Déise date with destiny

It started out over a decade ago as a plan to expose youngsters in West Waterford to an elite standard of colleges hurling.

That enlightened decision to enter a combination outfit from the western half of the county into the top grade of Munster Colleges hurling bore fruit in 2004 when they reached the Dr Harty Cup final. They lost that decider and numbers dwindled in recent years. But tomorrow Coláiste na Déise, now comprised of Dungarvan CBS and St Augustine’s (Dungarvan), are back on the big stage and face Nenagh CBS for this year’s Dr Harty Cup title in Cashel.

“It’s certainly a massive occasion for hurling in West Waterford,” admits manager Pat Collins. “When we reached the final in 2004, it was Dungarvan CBS, St Augustine’s, Lismore CBS and a small school in An Rinn, the Ghaeltacht area, providing players. We beat St Colman’s in the semi-final that year but fell down badly in the final against St Flannan’s. Injuries didn’t help our cause. Now we’re just down to the two Dungarvan schools. There is a certain sort of resistance to combination teams. But I think it’s a worth bearing in mind that a town like Dungarvan has two boys secondary schools whereas towns like Thurles and Midleton would have just the one. Put it this way, we’d be picking from half the numbers of De La Salle in Waterford City.”