Home is where Molumphy’s heart is

IN strictly hurling terms he’s had the best of a number of worlds, has Stephen Molumphy.

Born and bred in Waterford, he got his early hurling education in the local club and school in Ballyduff, on the banks of the Blackwater; when it came time for secondary, it was off to St Colman’s in Fermoy, a few miles upriver and on the other side of the border – the Cork side.

There his hurling skills were further honed, and in his term in the renowned hurling college he won a Dean Ryan, two Harty Cups and two All-Ireland colleges titles, a star among stars from many other counties, including two high-scoring aces, Neil Ronan from Cork and Andrew O’Shaughnessy from Limerick.

He did well for himself academically also and joined O’Shaughnessy in the Army Cadets, eventually earning his stars and is now a serving Lieutenant – based where? In Kilkenny, where else, home of the five-in-a-row-chasing All-Ireland champions, a place where hurling assumes chemical properties, and along with nitrogen, oxygen, argon and carbon dioxide, becomes part of the air you breathe.

“I’ve even bought a house there now,” he confirms, “Fraternising with the enemy, right in the middle of them!”

He’s hearing the five-in-a-row talk – the possibility of history – being whispered about the place. “It is, but they know it’s going to be a lot tougher. They weren’t happy with the league form, but they’ll be there or thereabouts, they’re working very hard. They’re talking about Galway, about Cork this year, more than other years (especially after events in the Park last Sunday!), and Tipp are always there – it’s nice to have the four of them leading the way.”

What, no talk of Waterford? “No, and that’s fine by us – it suits us to just lay low!”

He says that with a glint in the eye – that glint is a semi-permanent feature anyway – but there’s more than a hint of truth in what Stephen says.

Waterford are coming in very much under the radar this year, face Clare this Bank Holiday Monday in the Munster semi-final, their first championship outing, with little very talk about them. And yet under manager Davy Fitzgerald they have been building nicely, adding to a very solid backbone that’s been built up over the last few years with some fine new young players.

“We used 34 players in the league this year,” Stephen points out; “There’s great competition for places – it’s harder to get on this year than for a number of years. That’s good for the future of Waterford hurling, but it would be great to get a bit of silverware to back it up.”

A Munster championship, for example, or, with three such titles in the last decade (02, 04 and 07), does that cut the mustard in Waterford anymore?

“I think it does, that bit of silverware, it gives you something tangible and you can kick on from that again. You might lose in the All-Ireland semi-final or final afterwards and say then the Munster title doesn’t matter – it does matter, and it’s when you look back on your career you’ll really appreciate that. I suppose in relation to an All-Ireland medal nothing really compares, but a Munster is still worth winning.”

They’ll be favourites, of course, Waterford – “We probably will be,” Stephen accepts – but of course also, in the context of the Munster championship such a tag means nothing – just check with Tipperary, after last Sunday’s events.

“We’ve only beaten Clare once in the last 15 years, so when you look at that statistic, they have a big advantage. Add in the U21 All-Ireland title they won last year and they have some fantastic players coming through.

“Their loss to Wexford in the Division 2 league final is a setback, but that will only drive them on again, inspire them. They’ll be coming in as underdogs but we know for a fact it’s going to be a right tough game.

“They have a bunch of new lads driving them on, they can only get better. Anyway, there’s no relation between league and championship, completely different – this is so much more important.”

It’s got a different feel to it, the Munster championship, says Stephen, different entirely to playing in the All-Ireland qualifiers, or even to the final stages of the All-Ireland itself.

“It’s the buzz, the crowd, everyone is all hyped up for it, especially when you have two counties with a lot of support no matter what’s happening. It’s a big family day, and getting a result – we haven’t beaten Clare in Munster for 15 years, and there’s a reason for that; Clare are always there or thereabouts, no matter what. But, you lose, you’re out of it, gone from the Munster championship.”