Boss McGrath gets timing spot on with Cratloe

Timing is everything, isn’t it?

In life, drama and sport if you get the timing right you’re on a winner.

Once, many moons ago, Toomevara native Joe McGrath got it all wrong. These days, however, as manager of Cratloe senior hurlers steering the team into a Clare county final for the third time in four years, he’s getting the timing very much right.

But first, there was Toomevara.

“I left it over 20 years ago, just before they started to win championships again!”

They would go on to win 11 of the next 17 Tipperary titles, McGrath just a happy spectator, albeit a slightly envious one. Eventually, however, it all turned around in his new home.

“I’m a teacher in Limerick, Cratloe is only a few miles out the road,” he said.

“I ended up here not really knowing where I was going but thanks be to God there was hurling here always. Back then we were just a struggling intermediate team and that would have been Cratloe always, holding their own at either junior or intermediate level.

“Being on the edge of the city though, we’ve had a big influx of people in the last 15 years and more. The population has really grown, a lot of extra people around and with that the club has grown. We were lucky too in that a lot of very talented youngsters came through at the same time.”

Timing, you see. There was a core of older, more experienced lads there to help bring the youngsters through too.

McGrath said: “Barry Duggan is one of those, he’s been playing for the last 15 years or more, a great leader. He has been our captain for the last four years, including in 2009, he inspires those young fellas.”

The breakthrough year was 2009, when Cratloe finally won its first senior title.

“Anytime you get to a county final, no matter what county, it’s a great achievement but especially so for a club like Cratloe,” added McGrath.

“When they got up to senior around 10 years ago they found themselves in among the big boys, but the last four years have been fantastic. 2009 was just unbelievable. To win the first senior championship in your history was an electrifying experience for us.

“Then to get back to the final again the following year, falling just a few points short of Crusheen, was another great achievement. We’re back in it now again for the third time in four years.

“Once you get to those finals though you like to be winning them.”

It won’t be easy though. Standing in their way is former Clare powerhouse Newmarket-on-Fergus, leaders in the roll of honour with 22 titles, though the last of those was won more than 30 years ago, in 1981. Their cause reminds McGrath, whose son Colin is one of the stars of this Cratloe team, of a certain outfit in Tipperary.

“They’ve been out of the limelight for a while but a bit like my home club, Toomevara, when I left they were a sleeping giant ready to burst on to the scene again and they did.

“Like Toomevara, once Newmarket win one again then God knows how many more they’ll go on to win. Hopefully though, it won’t start this Sunday. We’ve won one. We’ve lost one. Now we’d like to tilt the balance in our favour.”