Shannonsiders’ chance to shine

TODAY John Quane will nudge his car onto the M8 motorway near Kilbeheny and begin a 208km trek from the south-east corner of Limerick.

Down in Stradbally, Eoin O’Brien will embark on a similar journey, travelling up the M9 from the southern tip of Waterford. The destination for both is Croke Park, which houses this evening’s NFL Division 4 final between their respective counties.

It may be a low-budget production compared to tomorrow’s league blockbusters but for Quane and O’Brien it’s the only show in town this weekend.

Quane served as a midfield powerhouse for the Shannonsiders for almost 14 years until his retirement in 2004, while O’Brien put in a 15-season stint with Waterford between 1981 and 1996. The light of their inter-county days may have been dimmed by retirement but both retain an all-consuming interest in their county’s fortunes and the chance to see their successors in GAA headquarters is not one to be spurned.

“I’ll definitely travel, there’s no way I’d miss it,” says Quane. “There aren’t many Limerick football captains that have lifted a national football trophy, so you can’t miss the chance to see that. It’s a great opportunity for the lads to play in Croke Park. The last time we played there as a county was in the 2002 league final. That was the only time I got to play there and I would have viewed it as a big disappointment if I didn’t play there before I finished up.”

“I have to complement the GAA on providing Croke Park,” continues O’Brien. “They get stick for fixture making but they could easily have played it somewhere like Thurles. But you ask any player and Croke Park is the ultimate aim. Not too many Waterford footballers have achieved that. It’s the first time since Croke Park was redeveloped that they’ve done that. They would have played there in the early seventies against Dublin when Waterford were in Division 1, and apart from that it’s only lads who played for Munster in the Railway Cup have had the chance of playing in Croke Park.

“I’m really looking forward to this weekend. I saw more bad days than good days when I was playing. But you kept going like so many other footballers and hoped you’d get your day in the sun. On Saturday, Waterford football finally gets that. It was a great experience being in the Fraher Field a few weeks ago when they got promoted and to see four Stradbally lads — Tony Grey, Stephen Cunningham, Shane and Robert Ahearne — playing in Croke Park is a big thing for me.”

Limerick had their share of final days in recent seasons but heartbreak has generally been the accompanying emotion. Quane suffered the setbacks of provincial final losses in 2003 and 2004, but he found the experience of observing last July’s Munster final defeat from the Páirc Ui Chaoimh stands as the one of he most painful.

“Last year was the toughest I found to take. Limerick dominated for so much of the match but still didn’t win. Even though I was a spectator, I was more disappointed than I was in the ones we lost in 2003 and 2004. The big thing this spring was to get up to Division 3 and be playing a higher standard of football next year.

“Croke Park and playing in a final are the bonuses but promotion was the main thing.

“They did that without their so-called big players like John Galvin and Stephen Lavin but maybe in hindsight a few of those lads needed a bit of rest. They could be fresher come championship and having managed to get promotion is great. But I think they’ve broadened their panel more this season particularly in the forwards. They’ve more options than we did in my time, you’ve Ian Ryan, Ger Collins, James Ryan, from Galbally and young Eoghan O’Connor who looks good. I’d give them a great chance this year.”

Waterford’s squad has been embellished this season by the addition of players, but it is the return of Gary Hurney from the hurling ranks that O’Brien views as most critical.

“I go to all the matches and the new lads have done brilliantly. Kieran Connery at corner-back, Tom Prendergast at midfield and Robert Ahearne at full-forward have blended in well with the seasoned lads like Mick Ahearne, Brian Wall, Stephen Cunningham and the O’Gormans.

“But to have a guy like Gary Hurney to come back has been a massive boost for the team. He’s given them options as a free taker, he can play anywhere in the forwards. I think he’s as good as any footballer in Ireland.”