Ballygunner v Loughrea (Galway)
Sunday 18th January, 1.30pm, Croke Park
All-Ireland Club final day is the one all players dream of. While for a long period of time it was the highlight of St Patrick’s Day, in more recent years it has been played out in the depths of winter at the back end of January. Nonetheless, for clubs this day has lost none of its lustre.
When interviewed, players lucky enough to have featured in one will always reference an All-Ireland club final as either their greatest achievement or their biggest disappointment, depending on the result. You might be cynical about the player dripping with senior inter-county medals and All-Stars citing their club title as their greatest achievement. To be fair, when you spend time in the company of these players, you begin to appreciate that the medal won playing beside the kids you grew up with, or on the same team as your brother, cousin or uncle, really matters more.
The Ballygunner Senior Hurling Team. Photos: Noel Browne
For Ballygunner, this Sunday has added meaning. To win a club All-Ireland is really special; few get to experience that feeling. To win a second elevates you to an even higher plane. The names of clubs to have won multiple club All-Irelands are easily recognisable: Ballyhale Shamrocks, Birr, Portumna, Athenry, Blackrock, James Stephens, St Finbarr’s and St Thomas’s of Galway among them all household names. Great clubs with great players: Henry Shefflin, TJ Reid, Brian Whelahan, Joe Canning, Fran Larkin, Eoin Larkin, Jimmy Barry-Murphy and David Burke.
This Sunday, Ballygunner are aiming to join this illustrious list of clubs and players. The twelve-in-a-row Waterford champions have annexed six Munster Club titles, including four from the last five, and an All-Ireland club title in 2022.
Ballygunner have continued to cut through the local championship like a scythe through wheat. The Gunners’ progress to the Munster club stage is the envy of their provincial rivals. Ballygunner’s winning margins in the Waterford championship continue to be comfortably in double-digit territory, with Mount Sion suffering a 22-point hammering in this season’s county final.
Ballygunner’s Munster campaign this year has been their most impressive. Limerick champions Na Piarsaigh, Cork’s Sarsfields and a Shane O’Donnell-led Éire Óg Ennis were all conquered.
St Martin’s, the Wexford champions, provided stiff resistance for around 35 minutes last time out, but the strength in depth of the Waterford title holders ultimately proved the difference. The input of Mark Hartley off the bench was immense and while there is no diminution in the supremacy of Pauric Mahony, here is the heir apparent to his number 11 jersey.
Jason Ryan has taken over the reins at McGinn Park this year and no doubt hopes to emulate the achievements of Darragh O’Sullivan and company back in 2022. Ryan has plenty of big-game experience at Croke Park, having managed both Wexford and Kildare at the Jones Road venue.
Ryan has also largely continued with the existing Ballygunner game plan. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. The strategy is well rehearsed at this stage. Stephen O’Keeffe is a key instigator of all that is good about Ballygunner. The former All-Star directs traffic with precision and, like Nicky Quaid, is a pivotal proponent of the team process. Philip Mahony will occupy the space in front of Aaron O’Neill, Ian Kenny and Tadhg Foley. Paddy Leavey frequently operates as a second centre-back, with both Harry Ruddle and Ronan Power running the channels in defence and attack. Conor Sheahan is the more attacking of the two in the middle, with both Mikey Mahony and Peter Hogan given the freedom to play either side of the halfway line.
Pauric Mahony will man the ’40’, assessing where the opposition defence is most vulnerable and taking advantage. Inside, Ballygunner have the difference-makers, most notably county stars Dessie Hutchinson and Patrick Fitzgerald in the corners, while Kevin Mahony can operate inside or further out the field if required. Doubts exist around the fitness of Patrick Fitzgerald, but with a supporting cast of Mark Hartley, Conor Tobin, Conor Power and Eoin Cuddihy, there are plenty of options if required.
Since Dessie Hutchinson returned to Ballygunner following his dalliance with soccer, in every championship game he has either been man of the match or firmly in contention – I kid you not. I doubt your local turf accountant will even offer you odds on another Crystal trophy for Dessie this Sunday. Ballygunner may have enough hurlers to field two senior teams, but they have none better than Dessie Hutchinson. Big players win big games.
Ballygunner play a possession-based game which requires a very high level of skill, one generally associated with county teams. Their ability to retain possession and play through the lines until the right opportunity arises before feeding their inside killers is the hallmark of this team. Accuracy in passing and the athleticism required to create overloads around possession set the Waterford kingpins apart.
In American football, it is often said that winning is more about the Jimmys and the Joes than the Xs and Os. A team may have a great system, but it is the players who execute that system who make the difference between winning and losing.
At this stage, winning Waterford and Munster titles is par for Ballygunner. Winning a second All-Ireland club title is the definition of success. More wants more. It takes a great team to win an All-Ireland club. It requires a dynasty to win more than one.
BRIAN FLANNERY
