Victorious Cushendall skipper Neil McManus paid tribute to another warrior in Chrissy McKaigue after the veterans had been involved in a titanic duel at the Ulster Club Hurling Final in Newry.
But his respect for McKaigue remained undiminished whatever about any words exchanged in the heat of battle.
“Chrissy’s a phenomenal man-marker,” said the Cushendall captain.
“It’s obviously not the first time myself and Chrissy have crossed paths and it’s always a serious battle. Chrissy really enjoys that physical battle. So do I.
“A great hurler on the whole. A very talented footballer too, but Chrissy is given the job wherever he goes, football or hurling to man-mark somebody so it just shows the faith his club have in him as well as his county.”
McKaigue was inevitably the man that was almost handed mission impossible when he was delegated to mark Kerry’s David Clifford in this year’s All-Ireland Football semi-final.
Clifford may have scored 0-9 that day – including 0-4 from play – but McKaigue’s resolve never wavered in his effort at limiting the damage for his side and that spirit was again on show at Pairc Esler with hurl in hand.
Despite not having played in Slaughtneil’s hurling campaign to date, it was no surprise to see 2022 Football All-Star McKaigue and recent All-Star winner Shane McGuigan drafted in as late changes by manager Michael McShane.
Another of this year’s Football All-Stars Brendan Rogers was also in the Slaughtneil side and Paddy Burke, who McManus insisted last month should have been among this year’s 45 All-Star hurling nominees, was unsurprisingly delegated for that important match-up.
“Brendan is an unbelievable player. I got told during the week that I was going to be picking him up,” Burke told BBC Sport Northern Ireland.
“As a player all you can do is relish that challenge. I do all I can to make sure I’m the best hurler I can be and prepare as best I can.”
After Slaughtneil had fought back from seven down to trail by only three in the closing minutes, Burke made a crucial intervention to get in a tackle on a charging Rogers although the Cushendall corner-back modestly insisted that it was not all his own work.
“On that tackle, Ronan McAteer and another Cushendall player maybe Fred [McCurry] or even Ryan [McCambridge] chased him down there and they had actually nearly dispossessed him by the time I got over.
“If they weren’t chasing him, he would nearly have had a free shot anyway. That’s what we’re saying. It’s all about the team.”
For his part, McManus marvelled at the continuing brilliance of young corner-forward Joseph McLaughlin whose day included a stunning score from the right touchline in the second half, which helped Dall close out victory.
“That score would have graced any match at any level anywhere in the country,” added McManus.
“Joseph really has it. As I’ve said before, he works so hard at his game. He is very talented but he’s worked so hard to develop that talent.
“But the more impressive thing about him today was the two dispossessions he made to get us two scores whenever we were under pressure. Those are game-winning contributions.”
Walsh’s performance ‘phenomenal’ – McManus
McManus also hailed the display of wing-back Scott Walsh, whose athleticism is crucial to this Cushendall machine, but who also notched a brilliant late score to repel Slaughtneil’s attempted last-ditch comeback.
“Whenever he breaks into his full stride, he’s so hard to stop. He’s a joy to watch in full flow. He turned puck outs whenever we needed him to.
“He broke through about three tackles on the far side of the field to create that late scoring opportunity that he took. His performance was phenomenal.”
Leinster champions O’Loughlin Gaels will be next for Dall in two weeks in the All-Ireland semi-finals but McManus, as he was patted on the back and embraced by Cushendall folk on the Pairc Esler pitch, said that there was celebrating to be done first after landing the club’s first provincial title since 2018.
“We’ll enjoy this one this evening and we’ll look forward to that one tomorrow.”
