When John Mullane singled out Joey Carton for special mention in his typically-unguarded speech at Semple Stadium last Sunday he was speaking about someone who sums up what instilling belief in young people is all about.
The De La Salle captain was acknowledging how, as he started out on the rocky road to hurling stardom, Carton, the club’s current vice-chairman, was the coach who kept cajoling the fiery, fair-haired kid, frail in physique but stout of heart.
Joey, who is a full-time Munster Council games manager, was Mullane’s mentor-in-chief at underage and his student was as keen as they come; always first outside the gate at training in Cleaboy, having tapped a ball on his hurl as he strolled up from home in Lismore Park. “There would be something wrong if he wasn’t there,” recalled Carton, who has trained juvenile and adult Waterford teams at every level from under 14 up over almost three decades.
He made the 11-year-old John a waterboy with the county Under 21s as they won the All-Ireland 16 years ago. Small things like that, unnoticed back then, maintained Mullane’s enduring passion for all things Portláirge.
De La Salle’s success story is essentially one of perseverance. The club that nearly folded in the seventies but reinvented itself from the bottom up, reaping the benefits of starting afresh within a decade. They haven’t looked back since but the big prizes haven’t arrived until now.
“I’m on the senior panel since 1991 but I never won a thing… and it’s raining trophies now,” said goalkeeper Stephen Brenner as he soaked in the post-match sensation. From a family steeped in ‘DLS’, he stuck with them when his inter-county career faded out. How glad he must be he kept the faith.
For a club formed around past-pupils rather than parish allegiances, they’ve a great bond, exemplified by Derek McGrath’s genuine delight at his colleagues’ achievement despite his own personal disappointment at missing out on the club’s defining moments through injury (how unlucky he’s been down the years) after so long soldiering for scant reward.
It’s always unwise to name-check in these circumstances, you’ll always leave someone out and plenty more besides, but that feeling of satisfaction will be shared by the likes of, in no particular order, Alan ‘Jack’ Duggan, Peter Galvin, Seamus Quirke, Billy O’Neill, Eamon Fitzgerald, Billy Flynn, Noel Dalton, and of course Davy Duggan, who was always on hand to pass on his advice to the youngsters up in the field, and not forgetting the late Sonny Nolan and John Barron looking down.
Manager Owen Dunphy was full-back on Waterford’s 1992 All-Ireland-winning U21 team alongside Stephen’s brother Johnny. His start in senior management was a steep learning curve, but with the committee’s backing, and what he sees as some help from above, he’s guided them to unimaginable heights. Munster Club of the Year – on and off the pitch.
As for the game, a day shy of December, with the famed sod still suffering the after-effects of severe frost, it was never going to adorn the annals. Adare got a firm grip of the nervy Waterford champions, but failed to strangle the life out of them. As Mullane put it, the Limerick side had one hand on the cup at half-time, when they should have had two.
While the first half was car-crash viewing from a Waterford perspective, after the break De La Salle dug in. Still all seemed lost as Adare extended their lead to seven points. However, when Mullane found the net – after another forward burst by Lee Hayes created panic in the Adare defence – it was as if lead shackles had been freed from their limbs. Incredibly 1-3 was added to De La Salle’s slot on the scoreboard in 100 seconds.
Bryan Phelan got two great points to first break their duck, then maintain their momentum, while TG4’s man-of-the-match, Kevin Moran was immense at centre-back. What a year he’s had, having started 2008 by captaining WIT to the Fitzgibbon Cup.
But several of their lesser lights emerged unsung heroes too. Corner-back Michael Doherty was resilience personified, with the injured Stephen Daniels and Seamus Richardson showing adding immeasurably to the effort at the back and up front when introduced.
Overall, however, it was a 32-man triumph. Teams might win games, but panels win championships.
Before his goal, the captain, by his own admission, had been having a bit of a nightmare; everything he hit up to then going awry. One of those days – on this of all days.
But Mullane’s head never dropped, he kept trying: something Waterford fans have seen since last spring, when, don’t forget, he scored a hat-trick against Dublin and carried that form into and all through the championship.
He could well be back in Thurles to collect the Munster Hurler of the Year Award this Saturday, and is the people’s choice – for all that’s worth – as county captain. Hard to believe that six years ago he contemplated quitting the game altogether. Again, he stuck at it. His point from way out on the far left flank was Mullane at his mercurial, inspirational best. They weren’t going to lose after that. We thought they were dead and buried. But De La Salle, and not just nowadays, never say die.
