Power gunning for glory in final

PAUL POWER’S record of service to Ballygunner over the years has been phenomenal.

There are higher profile players in the club, but when it comes to consistency and commitment he has few equals.

For more than a dozen years the Granstown farmer has been an ever- present for the Gunners.

No surprise at all then that he is looking forward to Sunday’s Waterford hurling county final showdown with Mount Sion with all the eagerness and enthusiasm of a debutant.

He won his first senior championship medal in 1992 and has been in the county final winning teams of 1995, 96, and 97,99, and last year when they went on to win Munster championship glory for an historic first time.

His contribution to each of those thrilling victories was immense, and in many ways he has been one of the Gunners unsung heroes without whom the glories of the past decade just might not have come to pass.

He made his senior championship debut in the red-and-black as a teenager in 1989, and in addition to five more senior title wins he has also won three under-21 county titles, Munster and All-Ireland under-21 medals in 1992, an All-Ireland Sevens in 1993 (when he was the top scorer overall), and an All-Ireland Agricultural Colleges championship with Kildalton College, when his midfield partner was a certain Charlie Carter.

He has also served the county with distinction in several grades and made his senior inter-county championship debut against Limerick in 1996.

His direct opponent that day was Ollie Moran who, coincidentally, was also making his debut for the Shannonsiders.

One of the proudest moments for him came when he was named as Waterford’s Hurler Of The Year in 1996.

Reflecting on Sunday’s mouthwatering decider against Mount Sion, Power is the first to acknowledge the enormity of the task that awaits them in defence, not just of their county title but also their provincial crown won so magnificently in last December’s unforgettable final against the might of Cork’s Blackrock.

“We weren’t really tested against Ballyduff Upper in the first round, or Tallow in the second, but it was all very different against Lismore in the semi-final,” he said. “The truth of the matter is that Lismore should have beaten us.”

Reflecting on Sunday’s decider, Power believes it is a game that will require mental and physical toughness in equal measure. “It will be the survival of the fittest in every sense,” he says.

Hurling is steeped in Power’s blood. His first cousin is the Gunners full-back Alan Kirwan, and he is a nephew of Big’ John Kirwan of Butlerstown, who gave so many years of sterling service to club and county.

Indeed, he takes a rather special pride in the fact that three of his uncles, John, Tony and Martin Kirwan, all played on the same Waterford minor hurling team.

A farmer neighbour of his is the great Tom Cheasty, a man he will tell you with obvious pride has been a hero of his since childhood. “Tom has been a great motivating factor throughout my career,” says Paul.

The story doesn’t end there. Paul’s girlfriend is Catherine Hickey from Dunamaggin, whose brother Noel was one of the heroes of Kilkenny’s march to All-Ireland glory this year, and in whose home there are literally a bucketful of championship medals.