Magic of Munster makes Winter worthwhile
Comeragh Rangers Trish Kelly, Keeley Corbett-Barry and Orlaith Kennedy pictured at the final whistle after their fantastic Munster final win in Mallow. Photo: Noel Browne
Walking out of the TUS Gaelic Grounds on Sunday evening, a thought popped into my head - “I wonder if there’s ever been a weekend where three Waterford teams played in Munster hurling, and all three of them won?” A hell of a weekend it was for Ballygunner, Tallow and Kilrossanty.
It happens very rarely, it turns out. Twice ever as far as records allow me to see. Couple the successes with Comeragh Rangers’ historic victory in the Munster Senior Ladies’ Football Championship Final, and what a weekend it’s been for Waterford GAA.
The magic of the provincial club championships is never lost on me. Every year when they come around, they’re my favourite competition of all - inter-county included. To see small towns and villages across the country travel in droves across the country for games representing their area, their county and everyone with the same hopes and dreams of being David in Goliath’s territory and reaching Croke Park is so special.
Every year, the club scene throws up some astounding results, the stories, the undertones - there are scripts being written worthy of screenplays. Best of all, it brings GAA right back to its roots - because the inter-county phenomenon which we all salivate over is absolutely nothing without clubs in the beginning.
The game between Ballygunner and Na Piarsaigh won’t be one that’s remembered for the ages, but it’s the kind of performance that is truly indicative of the heart and desire which the Waterford champions possess in abundance. You will not see a more composed, unselfish and focused team no matter where you look, and ultimately that is what proved the difference down the home stretch. It wasn’t a vintage display by any means, but it was still one to be proud of.
Going to the Gaelic Grounds and dumping out the Limerick champions on their own patch is a huge ask - a huge ask which Ballygunner have risen to on four separate occasions now. Call me crazy, but they won’t fear Sarsfields. It’s Sarsfields who are the ones with the targets on their backs. They have to go to Walsh Park into the lion's den and prove their victory last year was no one-off. I’d much rather be in the red corner. Like I said last week, Ballygunner with a point to prove are a dangerous animal that will be very tricky to tame.
Harry Ruddle will always be remembered as the man who scored the goal to win the All-Ireland in 2022, but his performance on Sunday was his best to date. The rearguard impressed, Ronan Power and Aaron O’Neill are worthy of praise - while Mikey Mahony typically covered every blade of grass and Patrick Fitzgerald stood tall throughout. Losing Pauric Mahony is a huge blow, but when big boots needed filling, others grew. That’s testament to just how far this team can go - I’m really excited to see them take on Sarsfields. It’ll be a barnstormer.
Saturday’s entertainment was provided in the form of Tallow and Garryspillane in the intermediate championship, and with six goals, five red cards and extra time to decide it - it certainly didn’t disappoint from the entertainment perspective. If you see a better goal in any club championship this year than Tommy Ryan’s on Saturday, I’d be very very surprised. Poetry in motion comes to mind. And what about Paul O’Brien? 41 years of age. 24 seasons as a senior and still as good as ever. Once you have an eye for a goal, do you ever lose it? It appears not.
Quoting Tommy Ryan, that was Tallow’s first ever win in Munster. For a club with such a rich history, that’s quite hard to believe. Again, it comes back to the point - a small place in the grand scheme. Why would they not dare to dream now? They face Clare’s O’Callaghan Mills next and they’ll be well capable of victory again. One step at a time for one big dream.
Kilrossanty are no strangers to the Munster Junior Hurling Championship and they laid down another marker beating The Banner again. Maurice Dee’s men are determined to go one better this year. Having won the county title this time out, you’d be brave to deny them a crack at winning Munster too. The opposition will be tough, but if it was 2006-2009 Kilkenny coming into Lemybrien, they’d be worried given the green and gold monsoon which tends to swarm!
While those three clubs will rightfully pick up plaudits this weekend, there’s no denying who the weekend belongs to. Hats off, Comeragh Rangers. A club that never knew when to give up and now they’ve reaped the rewards. One Michael Ryan Cup and counting - and absolutely no reason why that cannot be joined in the cabinet by the Dolores Tyrrell Cup in the weeks to come. Big players step up on big days, and it was no surprise at all to see Katie Murray claim Player Of The Match, but there are upwards of 20 incredible players on that panel who have more than played their part in a piece of history.
Their male counterparts up in Rathgormack aren’t too bad either. Three Conway Cups in a row - the first team since 2005. They are worthy champions who also can have no fear heading into Munster to take on Éire Óg in Ennis this weekend. Kenny Hassett’s side are as good a team as Waterford football has ever produced.
Despite all this extreme positivity on my end, which is rare but wonderful - I do have to include one bone of contention. The standard of refereeing on display in many of the games I watched this weekend was really poor and not befitting of the occasion. Clubs battle for their lives to get to these stages, give them officials who are worthy and befitting of them too. The refereeing performance in the Tallow v Garryspillane game was as bad as I have seen in eight years of reporting. And that’s being kind.
All in all, a weekend to remember but let’s hope it counts for something. In two weeks’ time, these seasons could be over just as fast - so it’s important not to look too far ahead.
I didn’t even get to mention Envoi Allen, Jack O’Donoghue, Solomon Simon and so many other superb stories for Waterford in recent days - as well as the Blues. Let’s hope next week I’m writing a post-season post-mortem, rather than the club’s obituary.
This weekend belongs to De La Salle, Rathgormack, Stradbally and Shamrocks. Fingers crossed it’s every bit as special.
