Melaniff hails Bridge resilience after ending final heartbreak

Damien Donohoe

After two years of final heartbreak for Butlersbridge, manager Keelan Melaniff could finally savour the feeling of leading his side to the Intermediate Championship title following their victory over Denn.

The Bridge had made no secret of their ambition coming into 2026 and, after finally getting over the line, Melaniff admitted relief was mixed with the joy of seeing what the success meant to the wider club.

“You can see the outpouring of relief and joy from our community,” he said. “It’s such a huge day for us and for our club. I’m so happy for our panel of players. They’ve worked extremely hard. The last two years have been tough on them, losing those finals. They went back into a gym programme in November, started training at the beginning of January and that was the goal. The goal was to get here and thankfully we’ve done that.”

Denn’s goal shortly before half-time and strong start to the second half tested the resolve of a team carrying the experience of those previous final defeats, but Melaniff was delighted with their response.

“We knew everything wasn’t going to go our way, that we were going to face periods of adversity. It’s important for us that we take a deep breath in those moments and realise what we’re about. We didn’t lose our shape. Denn are an exceptional team and, if you make mistakes, they’re going to punish you.”

There was no panic at the interval either.

“There was no shouting or roaring or bawling. We just spoke about the facts. We had done really well on their kick-out, on our own kick-out and our shot-to-score ratio was pretty good. Bar that goal, it was all really positive.”

As the contest entered the closing stages, Melaniff always felt Butlersbridge’s previous experiences could prove valuable.

“We felt if we were going to be in it going down the stretch in the last 10 minutes, our experience was going to carry us through.

"We were really disciplined at the back, turned over ball and then went the other way. We knew we’d have that wee bitof pace going down the stretch.”

And after finally achieving their target for 2026, Melaniff was happy to let the celebrations begin.

“I just love looking at the joy on everyone’s face. I don’t care what time we’re going home – let them stay out on that field for the next hour.”

For full coverage of Bridge's IFC Championship win, pick up this week's Anglo-Celt.