilliant day for the club. We haven't been here in a while and it is just a great feeling now leading into the Christmas, with something to look forward to afterwards.”