“We'd love to be playing senior football” – Seán Marry hopes to help St Brides return to senior grade
St Brides forward Seán Marry prepares to face Stabannon Parnells in the Louth GAA CTI Business Solutions Intermediate Football Championship final at The Grove in Castlebellingham
Seán Marry knows what it takes to win an intermediate championship with St Brides, but the experienced forward is hoping this year’s final against Stabannon Parnells will mark the beginning of a more successful spell at senior level.
Having previously lifted the Seamus Flood Cup in 2020, the Knockbridge side are chasing another Louth GAA CTI Business Solutions Intermediate Football Championship title at The Grove in Castlebellingham on Sunday afternoon.
He told the Dundalk Democrat, “We’d love to be playing senior football, but it is what it is. 2020 we won it, so I'm hoping to do the same again, please God.
“After we won the championship in 2020, we lost a couple of boys to Australia and a couple of boys retired, and we were going through a bit of a transition.
“We found it tough, and we were just getting by at senior level and not really making any great inroads into it. Then, getting relegated is obviously not easy.
“Eamonn (O’Neill) came in and gave us a bit of energy and gave us a bit more belief to get back to senior level, so hopefully that's the plan going forward.”
Defence
While much of the attention has been on the Brides' attacking performances, Marry believes their defensive strength has been equally important.
“Out at training, the defenders are giving us a serious hard time, the whole time, and it's showing in the games. We’ve not conceded any goals, there are few goal chances and then the boys are doing the business up top, so things are going well at the minute.”
Goalkeeper Aaron Devin and his defence will be hoping to maintain that record against Stabannon, although Marry insists the result matters more than any statistic.
“That's always the plan to hopefully not concede any goals, but if it happens, we'll deal with it and go again.”
Opposition
Stabannon Parnells will provide a tough test for the Brides, having reached their second successive intermediate championship final.
The sides have already met in the league this season, with St Brides coming out on top, but Marry is wary of reading too much into that result.
“Stabannon have a lot of good players around the park, like the two Butterlys, Seán Reynolds, the Shevlins, they're a talented group of lads. They're young, energetic, they're nice chaps, we get on with them, but they got one over on us last year.
“They probably caught us on the hop. We weren't prepared for the energy they brought, it's all a learning curve. Then the league, Seán Reynolds wasn't playing; he's a serious man for them, so look, hopefully we can get over the line.”
Fitness
Marry's return from a hamstring injury has been another important factor in the Brides' championship campaign.
The forward missed two months during the league, while county commitments also kept Kieran McArdle away from the club for much of the season.
“I pulled my hamstring during the league against the Kevins, and I was out for two months. Then Kieran (McArdle) was with Louth, and we probably didn't get everyone back in time to make, a good drive for promotion in the league.
“We were only coming back near the end of the league, getting back to full strength which led into the championship, so we've really got our act together and kept everyone as healthy as possible coming into the championship which has stood to us.”
Ambition
Having previously represented Louth at senior level, Marry has not ruled out a return to the county panel under Gavin Devlin. However, he insists his immediate priority is helping St Brides secure promotion back to senior football.
“Ah yeah look, representing Louth is one of the best privileges I've had in my life but the focus is on the Brides at the minute. If that happens in the future, it happens, but the main focus is the Brides right now.”
Experience
Marry believes the lessons learned from the 2020 championship victory could prove important on Sunday.
“It's just about staying together and not getting carried away with what's going on. There's a good group of lads there at the minute similar to what we had in 2020.
“There's a lot of youngsters in, but we still have the old guard, the likes of Paddy Reilly and myself. I'm nearly in that bracket now, and look, we're just keeping everyone together and in one direction.”