Crafty O’Connor ready for the Gunfire

IF the men who made the first hurleys were to see the speed and expertise with which Bernie O’Connor shapes and prepares a hurley today, they would be gob-smacked.

In seconds, literally, fingers often coming within millimetres of the lethal blade of the powerful band-saw, the rough template is cut to the O’Connor shape; switch of work-station, over to the power-planer, sides ripped down, smoothed, then rounded off before being tossed onto the next station for sanding.

It is all a far cry from the hard labour of the early days, “fellas tearing at them with bits of glass, the whole lot,” laughs Bernie.

Well, if the men who formed the first Newtownshandrum hurling team were to see the 2005 model of the boys in green-and-gold, as shaped and prepared by the same Bernie O’Connor, they would be even more gob-smacked.

A smooth but powerful well-oiled machine, playing as a unit, with a unique possession-based style that has been developed between manager and players over nearly 15 years, Newtownshandrum have become a powerhouse in club hurling.

After three U21 county titles in succession (1998/99/2000), they made the senior breakthrough in 2000, won it again in 2003, crowning that with Munster and All-Ireland honours. They won in Cork again this year, and on Sunday, attempt to win their second Munster club title in three years.

But, is he satisfied? Yes, to a point.

“I am happy with progress this year. I thought our county final display was very good, and against Thurles Sars (Munster semi-final), after a bad start, we played very well and finished very strongly.

“But the way I look at it, this Newtown team needs to win about five county titles and three or four All-Irelands to be considered one of the great club teams and match the likes of Birr. That’s what every team should aspire to.”

It is that kind of attitude that has made this Newtown team. Don’t wait for others to raise the bar; do it yourself. Set your own goals, and meet them. Ballygunner, a club with their own high expectations, provide the latest challenge. Given their dominance (with Mount Sion) in Waterford over the past decade or more, they command respect from Newtown.

“Going back three or four years ago, we played them in a challenge and the Gunners gave Newtown the greatest hammering I’ve ever seen them to get. Hopefully we’re a bit better than we were then, but we’d want to keep that game in mind,” says O’Connor.

At this stage, everyone in hurling knows the Newtownshandrum big names, Bernie’s twin sons Ben and Jerry, centre-back Pat Mulcahy, All-Stars all, with Jerry recently named as Hurler of the Year.

The Gunners too, however, have their big names. “Well if you leave Paul Flynn hanging around, he’d beat you on his own,” reckons Bernie. “Andy Moloney has played inter-county hurling for Tipp and Waterford, and there is Fergal Hartley at centre-back and the O’Sullivans. They are a seasoned team, but that’s what you expect from the opposition, when you reach a Munster final.”

Biggest gun of all, however, is the aforementioned Paul Flynn. Blistering power in his shot, also able to work the ball, left, right, dipping, any free conceded inside 30 metres is potentially a goal. Against Sars, Newtown were uncharacteristically ill-disciplined, to the point where they were accused of being dirty. Bernie is aware of the danger, but doesn’t reckon there will be a repeat performance.

“We were trying to play a game that was totally alien to us, I thought we were too aggressive and it upset us, until we got ourselves organised again. I don’t know why; we hadn’t trained like that, it was just something that happened. Maybe it was because we’re training in a field where the ball hops, then we went onto a field where the ball just flops, no bounce, and suddenly you’re in a situation where you have to stand and dig it out. In some of those situations, where the ball wasn’t hopping, fellas were just letting fly, legs in the way, that sort of thing, but I don’t believe any of the lads went out there to hurt anyone.

“Certainly, if we give away frees inside 30 yards, you’re looking at goals, and that will be a crucial consideration for our full-back line; if they give away close-in frees, we’re in trouble. We’re trying to make sure it doesn’t happen, but you can’t legislate for what happens on the day. You hear people saying, cut out the fouls; you can’t cut out the fouls. You can do your best to limit them, but a referee can blow a free that you might think isn’t a free at all. It happens, but if it happens inside 30 yards, we’re in trouble.”

Discipline, then, will be key, and rest assured that will have been drilled home to them before Sunday. If it works, the Newtown machine will continue to roll; fail, and they will find themselves in the firing line.