Local boys done good

AT Laffansbridge the first sign is spotted, nailed firmly to a telephone pole. The Killenaule club colours are prominent with the yellow background and red font, and the message is proclaimed simply: ‘Best of luck Declan, Festy and Gerry’.

Ploughing in from there towards Killenaule village, the signs become a more regular sight, and in the village blue and gold bunting interweaves all the way down the main street.

The community is genuflecting at the altar of Tipperary hurling ahead of Sunday’s All-Ireland final and the local panel representatives – Declan Fanning, Pat Kerwick and Gerry Kennedy – are worshipped the most.

Down at the Killenaule club complex there is a palpable air of tension. It’s Tuesday night and an hour before the lucky dip for the precious booty of All-Ireland final tickets. Club chairman Anthony Purcell has been doing the sums in his head all week and they still don’t add up.

“The ticket situation is an absolute nightmare. We’ve to divide 107 tickets amongst 150 members. It’s difficult to keep everyone happy. But it’s a sign really of how much interest there is around here in the match.”

There have been stars in Killenaule before. Tom Ryan won two All-Irelands with Tipperary in 1961 and 1962, with Donie O’Connell collecting two medals in 1989 and 1991. During the 90s, Paul Shelly took to the inter-county stage in ebullient fashion, but now is Killenaule’s time of greatest affluence.

“Donie is an uncle of my own,” says club secretary Tadhg O’Connell. “There was great excitement before when he was going well. I suppose it was added to by Killenaule going well at the time. It’s come around again now I’d say there’s bigger excitement now because Tipperary have not been in too many All-Irelands recently and we’ve three lads on the panel.”

The senior hurlers may be the club’s flagbearers, but they are others who have made their mark this year as well. Across an assortment of Tipperary squads, Killenaule men made the cut and their influence is not confined to hurling. They are adjacent to the football hotbed of Tipperary with Fethard and Moyle Rovers both close by, and have produced players to fight for John Evans’ inter-county football revolution.

“We’d seven players in all on Tipperary sides this year,” outlines club PRO James Gleeson. “You’ve the three senior hurlers and then Bubbles (John O’Dwyer) on the county minors.

“In football Matthew O’Donnell and Paddy Codd were on the Tipp senior and U21 panels, and Tony Doyle played junior football for Tipp.”

The wave of representatives at intercounty level is a relatively new phenomenon for the club, but it is intrinsically linked to flourishing in underage grades at the turn of this decade.

“2000 was the start of it,” remarks O’Connell. “We got to a county U21 final that year, but lost to Drom-Inch by a point. We went on to win five more South titles after that and won two U21 county titles in 2003 and 2004. Then we broke our senior divisional famine in 2005 after 14 years without a championship. Since we made breakthrough, we’re getting more and more lads in county teams.”

A county senior title has still eluded them although they’ve been close to breaking through in recent years by figuring in a couple of county semi-finals. Their hopes of completing a three-in-a-row in the South were recently thwarted by an Eoin Kelly-inspired Mullinahone, but that disappointment was tempered by the safety net which puts them back into the frame for the county competition.

However, for now their focus is firmly trained on next Sunday in Croke Park and revelling in the prominent role their players will have.

“Declan (Fanning) came onto the county senior stage late on,” says O’Connell. “He was an established county footballer before he became a hurler. It’s great to see him doing well after coming up the hard way. Gerry Kennedy then came to the fore with the U21s in 2006 and he got a run with the seniors in 2007.”

Pat Kerwick made the burst to intercounty senior level without underage experience but around these parts, he’s known solely as Festy. Yet an enquiry about the origins of that ubiquitous nickname draws quizzical glances.

“I’ve asked a load of people about that and I still don’t have the answer!” remarks O’Connell. “He’s just always been Festy. Around here if people heard the name Pat Kerwick they mightn’t be sure who you’re on about, but everyone knows Festy.!”

The significance of Sunday’s occasion is ratcheted up for Killenaule people by the presence of Kilkenny in the opposition lair. The parish is in close proximity to the border, with JJ Delaney’s Fenian’s club and Eddie Brennan’s Graigue-Ballycallan close by.

“Playing Kilkenny adds to it for us, no doubt about it,” says Tadgh O’Connell. “It was a good old time in 1991 to be associated with Killenaule when Tipp beat Kilkenny. It’d be great to do it again now.”