TWO GAMES INTO the 2009 National League, the Waterford footballers were unbeaten and flying high in Division 4 as they travelled across the Irish Sea to face London.
The trip was an umitigated disaster. They lost by a point, 0-9 to 0-8, and the brief euphoria of two good results was knocked out of their sails. At the final whistle, London barely celebrated. The clenched fists and pats on the back indicated they fully expected a victory.
Former Waterford manager John Kiely, who was at the helm in 2009. Donall Farmer / INPHO
Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO
Arriving home in Cork Airport was a painful experience for the Deise.
‘You could see people pointing at us when we flew back into Cork Airport,” goalkeeper Tommy Wall recalled in Damian Lawlor’s excellent book, Working on a Dream: A Year on the Road with Waterford Footballers.
“You don’t have to be a genuis to know what they were saying. There’s Waterford. London beat them yesterday.”
But it was about to get worse. As the team collected their baggage from the carousel, one wise guy couldn’t resist a dig.
“Jesus, lads, what were ye doing? Beaten by London!” he remarked, loudly enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear.
Most of the players kept their counsel, until, Lawlor writes, somebody piped up from the back of the group.
“Sure what the fuck did you expect? Don’t they have the pick of 10 million people.”
You could only laugh.
Tom O'Gorman is tackled by John Hayes of Carbery Rangers. Ken Sutton / INPHO
Ken Sutton / INPHO / INPHO
Despite all the shortcomings of the county’s footballers, the club scene within the county has become a relatively strong one.
Between 1965 (when the competition began) and 2003, the Waterford champions made it to the Munster SFC club final three times. Today, a Waterford team will contest the provincial final for the fifth time since 2004.
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The Nire, who take on Dr Crokes in Mallow at 3.30pm (live on TG4), are appearing in their third final in the last decade. Waterford are the only county in the province who haven’t lifted the senior provincial title, but The Nire have come closest to ending the drought.
Munster club winners by county
Cork clubs: 26 titles, last winners – Nemo Rangers, 2010
Kerry clubs: 14 titles, last winners - Austin Stacks, 2014
Clare clubs: 3 titles, last winners - Kilmurry Ibrickane, 2009
Limerick clubs: 2 titles, last winners - Dromcollogher-Broadford, 2008
Tipperary clubs: 1 title, last winners – Clonmel Commercials, 2015
In 2006, they spilled two goals inside the opening 11 minutes to Dr Crokes, but the Killarney club ended up holding on for dear life at the finale.
Crokes, who battled a strong gale in the second-half, scored just a single point after 15 minutes, and that was the game steadying score in the 60th minute.
Players from both The Nire and Dr Crokes get involved in a scuffle in the 2006 Munster final. Donall Farmer / INPHO
Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO
The Nire dominated the second-half and if Shane Walsh’s powerful strike on goal went under the bar instead of narrowly over in the dying minutes, the outcome might have been a different one.
Two years ago in the final against Austin Stacks, The Nire bolted out of the traps to lead by 1-3 to no score inside eight minutes. On 14 minutes, Stacks lost Shane Carroll to a red card. The Kerry champions looked in serious trouble.
But two gift-wrapped goals, one either side of half-time handed Stacks the initiative. The Nire were left to rue 12 wides, including a couple of really poor misses, as the Tralee club lifted their first Munster crown since 1976.
Stradbally lost a Munster final to Kilmurry Ibrickane by a point after a replay in 2004, while in 2007 Ballinacourty ran Nemo Rangers to within three points in the provincial decider. Nemo would lose to St Vincent’s by a single point in the All-Ireland club final the following spring.
So Waterford clubs have been knocking on the door for quite some time. The question is: Who will finally break that door down?
If The Nire are looking for inspiration, they need only look towards the parish’s ladies football team - Ballymacarbry. Winners of 10 All-Ireland club titles, they went unbeaten in the country between 1988 and 1996.
The hurling club in the parish is called Fourmilewater. Confused? We’ll break it down.
In beautifully scenic Nire valley, the three separate clubs sit within a six-mile radius. Rubbing shoulders with the football hot-bed of south-Tipperary, the parish provides players to all three clubs, each of which retains their own identity. But loyalty binds each club together as one.
“It would make financial sense for The Nire and Fourmilewater to join under the one name,” Christy O’Connor wrote in 2014, “but they have two lottos going and they didn’t want to lose an allocation of tickets for big matches.”
The Fourmilewater senior hurlers and The Nire footballers have the same management – with Benji Whelan in charge of both.
The Nire's hurling and football manager Benji Whelan. Ken Sutton / INPHO
Ken Sutton / INPHO / INPHO
It’s estimated there are only about 200 houses in the area, but they continue to produce inter-county players. Tommy Wall (who played the Waterford’s ’09 defeat to London), Tom O’Gorman, Brian Wall, Liam Lawlor and Shane Walsh have all represented the Deise’s senior footballers.
Walsh famously scored the goal that shellshocked Kerry in the 2003 Munster U21 final.
Brian Wall, Lawlor and Walsh were Munster senior hurling medalists with Waterford in the past, while Jamie Barron is the current All-Star hurling midfielder. Conor Gleeson is a senior hurling panelist who won an U21 All-Ireland title with Waterford. He’s also an outstanding footballer.
“Conor Gleeson is a serious player for us and if he was down in Kerry, he’d probably be on Kerry teams,” Jamie Barron said recently.
This is a team with sharp survival instincts. They turned around a six-point deficit to seal an extra-time win over Cork’s Carbery Rangers in the semi-final, to seal a repeat clash with Crokes.
“You’d be quietly confident,” Barron said ahead of the final. “You wouldn’t be going around saying ‘we’ll beat Dr Crokes’ but you have to think they can be beaten.”
