Cuala’s Con O’Callaghan is hoping that his side can draw on their pain of last year's final defeat when they take on O’Loughlin Gaels in Sunday’s Leinster club SHC final.
O’Callaghan side face Kilkenny’s O’Loughlin Gaels in Sunday’s showpiece final at O’Moore park after a 12-point win over Carlow side St Mullin’s last weekend.
Cuala are now seeking to become the first Dublin club to win the Leinster Championship since Crumlin in 1979.
The Dalkey side were beaten by Oulart-The Ballagh in the 2015 final and O’Callaghan believes his side are stronger now for that experience.
“We felt we let ourselves down last year with our performance,” he told RTÉ Sport. “We might have expected something to happen, we expected someone else to do something and never got going early on.
“We never really found our feet in that final.
“This year we just have to bring a huge amount of energy to the final. We’ve prepared well, so we just have to ready our minds for this huge challenge.”
Despite Cuala’s impressive form this season, O’Callaghan is taking nothing for granted and knows that his side will have to be at their very best if they’re to get the better of their Kilkenny opponents.
“O’Loughlin Gaels pose a huge threat. They’re after beating the previous All-Ireland Champions Ballyhale Shamrocks and beat Oulart the Ballagh who beat us last year.
“They have a huge amount of experience and they’ve come through a couple of tough challenges so we need to prepare ourselves body and mind for the battle ahead.”
