IF MOST HURLERS are eased into senior club championship action, Ronan Lynch’s first outing saw him flung into the deep end.
February 2014. Semple Stadium. An All-Ireland club semi-final against the might of Galway’s Portumna.
Sink or swim time for a 17-year-old and the minor fact of having a celebrated defender like Ollie Canning for company.
If Na Piarsaigh ultimately succumbed to a four-point loss, Lynch managed to stay afloat and weighed in with three points, including a brace of sparkling sideline cuts.
“Later on in the year (2013), after they won the Munster club, Sean Stack who was manager at the time, had a word with me and my parents,” recalls Lynch.
“He said ‘look, you can come in if you want, and it’s no hassle if you don’t’. So the door was open, and I said I might as well give it a go at that stage.
“For a young fella to go in senior, it is a big step up, particularly physically. I was always tall but I was a little bit slight in frame. It’s important to take your time and go in when you’re ready.
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“The first game I played was against Portumna. It was great, like, and a very exciting time.
“I was marking (Ollie) Canning for a while anyway, so it was a nice baptism of fire. I spent the first 15 minutes warming my hands, it was an absolutely horrible day below in Thurles.
Portumna hurling stalwart Ollie Canning James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“I can remember standing inside in the corner, and I just couldn’t feel my fingers. I was praying to get into the game somehow. I moved out around the field, got on a couple of balls, but unfortunately we lost.
“In fairness it was a good memory for me, because of the excitement involved with your first senior game with the club.
“Being involved when you’re younger in older teams, there’s no pressure on you, no responsibility, you just go and play. It was exciting that I was just let slip in under the radar, it was nice.”
The good times have kept rolling on since. Na Piarsaigh charged through Limerick and Munster in the winter of 2015 with Lynch manning the centre-back berth.
By the following March he was an All-Ireland club winner while still a teenager and now is back contesting a AIB Munster senior final this Sunday against Ballygunner.
Ronan Lynch celebrates the 2016 All-Ireland senior club hurling final victory. Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO
Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO / INPHO
“People definitely understand that it’s a very profitable and successful time for us. The attitude is that we need to make hay while the sun shines.
“That’s completely down to the work that’s being done in the club. As long as that work continues to go on, then I can see the success continuing.
“Now other clubs will have plenty to say about that as well because the Limerick championship is very competitive. Patrickswell or Kilmallock could win in any given year as well.
“But the work that has gone on in Na Piarsaigh over the last ten years has been incredible. The work is being done and that will translate to senior success no matter what club you’re in.”
The42 has just published its first book, Behind The Lines, a collection of some of the year’s best sports stories. Pick up your copy in Eason’s, or order it here today (€10):
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A senior club debut... at 17... in an All-Ireland semi-final... and marking Ollie Canning
IF MOST HURLERS are eased into senior club championship action, Ronan Lynch’s first outing saw him flung into the deep end.
February 2014. Semple Stadium. An All-Ireland club semi-final against the might of Galway’s Portumna.
Sink or swim time for a 17-year-old and the minor fact of having a celebrated defender like Ollie Canning for company.
If Na Piarsaigh ultimately succumbed to a four-point loss, Lynch managed to stay afloat and weighed in with three points, including a brace of sparkling sideline cuts.
“Later on in the year (2013), after they won the Munster club, Sean Stack who was manager at the time, had a word with me and my parents,” recalls Lynch.
“He said ‘look, you can come in if you want, and it’s no hassle if you don’t’. So the door was open, and I said I might as well give it a go at that stage.
“For a young fella to go in senior, it is a big step up, particularly physically. I was always tall but I was a little bit slight in frame. It’s important to take your time and go in when you’re ready.
“The first game I played was against Portumna. It was great, like, and a very exciting time.
“I was marking (Ollie) Canning for a while anyway, so it was a nice baptism of fire. I spent the first 15 minutes warming my hands, it was an absolutely horrible day below in Thurles.
“I can remember standing inside in the corner, and I just couldn’t feel my fingers. I was praying to get into the game somehow. I moved out around the field, got on a couple of balls, but unfortunately we lost.
“In fairness it was a good memory for me, because of the excitement involved with your first senior game with the club.
“Being involved when you’re younger in older teams, there’s no pressure on you, no responsibility, you just go and play. It was exciting that I was just let slip in under the radar, it was nice.”
The good times have kept rolling on since. Na Piarsaigh charged through Limerick and Munster in the winter of 2015 with Lynch manning the centre-back berth.
By the following March he was an All-Ireland club winner while still a teenager and now is back contesting a AIB Munster senior final this Sunday against Ballygunner.
“People definitely understand that it’s a very profitable and successful time for us. The attitude is that we need to make hay while the sun shines.
“That’s completely down to the work that’s being done in the club. As long as that work continues to go on, then I can see the success continuing.
“Now other clubs will have plenty to say about that as well because the Limerick championship is very competitive. Patrickswell or Kilmallock could win in any given year as well.
“But the work that has gone on in Na Piarsaigh over the last ten years has been incredible. The work is being done and that will translate to senior success no matter what club you’re in.”
The42 has just published its first book, Behind The Lines, a collection of some of the year’s best sports stories. Pick up your copy in Eason’s, or order it here today (€10):
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Ballygunner Munster Na Piarsaigh Ronan Lynch Limerick