Easkey manager Padraig Mannion did not hide his anger after his side’s narrow defeat to Kilbrittain in the All-Ireland junior hurling final at Croke Park, insisting his team had been robbed on the biggest day of their lives.
Speaking in the aftermath of the 0-19 to 0-18 loss, Mannion cut a furious figure after the game, directing his frustration firmly at the officiating. His comments, reported by Eoghan Cormican of the Irish Examiner, centred on a second-half red card that he felt swung the final irreversibly away from the Sligo champions.
‘We Got Robbed’ Sligo Boss Rages After All-Ireland Final Red Card
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At the heart of Mannion’s anger was the straight red card shown to Andy Kilcullen on 40 minutes, a moment he believes decided the contest.
The red card was a shocking decision.
From where I looked at it, his eyes were fixed on the ball, he was coming up out of a tackle. I don’t know what the red card was for.
Kilcullen, Easkey’s marquee forward and championship top scorer, had already struck six points on the day and entered the final having amassed 15-77 across seven games. His dismissal reduced Easkey to 14 men with the sides level at 0-12 apiece.
What do you do then when he is gone? The biggest day of their lives out on Croke Park and it got ruined.
Despite playing the final quarter with a numerical disadvantage, Easkey stayed in contention right to the death, eventually falling by the bare minimum. That resilience offered little consolation to a manager who had set his sights firmly on lifting the cup.
We set out at the start of the year to win it. It is a failure in my eyes. Our goal was to win the All-Ireland. We got robbed.
For Easkey, a remarkable championship run ended in heartbreak. For their manager, the sense of injustice will linger long after the scoreline fades.
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