He was the coolest man in a sweltering Netwatch Cullen Park on Sunday.
Following Craig Wall’s stoppage time goal for Ballinkillen in last weekend’s JJ Kavanagh & Sons Carlow SHC semi-final, it looked as though St Mullins would miss out on their opportunity to claim a first county title in three years.
The stage was set for Jack Kavanagh to superbly equalise before a Conor Keogh free saw Maurice Aylward’s side advance to Sunday’s decider with Bagenalstown Gaels..
The St Mullins midfielder will be at the heart of the team as he goes in search of a sixth county championship medal.
Speaking ahead of the final, Kavanagh reflected on how they will prepare for the occasion, the importance of recovering physically and the potential for an entertaining game.
He began: “It’s great to be in the final. It’s exactly where we want to be and it was a great battle in the semi-final. We’re delighted to be back in the final. We lost in it last year but they’re there to be won and we want to get over the line.
“It’s brilliant to be battle-hardened going into the final. It doesn’t matter how you get to the final but it’s good that we had a proper match before it and we’ll expect the exact same from Bagenalstown Gaels. It’s set up to be a classic and we’re all really looking forward to it.”
He continued: “It’s all about recovery after a game like the semi-final. We have to get the bodies ready for the final.
“There won’t be any video analysis or anything like that because our manager (Maurice Aylward) is very old school and is all about hard training sessions. We’ll sharpen up on our skills and be ready for the game on Sunday.
“Everything in the build up to a county final is a side note. You have to get excited for it, but it’s important to keep the head down, stay working hard, and be ready to perform on the day.
“The supporters can enjoy it but we’ll keep the younger players grounded and they’re hard won.
“We’re going to have to look at them a bit but it doesn’t matter who we play because we have to concentrate on our own job. If we get our match ups right we know that we can get the better of Bagenalstown.
“It’s great to have them back, they haven’t won a county championship in a while, but we want to come out on top.”
