Portumna at peak of powers

IF YOU were building a prototype forward line in hurling you could hardly do better than the current Portumna sextet.

Size, power, intelligence and hurling up the middle in centre-forward Kevin ‘Chunky’ Hayes and Joe Canning on the edge of the square; searing pace and good accuracy on the flanks, with Andy Quinn and Niall Hayes on the wings, Damien Hayes and David Canning inside.

The challenge for manager Jimmy Heffernan is how best to prepare those players, get them peaking at the right time for the various challenges they’ve faced on the road to Croke Park on Monday, where they take on Birr in the All-Ireland SH club final.

“Obviously what we did two years ago proved successful (Portumna won the title in 2006), we want to regain that and improve on it,” said Heffernan. “We’re trying to replicate exactly what we did then but with a bit more intensity about it. Very secretly, almost unknown to the lads, we have increased everything slightly; a few more sessions, lasting a little longer, a few more matches, but all the arrangements will be pretty much the same.”

Birr manager Padjoe Whelehan reckons matches are the secret of success, is that the case in Portumna? “Ah no, I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that, not for us anyway.

“Mickey Harte in Tyrone reckons the same thing but for our lads it’s intense sporadic sessions followed by long spells of rest. The Galway championship starts in April and goes on to June, then there’s a break ‘til August; we try and give long spells of rest between training.

“Last year we only started back about two weeks before the Galway championship; I felt that was enough, I felt our hurling would get us through the early stages and it did. We took a break then after that, the group stages.

“For the All-Ireland semi-final we had no training before Christmas right up to January; we were due to play Loughmore-Castleiney on February 24 so we had about seven weeks training to do, and we built everything into that.”

They strike you as being an extremely dedicated bunch, this Portumna panel, all of them self motivated, driving each other on — spot on, says Jimmy.

“They’re a savage group, lost one championship match in three years (the 2006 county final to Loughrea), and that was under questionable circumstances.”

While Jimmy is manager — as he was two years ago — Portumna do have a new coach, the experienced Dinny Cahill brought in from across the Shannon, in Tipperary.

“We brought him as a new voice, in the spring, around April. Dinny looks after all the drills but not the fitness.”

What of Birr, though? They too have been down this road with four titles since 1995; a team to be feared, to be respected? Very much so, says Jimmy.

“The fact that they are underdogs doesn’t stand up to scrutiny, at all. You look through their team and they have the players, they have the experience; Brian Whelehan has four All-Ireland club medals, several others have three, inter-county players on every line. A major challenge, no doubt about it.”