Fergal Hartley gets the better of four Newtownshandrum players in their Munster final meeting in December 2005, a game which the Corkmen agonisingly won by a single point.
It wasn’t always so. Just as witnessing our inter-county side hurl at Croke Park was a pleasure denied a generation of Waterford supporters, cheering on our club champions on Munster final day was hardly an occasion we were bred on.
But look at how that has changed this past decade thanks to the exploits of Mount Sion, De La Salle and, again this Sunday, the men of Ballygunner.
It’s a reminder to those beyond our boundary that hurling in this county is in excellent condition, thus eliminating the danger of Davy Fitz’s men disappearing into the reject bin any time soon.
Anyone that loves sport is brought up on tales of heroes from a bygone age, of men equipped with battering ram-like torsos while blessed with the wrists of a great Renaissance artist.
For Portlaw folk, that brings greats like John Galvin, the much missed Mossie Whelan and the incomparable Tom Cheasty to mind, heroes to anyone with a grá for the Tannery Town club.
In years to come, Mount Sion men will talk of the legendary Ken McGrath, in De La Salle they’ll talk of the heroic John Mullane while in Ballygunner, the names Hartley and Flynn shall be deservedly immortalised.
The men of today will, in time, stand as tall as the greats of bygone eras, be the Liam MacCarthy Cup won or otherwise.
For they have brought such pride and provided such entertainment not only for their fellow countyfolk, but for the game as a whole, that their names will justly belong in nostalgic lights.
But there’s some hurling to be played yet by many of those heroic men, with Sunday next in Thurles a case in point.
To see both Fergal Hartley and Paul Flynn lining out in yet another Munster final are two good reasons why Waterford hurling fans other than those from Ballygunner should travel in numbers to Semple Stadium.
The 2005 final between the Gunners and Newtownshandrum in Thurles was a superb tussle, full of end-to-end hurling under a wet December sun, a day when Fergal Hartley produced a sublime performance.
Indeed, that display may yet come to rank as his greatest, and that’s saying something when one looks back at Fergal’s magnificent club and inter-county career.
With a mind operating at lightning pace, Hartley’s positional sense is without equal when one looks back at the past quarter century of Waterford hurling.
Indeed, in the history of the game, Hartley deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the Deise’s greatest ever defender, John Keane in terms of longevity, in terms of service and in terms of all-round quality.
That dramatic afternoon in Semple four winters ago; one particular photograph exemplified Hartley’s brilliance, bravery and will to win.
With three Newtownshadrum players to his left and one to his right, Fergal stands alone in the snap, hurl in his right hand and sliothar in his left. That single shot captured Hartley’s performance that dramatic afternoon – flawless, majestic and inspirational.
And then there’s Paul Flynn, the greatest attacking talent this county has produced in decades, who has been in terrific form for his club throughout 2009.
Flynn produced some wonderful flicks and jinks against Cratloe, paving the way for speedier forwards such as Brian O’Sullivan and Steven Power to plunder from.
As has long been the case, Flynn’s greatest talent lies in his supremely subtle wristwork, underlining his skill as a provider as well as marksman.
His shooting-eye is as laser guided now as it has ever been and five years after his wonder goal against Cork in the greatest Munster final of them all, only a fool would suggest he won’t be influential next Sunday.
So if hurling makes your heart skip a beat, if watching two of our greatest ever players line out in another showpiece at Semple is your cup of tea, there’s only one place to be on Sunday.
Throw the quality of the Gunners’ opposition into account and it’s difficult to see how this tie can disappoint. And how fantastic it would be were Sunday next in Thurles to provide us with another red (and black) letter day for club hurling in Waterford.
