Exorcising the September demons

IT WAS one of the strongest images from the All-Ireland hurling final, or rather, its immediate aftermath. With Kilkenny supporters milling around the turf of Croke Park, mobbing their heroes, a Waterford jersey was in amongst them.

John Mullane had finished the season as he started it. Waterford’s best player against Clare, he had run his heart out in the last game of the season, and at the final whistle he congratulated his opponents, including Brian Cody.

“It was hard. Extremely hard. But at the end of the day you’ve to congratulate people, too. We can’t forget the days we’ve had as well, when other lads have stayed out to congratulate us.

“You take the good with the bad. You can’t forget the days when you collected cups, and fair enough, we were on the wrong end of it, but you have to congratulate lads on their victory. And Kilkenny were absolutely fantastic.”

Waterford city and county suffered after that: “People were naturally down after the first few weeks after the All-Ireland, but you got to Christmas, and people were appreciative of how the year went, we went one step further than we did other years and they had some great days out.”

Mullane agrees that an All-Ireland final, for all the talk, isn’t just another game. It’s another level.

“It’s a new experience to a Munster final or a national league final. It’s the whole build-up, the weeks leading up to it. Everything is geared towards that one game, it’s all about preparation. It’s second nature to Kilkenny, preparing for a final, while it was new to us. If we got back there again that would stand to us.

“Down here leading up to it, it was hard to get away from it. On the Friday before the game I went down to the beach on my own, just to get away from it, to get half an hour to myself. I walked away down the beach to have some time to myself, and that whole thing probably affected us in the game.”

Mullane was then passed over for an All-Star award. More disappointment.

“Naturally I was down about it — for about half an hour. Then I just found it laughable. I put the head down and got on with it on the club scene. And I got a GPA award, so that was good, probably nicer than winning an All-Star.”

The club scene. That means De La Salle, with whom Mullane has been a shining light for close to a decade. They welcomed him back with open arms and set their sights on a first county title.

“The lads were delighted to have us back in, because I suppose the whole thing starts to come together when the inter-county lads come back. The challenge games weren’t going that great at the time, but then it picked up.”

He and fellow Waterford seniors Kevin Moran and Brian Phelan rediscovered their appetites and as they did, thoughts of that Sunday in September began to recede.

“It was a good way of trying to get rid of those bad memories from the first week in September. And we were on a roll, playing week in, week out, winning games — and the memory of the Kilkenny game started to fade.”

The reward was that first title — the first for the club proper, as opposed to a college combination of the same name that captured a title early in the last century. Over-enthusiastic celebrations would have been understandable, but they kept their focus.

“We didn’t overdo the celebrations because we knew we had a good chance, going down to Cork to play Sarsfields.

“We’d played Cork teams in challenge matches and we’d done well — we drew with Erin’s Own last year in a challenge — and the fact that we were 4/1 against Sarsfields was a bit of an insult, as far as we were concerned.”

They surprised the bookies to beat Sars, but the journey didn’t look to last much further than half-time in the provincial club final. At the break De La Salle hadn’t scored and Adare were well in charge with a five-point lead.

“They should have had us dead and buried, not having scored — not having looked like getting a score. To turn it around was phenomenal, but Adare should have had us dead and buried. Five points isn’t a lot, and we knew if we got some momentum we’d have a chance.”

It was noticeable that while he struggled in the first half, Mullane kept his head. He plugged away and never hid, and then he struck for the vital goal when the chance came.

“I’ve matured as a player. That’s experience. When I was younger I’d have probably put the head down and thought ‘it’s not going to be my day’, but I knew I’d get my spell, that the chances I didn’t get in the first half I’d be able to get later — and that’s how it went.

“Playing with Waterford, in big games that have gone to the last five minutes so many times over the years, that stood to myself and Brian Phelan and Kevin Moran.”

Although De La Salle are generally expected to have too much for Antrim champions Cushendall in the All-Ireland club semi-final this weekend, Mullane and his colleagues are cautious.

“Club hurling is totally different to inter-county, and Antrim teams have a good record — Dunloy beat Mount Sion a couple of years ago at the semi-final stage. We’ve no illusions, we’ve a massive battle ahead of us.”

And last, that Munster club victory speech. Mullane’s passionate words from the winner’s enclosure were repeated on a national radio station, but he meant them then and he’s not inclined to feel abashed about them now.

“I got a bit of a slagging but look, words come out and I mean them, it’s from the heart. I show plenty of emotion on the field and I suppose I showed plenty of emotion collecting the Cup.

“When you think of September you’d think ‘why do I bother playing’, but the way the year’s ended... it makes everything worthwhile. It’s extra special to win with your club.

“I knew what had gone on before me in the club, what the club’s endured over the years to get to where it is now.”

Strong words from one of the men who helped to get them there.