Busy Toome braced for fierce Erin’s Own battle

THESE are busy times for Toomevara GAA PRO Tommy Shanahan.

This Sunday the club contests its fifth Munster club final of the last 13 years, facing Cork champions Erin’s Own in the Gaelic Grounds, Limerick, while tomorrow evening, Toomevara launches an ambitious development programme for the next couple of years.

On and off the field then, Tommy is fielding the questions. First up, is tomorrow’s launch which will be performed by Tomás Mulcahy, the former All-Star from Cork, at 8.30 pm, in the parish hall. Phase 1 of the plan will cost about €700,000, and will consist of new dressing-rooms, state-of-the-art facilities including physiotherapy rooms, hydrotherapy rooms and catering areas.

“The work scheduled to start in February 2007, will be finished — hopefully — by next September. That will be followed by Phase 2, we’re building a hurling alley, floodlit pitches, electronic scoreboard, so it’s been busy lately.

“We’ve produced a very good brochure which has been distributed around the parish, letting people know exactly what’s involved, so there’s a lot of work gone into it.”

They already have a fine facility in Toomevara, but with a growing catchment area, growing expectations, they need to keep pace with demand and this is perfectly timed, to coincide with their latest attempt at hurling’s Mount Everest — the All-Ireland Club title. Twice before Toomevara have come out of Munster, in 1993 and 2004, but the ultimate honour has evaded them, a two-point defeat by Sarsfields of Galway in the final of 1993/94 the nearest they’ve come. This year no stone is being left unturned in their preparations, as they ready themselves for the upcoming battle with the Brian Corcoran-inspired Erin’s Own.

They have no floodlit pitch of their own, as noted above, but as team manager Pat Herbert explains, that hasn’t proved a hindrance.

“We’re training in Dr Morris Park in Thurles, and there are three pitches under lights, owned by the County Board, and that’s fantastic for us, you can play full matches.”

Last night they held their last heavy session before Sunday’s match, and for some, it was a dual-purpose affair, training session and fitness test.

“Paddy O’Brien (injury-time goal-scoring hero of the county final win) hasn’t done a full session since the Ballyduff game. He went off injured in the Munster quarter-final win over the Kerry champions, didn’t play the last day at all, against Mount Sion.

“Michael Bevans (corner-forward) came off injured against Mount Sion, and he’s still carrying that injury and didn’t do the two full sessions last Saturday and Sunday. Benny Dunne (centre-back) came off with a knee injury right on the full-time whistle against Mount Sion and he didn’t train either last Saturday, but did half of Sunday’s session.

“We will have a light workout on Saturday and if all goes okay Roger (Ryan), Neil (Williams) and myself will sit down tomorrow to pick the team. If not, we’ll leave it ‘till Saturday,” Herbert said.

Given the form of the Cork champions, the manner in which they disposed of the challenge of a highly-rated Wolfe Tones (Clare) team, Pat is hopeful that all three of his major injury concerns will be available.

“Absolutely, Erin’s Own are a very strong side. We’re already without last year’s captain, Padraig Hackett. He only got the plaster off last Tuesday week from the leg-break he suffered in the county final win over Mullinahone, he was our wing-back that day. John Boland, the corner-back, is another player out, he did his cruciate ligament three months ago, so those are two big losses. We don’t want to lose anyone else.”€

Given the storm-like conditions in which they played in the semi-final win over Mount Sion, he is also hoping for a break in the weather.

“We had the Gaelic Grounds inspected this morning and it’s very wet after all the rain. I’m looking at the forecast for the next few days and that doesn’t look too good either. We’ve already been through that with Mount Sion, but we adjusted to it. We had trained in heavy conditions for the two weeks before that, so we were prepared. Hopefully it won’t be as bad again. It could spoil the game, even though the Mount Sion game was a very good match despite the conditions, very intense, well contested, good hurling.

“Our guys are up for it and Erin’s Own are up for it too, by all accounts. But the advantage they have is that any Cork team that comes out, the whole county rows in behind them.”