This is a steely group who won’t be overawed by the occasion.
When The Nire won the county title in 2008, Kieran Donaghy presented the squad with their medals. Six years later, he lined for Stacks against them in the Munster final.
The men from the valley have come a long way. Beat Dr Crokes today, and they’ve officially arrived at the big-time.
*************
Munster SFC club final: Dr Crokes v The Nire, Mallow, 3.30pm [Live on TG4]
*************
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The men from the valley eyeing Dr Crokes scalp as they attempt to scale new heights
TWO GAMES INTO the 2009 National League, the Waterford footballers were unbeaten and flying high in Division 4 as they travelled across the Irish Sea to face London.
The trip was an umitigated disaster. They lost by a point, 0-9 to 0-8, and the brief euphoria of two good results was knocked out of their sails. At the final whistle, London barely celebrated. The clenched fists and pats on the back indicated they fully expected a victory.
Arriving home in Cork Airport was a painful experience for the Deise.
‘You could see people pointing at us when we flew back into Cork Airport,” goalkeeper Tommy Wall recalled in Damian Lawlor’s excellent book, Working on a Dream: A Year on the Road with Waterford Footballers.
“You don’t have to be a genuis to know what they were saying. There’s Waterford. London beat them yesterday.”
But it was about to get worse. As the team collected their baggage from the carousel, one wise guy couldn’t resist a dig.
“Jesus, lads, what were ye doing? Beaten by London!” he remarked, loudly enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear.
Most of the players kept their counsel, until, Lawlor writes, somebody piped up from the back of the group.
“Sure what the fuck did you expect? Don’t they have the pick of 10 million people.”
You could only laugh.
Despite all the shortcomings of the county’s footballers, the club scene within the county has become a relatively strong one.
Between 1965 (when the competition began) and 2003, the Waterford champions made it to the Munster SFC club final three times. Today, a Waterford team will contest the provincial final for the fifth time since 2004.
The Nire, who take on Dr Crokes in Mallow at 3.30pm (live on TG4), are appearing in their third final in the last decade. Waterford are the only county in the province who haven’t lifted the senior provincial title, but The Nire have come closest to ending the drought.
In 2006, they spilled two goals inside the opening 11 minutes to Dr Crokes, but the Killarney club ended up holding on for dear life at the finale.
Crokes, who battled a strong gale in the second-half, scored just a single point after 15 minutes, and that was the game steadying score in the 60th minute.
The Nire dominated the second-half and if Shane Walsh’s powerful strike on goal went under the bar instead of narrowly over in the dying minutes, the outcome might have been a different one.
Two years ago in the final against Austin Stacks, The Nire bolted out of the traps to lead by 1-3 to no score inside eight minutes. On 14 minutes, Stacks lost Shane Carroll to a red card. The Kerry champions looked in serious trouble.
But two gift-wrapped goals, one either side of half-time handed Stacks the initiative. The Nire were left to rue 12 wides, including a couple of really poor misses, as the Tralee club lifted their first Munster crown since 1976.
Stradbally lost a Munster final to Kilmurry Ibrickane by a point after a replay in 2004, while in 2007 Ballinacourty ran Nemo Rangers to within three points in the provincial decider. Nemo would lose to St Vincent’s by a single point in the All-Ireland club final the following spring.
So Waterford clubs have been knocking on the door for quite some time. The question is: Who will finally break that door down?
If The Nire are looking for inspiration, they need only look towards the parish’s ladies football team - Ballymacarbry. Winners of 10 All-Ireland club titles, they went unbeaten in the country between 1988 and 1996.
The hurling club in the parish is called Fourmilewater. Confused? We’ll break it down.
In beautifully scenic Nire valley, the three separate clubs sit within a six-mile radius. Rubbing shoulders with the football hot-bed of south-Tipperary, the parish provides players to all three clubs, each of which retains their own identity. But loyalty binds each club together as one.
“It would make financial sense for The Nire and Fourmilewater to join under the one name,” Christy O’Connor wrote in 2014, “but they have two lottos going and they didn’t want to lose an allocation of tickets for big matches.”
The Fourmilewater senior hurlers and The Nire footballers have the same management – with Benji Whelan in charge of both.
It’s estimated there are only about 200 houses in the area, but they continue to produce inter-county players. Tommy Wall (who played the Waterford’s ’09 defeat to London), Tom O’Gorman, Brian Wall, Liam Lawlor and Shane Walsh have all represented the Deise’s senior footballers.
Walsh famously scored the goal that shellshocked Kerry in the 2003 Munster U21 final.
Brian Wall, Lawlor and Walsh were Munster senior hurling medalists with Waterford in the past, while Jamie Barron is the current All-Star hurling midfielder. Conor Gleeson is a senior hurling panelist who won an U21 All-Ireland title with Waterford. He’s also an outstanding footballer.
“Conor Gleeson is a serious player for us and if he was down in Kerry, he’d probably be on Kerry teams,” Jamie Barron said recently.
This is a team with sharp survival instincts. They turned around a six-point deficit to seal an extra-time win over Cork’s Carbery Rangers in the semi-final, to seal a repeat clash with Crokes.
“You’d be quietly confident,” Barron said ahead of the final. “You wouldn’t be going around saying ‘we’ll beat Dr Crokes’ but you have to think they can be beaten.”
This is a steely group who won’t be overawed by the occasion.
When The Nire won the county title in 2008, Kieran Donaghy presented the squad with their medals. Six years later, he lined for Stacks against them in the Munster final.
The men from the valley have come a long way. Beat Dr Crokes today, and they’ve officially arrived at the big-time.
*************
Munster SFC club final: Dr Crokes v The Nire, Mallow, 3.30pm [Live on TG4]
*************
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