In defying the bookies’ odds by beating Limerick and Munster champions Na Piarsaigh in the All-Ireland Club SHC semi-final at Parnell Park on Saturday, Loughgiel Shamrocks didn’t just win the right to contest the All-Ireland final on St Patrick’s Day, they also won respect for Antrim hurling.
And that respect, according to manager PJ O’Mullan, is long overdue.
"Our hurling ability is never doubted, I think anyone watching this, our players, their hooking and blocking — they’re as good as any team from anywhere else in Ireland," he said.
"Maybe it’s just that we’re not seen as often as other teams but hopefully now that we’re on the big stage we will get seen, the boys will go out and do themselves justice again."
One of the many who stood out was Liam Watson, a phenomenal 16 points to his name by game’s end, but all of the Loughgiel players, says Liam, are determined to make this a year to remember for the north Antrim club.
"We had the Ireland song [Ireland’s Call] playing in the bus," Watson said.
"We mentioned it three times in the dressing room [before extra-time]. Standing tall — that’s what it’s all about. We’re a team, together, we came up to Dublin to win this. We’ll go and party for a few days now, it will be hot and heavy, but we’re back training next Saturday — we had training already prepared for Saturday morning."
That’s confidence for you, real belief, and perhaps that, rather than the absence of belief from outside, is what has kept Antrim teams — club and county — in the shadows. Not the case in Loughgiel this year and, even against Na Piarsaigh they had readied themselves to go the extra mile.
"We had prepared for an 80-minute match. We knew it could go to extra-time," said O’Mullan. "That’s one thing about Na Piarsaigh, they’ve been finishing their games very strongly in Munster, even in their own championship."
As for the final opposition?
"It’s funny but we fancied Coolderry back in September to win Leinster. We knew it wasn’t beyond the realms, especially when the Kilkenny champions were beaten. They’re big. They’re strong. They’re physical. But look, it’s a final; Antrim and Offaly have a great tradition.
"We’ll prepare well and if those boys go out with the same frame of mind as against Na Piarsaigh — all you can ask is that they do their best, and they always give it."
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, February 14, 2012
