ON THE SAME weekend two years ago, there were no fewer than nine clubs still in contention to do a double of football and hurling titles in their county.
Kilmacud Crokes and Na Fianna of Dublin, Naas in Kildare, Ratoath in Meath, Derry had perennial double-chasers Slaughtneil. Moycullen were at it in Galway. St Finbarr’s in Cork, Upperchurch-Drombane in Tipperary and Clare’s Eire Óg Ennis.
Not all of them had a realistic chance of securing glory on two fronts, but the fact there were so many even in with a chance was significant.
Taken in the context of what happened the year before, you might even see it as a pattern emerging.
In 2021, Loughmore Castleiney (Tipperary), Naas, St Eunan’s (Donegal) and Kilmacud Crokes all achieved a domestic double in football and hurling.
Three years on and the signs of wear and tear aren’t there for Loughmore Castleiney, KIlmacud Crokes, or even the likes of Derry’s Slaughtneil or Cratloe in Clare.
The Tipperary club are in action this weekend on Sunday against Moyle Rovers in the first of a football semi finals double header at Cashel.
One week on, and they have Toomevara in the hurling decider. The double is no stranger to them, having done it in 2013 and 2021.
What made the 2021 wins so impressive was the sheer hunger of their large crossover of players, which includes the McGrath clan, in coming back from the previous year’s final defeats, hurling by two points and football by the bare minimum.
Cratloe have serious pedigree too, having secured the double in 2014.
Their crossover includes Podge and Sean Collins, Conor McGrath. Cathal McInerney, Conor Ryan who has made an impressive recovery from the sickness that kept him out for a few seasons, and Diarmuid Ryan who was such a big force for the Clare hurlers in winning Liam MacCarthy.
Their first ever county titles have arrived recently, with hurling in 2009 and 2014 and football in 2013 and 2014.
They’ve also known the other side of it in losing the 2018 and 2019 hurling finals and 2016 and 2020 in football. Winning last year’s football was a big moment for them.
Back to this weekend.
One of the dual clubs in Dublin will not survive the weekend, as Kilmacud Crokes face last year’s champions, Na Fianna in the semi final. However, neither are heavily reliant on a player crossover, with only Donal Ryan and Conor McHugh of Na Fianna serving two masters.
Slaughtneil beat Kevin Lynchs in the Derry hurling semi final last weekend and now face Lavey in the football quarter final on Sunday in Owenbeg.
Naas are on course for a double-double. The hurlers face Confey in the semi final this weekend and have Brian Byrne, James Burke and Daire Guerin involved in both.
Such sporting ecumenism is to be applauded.
You get a sense that the National Hurling Development Committee missed a trick by not installing Colm Collins. His double-jobbing of Clare footballers and Caratloe has been scaled back to just the club now, but he is the ultimate facilitator of both codes.
“I’m in a part of the country where there are loads of places where there is no time for football, they don’t want to see football and so on,” he says.
“But if people are bigoted and entrenched in their views, that’s their problem. That is really their issue.”
Collins originally came from Kilmihil, which is football country. When he built a house in Cratloe, the club were gaining what many felt would have been football specialists. It worked out better than they could ever have hoped.
“We were welcomed into the parish the same as if we were the hurling people. We were encouraged to help the underage football and we very much felt part and parcel of the parish from the start,” Collins recalls.
“And it paid off in dividends in the sense that all of the lads ended up playing hurling as well and you’d like to think they would have helped in some way in our success in hurling too.
“But there are good people in any club. Then, there are people who would cause trouble in paradise. They are not happy if there isn’t some kind of needle going on.
“I understand there are areas with a huge tradition in one or the other. And I would never say Cratloe are a football club without mentioning hurling. But at least let children try out both codes, if they have moved in from other areas. Be as welcoming as everybody else.”
What Collins finds is the regular games leaves the panel of players refreshed but also battle-hardened.
This weekend they have Feakle in the county hurling semi final and then Kilmurry-Ibrickane in football the week after.
He and hurling manager John O’Gorman have the strength and conditioning coach Oscar O’Dwyer working with both panels.
Refreshingly, he has never had a hurling manager throwing his weight around and making demands because of the skills required in the small ball code.
“The way I feel on this is very simple. If you have people, good people, in charge of teams, well then good people will always put what the players want first,” says Collins.
“If you always put what is good for the players first, you won’t make a mistake. And the players want to play the two codes, they want to play the two codes.
“So you put them first and make sure that whatever they want, is what happens. Then you will never have hassle.
“Where you will have hassle is where big egos take over and they bull in and want to do it their way or the highway and that’s where hassle happens.”
This week, the Cratloe players had their hurleys out and were getting their eye in. Their path to this stage has not been simple. They were going out of the group stages earlier this summer when they were playing Kilmaley.
Up by two points, they needed to win by three to survive. Kilmaley had a sideline cut with the final play of the game. Conor McGrath intercepted the ball, turned and flung over from the sideline. Heroics.
Here’s that last gasp Conor McGrath point for Cratloe in the Clare Senior Hurling Championship, two up, they needed to win by three or it was bust.
— Tommy Rooney (@TomasORuanaidh) September 8, 2024
Intercepts the sideline, touch, turn, snap.
Siobhán O’Gorman (as always😂) captures the magic 🎥 @CratloeGAAClub pic.twitter.com/kPbP3oo3KY
The football focus and pursuit of the Jack Daly Cup will have to wait until next Tuesday night, when Collins has access to the players.
“So my session next week will have to be on it,” he says.
“There will be no waste of time anyway. And we will cover every last thing we need to cover and please God we will be prepared for our semi final next weekend.”
