By now I’m pretty certain that every soul in the Cathedral town of Lismore firmly believes in the Ballygunner hoodoo.
Not once in fourteen championship meetings over the years has a Lismore senior hurling team lowered the colours of the Gunners, and only heartbreak with a capital “H’’ can be attaching to last Saturday’s county final replay defeat by a solitary point in the presence of 5,000 Walsh Park fans.
Another great game for the top prize between the razor keen but respected rivals, and if the drawn tie was an epic - and it as - -this second helping was every bit as good, and possibly better. Victory in the end to the Gunners on a 1-17 to 0-19 scoreline, and while another daw would have been the ideal outcome from a neutral point of view I do feel that the winners just about shaded things over the entirety of the hour. It was another marvellous sporting spectacle, and all credit to victors and vanquished for their generous contributions to making it so. Yes, it could have gone the other way, but when you reflect on those two wondrous saves by Lismore net minder Brendan Landers from Paul Flynn in the first half and from Gearoid O’Connor in the second its hard, if not impossible, to say that Ballygunner aren’t sound value for their win. Those saves were just two of many genuine highlights in a final waged with incredible intensity, and yet a final that never, ever, boiled over. All credit to the sporting approach of both sides and to the fluency of the hurling they played over the course of two memorable games. To have regained this coveted title at a time when the team is supposedly in transition is a remarkable tribute to all of the players, and to their management team headed up by the great Ger Cunningham of Cork. But while the youngsters coming through the ranks proved themselves well up for the challenge, for me this 11th title win is so much about the remarkable Paul Flynn and the equally remarkable Fergal Hartley. Both were immense again last Saturday just as they had been in the drawn game six days earlier. Whether we have or have not seen the last of them in the red and black jersey remains to be seen, but if they were to bow out now they couldn’t have possibly made a more celebrated departure than they did out on that green Walsh Park sward in this thrilling replay. Collecting their first county senior medals were goal-keeper Stephen O’Keeffe - -what a prospect - -the Mahony brothers Philip and Paraic (a minor again in 2010), Shane Walsh, Brian O’Sullivan, and Stephen Power who came on as a substitute in the closing quarter. There’s a whole lot of talent in that half dozen grouping, and that’s the certainty that the Gunners are going to be around at or close to the top of the pile for quite some years to come. For Lismore the pain of this defeat cannot be other than excruciating. They won’t need to be told that they should have wrapped up title number four the first day, and if anything that is only adding to their deep disappointment now. Little enough comfort in saying that they are still a genuine force in the top flight., but I really do hope that they will come back for another almighty shot at what so tantalisingly and agonisingly eluded them last Saturday.
Meantime sincerest thanks to both teams for giving us drawn and replayed games to remember. At the end of it all they are both genuine winners.
