'At some point, you have to kick on' - The Nire manager Dick O'Keeffe

The Nire manager Richard O’Keeffe says it’s time for the club to get back to winning silverware, ahead of Sunday’s Waterford Senior Football Championship Final against Rathgormack, as his side look to end a frustrating sequence of narrow county final defeats.

The Nire are chasing their first Conway Cup since 2022, having twice suffered heartbreaking losses to Rathgormack in recent years, while their Fourmilewater counterparts also came agonisingly close to a first News & Star Cup in this year’s senior hurling decider.

With the club facing the prospect of a third senior county final in the space of twelve months, O’Keeffe insists that simply reaching another showpiece occasion will not satisfy his players.

“After you win a semi-final, your focus is on the final. You take a little bit of credit for getting to the final, but when you’re actually there and in the days before it, the one thing you don’t want to do is lose the final,” he told the Official Waterford GAA Podcast.

“It’s all very well to get moral victories and all that kind of stuff and be bridesmaids and people tell you you did well and you only got beaten by a point or two points. You have to play for those 60 minutes instead of 58 minutes. You have to take what’s there for you.” O’Keeffe’s side booked their place in Sunday’s decider following an impressive second-half performance against Ballinacourty, having struggled to find their rhythm before the interval.

“We had a little bit of thinking to do at halftime as well because the first half performance probably wasn’t up to the standard that we will be expecting or hoping for. We kind of regrouped again at halftime. The players are very, very good. By the time the management got back into the dressing room, the players had a lot of discussion done at that point.” That improvement was particularly encouraging following a demanding campaign across both codes, which saw the players contest 11 matches in 13 weeks.

“We didn’t actually realise how tired everybody was, management as well as players. It was kind of emotionally draining as well as everything else physically. The minute the boys came back onto the field again, you could feel the difference. You could feel the spark was back and the intensity was there.” Attention now turns to another instalment of the fierce rivalry with Rathgormack, who are seeking a fourth successive title.

“We know them inside out and they know us inside out. There’s going to be no secrets. Basically, what it’s going to come down to is who’s best prepared mentally, I suppose, as well as physically on the day. It’s going to be nip and tuck. There’s not going to be anything in that game. It could come down to a mistake or it could come down to a two-pointer.” O’Keeffe believes the narrow margins separating the sides were evident in last year’s decider, when The Nire appeared to have gained the upper hand late on.

“It’s a very, very small margin in these games that actually will decide who’s going to win or who’s going to lose the game.” The Nire boss also revealed that his players made a commitment to return stronger following that disappointment.

“We had a discussion in the dressing room after and we said, look, we’re going to get back there. We’re going to win it next year. We have to give ourselves every opportunity. We’re there now.” With the club celebrating its centenary year, O’Keeffe hopes Sunday’s final will finally deliver the silverware his players have worked so hard to secure.

“These guys really, really deserve some success, especially after getting to the hurling final. We thought that we were well-prepared for that. I think we played really well, but we didn’t get over the line and now we’re in the football county final. Hopefully, we can give the supporters something to shout for and they’ll drive us on for the last five or ten minutes in that game.”