It was a great day for club GAA yesterday at Croke Park, and it was an especially great day for winning speeches. After Steelstown won the All-Ireland intermediate title, captain Neil Forrester made an incredible, fiery oration that no one who heard will ever forget.
Earlier in the afternoon, Kilmeena captain Seán Ryder struck a completely different tone, but also managed to capture the magnificence of the achievement.
Kilmeena GAA won the AIB All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship yesterday after their 0-11 to 1-6 against Gneeveguila in Croke Park.
They became the first Mayo team to win a Junior All-Ireland and captain Ryder delivered a brilliant speech after the game on the steps of the Hogan Stand.
He was in great humour throughout the speech and got it off to a great start after his cúpla focal, saying "that's enough with the Irish now, I knew a few of us struggle enough with English, let alone Irish."
6 February 2022; Kilmeena players Paul Groden, left, and Joey Smyth celebrate after their side's victory in the AIB GAA Football All-Ireland Junior Club Championship Final match between Gneeveguilla, Kerry, and Kilmeena, Mayo, at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
While crediting Gneeveguila on their performance Ryder slipped in an innocent curse, probably to the shock of the elders in the crowd. He said "To Gneeveguilla. Wow, what a battle. There are no words to describe that. Ye are a fantastic team, ye pushed us every single minute and ye fucking deserve a huge round of applause boys. I have no doubt that ye will kill it in the intermediate ranks in Kerry."
Ryder even threw in a shout out to the the Croke Park grounds staff but as good as the hallowed turf is it's "close to St Brendan's back at home, but not quite as good."
A good speech isn't fully complete without a mention of the most important aspect of a squad, the wags, and Ryder wasn't slow in crediting them and the supporters. "To the supporters... and the wags. There's hundreds of ye today. I can hear ye every minute, every second of the game. Ye are massive. Without you we wouldn't have won today boys."
It was a day to remember for all involved at Kilmeena and the speech will also go down as one of our favourite Hogan Stand speeches.
Kilmeena captain's speech after GAA All-Ireland Junior Club Championship final
Comhghairdeas le Seán Ryder, captaen le @KilmeenaGAA ⚫⚪ 🏆@GAA_BEO @officialgaa @ConnachtGAA @MayoGAA
#GAABeo | #TheToughest pic.twitter.com/Ujr4zW14La— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) February 6, 2022
See Also: Steelstown Captain Delivers Rousing Speech After All-Ireland Win
