Mohill’s man-for-all-seasons Ronan Kennedy stepped up again on county final day.
The sharpshooting forward was his club’s hero in 2006, when as a teenager, he kicked the winning score against St Mary’s Kiltoghert to end a Leitrim SFC famine for Mohill.
17 years and eight finals later, some things never change, Kennedy was again the match-winner for Mohill.
St Mary’s Kiltoghert were the opposition once more and Kennedy was the hero once more – he kicked 1-3 and won man-of-the-match as Mohill won their fourth title in nine years.
In the mean-time, this county final supremo kicked the winning goal for Mohill against Glencar Manorhamilton in the 2015 decider but in an emotional interview with Shannonside FM after the game, he confirmed that this will be his last.
#GAABEO 60+4 nóim@MohillGAA 2-09@MarysKiltoghert 0-14
Scór dochreidthe ó Ronan Kennedy anseo chun Maothail a chuir chun tosaigh in am breise!
Ronan Kennedy sends over an important point to give his side the lead late on!@LeitrimGAA
BEO/LIVE ar @TG4TV pic.twitter.com/pS1Y9fewlm
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) October 8, 2023
“That was my 20th year in-a-row,” said Kennedy.
“I have done a couple of summers in America in between, but I still managed to play championship every year.”
“This is the fairy-tale ending.”
“It’s done, I’m not even going to play in Connacht,” he declared.
“I’m just going to put on the slippers and going to the couch for the winter.”
Mohill have competed in eight finals in the last 11 years, winning four and losing four, and having lost the last two, this was a sweet triumph for the club who are managed by Sligo legend Eamonn O’Hara.
“It’s an incredible feeling, we know the pain” Kennedy said, “That’s five wins but we’ve lost four finals as well, it takes a lot to keep going to well.”
He then paid tribute to his late mother, and said that he will drop the man-of-the-match award off at her grave.
“A Fairy-tale ending! I’m going to drop this off (Fenagh Cup) at the graveyard and my mother’s grave. It just means a lot to me and my family”.
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Mohill will now meet the winners of the Mayo championship in the first round of the Connacht SFC.
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