Winning back hurling hearts

Talking to the men directly involved, there are a couple of common themes when it comes to the factors that have led to a renaissance at underage hurling in the counties of Clare and Limerick — and a reasonable amount of divergence.

Martin Reynolds of the Clare Bord na nÓg outlines their approach: “A couple of years ago we decided to try to get all the clubs to buy into our development squad system.

“We had great people there like Sean McMahon, Jamesie O’Connor, Brian Quinn and James McInerney, Sean O’Halloran. All those guys did great work and the clubs bought into it.

“They reaped the benefits then because the clubs found that when young lads came back to them they improved hugely.

“That was the big change. We’d have seen that the likes of Kilkenny were churning out hurlers and when we looked into it, we saw that that was the model we were using so we bought into it ourselves.

“Another change was the backdoor system for inter-county minors. It was a great carrot for young fellas that they could make it to Croke Park in August. A big incentive.”

Aidan Ryan of the Limerick Bord na nÓg points to some structural changes in underage competitions on Shannonside: “We’ve brought some things in. Every team gets a minimum of eight or nine games a year, which wasn’t the case before.

“There was a time you had two or three games and then you were knocked out, but now we’ve structured every competition so that teams get eight or nine league games before entering the knockout stages of their competition. Doing that at Bord na nÓg level has been a huge help.

“The county development squads are being invested in as well, the resources are going into them and there’s a huge focus on them now.”

Clare have always had St Flannan’s, but Reynolds digs deeper: “We have the likes of Jamesie [O’Connor] and John Minogue doing great work in St Flannan’s, but one point people miss is that the primary schools are very strong, and we’re showing the fruits of that now in our minor teams.

“I’d expect us to be there or thereabouts in the minor for a few years.”

For their part, Limerick now have a flagship Harty school of their own.

“Ardscoil Rís have certainly led the charge,” says Ryan, “but last year we had four schools in the Harty Cup, which is unprecedented for Limerick, and this year we could have five, which is fantastic.

“Ardscoil Rís have become the focal point, it’s got everyone’s attention, but Na Piarsaigh have become very strong alongside them on the northside of Limerick city. Going back to 2008 Ardscoil won the Dean Ryan Cup with a team that was backboned by a good few Na Piarsaigh players.

“When Ardscoil then got on a roll, what we found was that people in Mungret, Patrickswell and Adare began to send their kids in there because they were GAA-minded and wanted their kids to go to a good nursery. Going back the years we found that those people were sending their kids to places like St Flannan’s and even St Colman’s down in Fermoy if they were in the south of the county, particularly with the demise of Sexton Street CBS as a force.

“Now there’s a focal point within the county itself for people who want their kids playing GAA.

“Alongside that there have been suggestions that Ardscoil is poaching players, but what we’ve found is the opposite. People are targeting it as a school they want their kids to attend.”

In Clare the kids have recent heroes to emulate, of course, but there’s also a lot of practical expertise on hand.

“Children in the early nineties grew up with a very successful Clare team and a very successful Clare manager,” says Reynolds.

“We were talking about that one time and one of my friends said his kids, who were born that time, had grown up thinking Clare were a hugely successful county because they’d always been winning All-Irelands and competing in All-Irelands when they were small. And I think we’re heading into a very successful period for Clare hurling now.

“In addition, nearly every club now has a coach who’s got at least a Level 1 qualification, which is a big change compared to years ago, when someone just looked after the team. It’s very professional all round.”

As Aidan Ryan puts it, in Limerick city, in particular, they’re trying to offset the influence of other sports figures.

“It’s hugely important to have a presence in the city. Rugby is a huge challenge for us in that good young lads have tended to migrate to rugby, but what I’m seeing now is that while we’re losing the odd player to rugby still, we’re also taking them on and winning that battle right under the nose of Thomond Park, which is Na Piarsaigh country, and that’s happening in other parts of the county as well.”

Ryan says they’re hoping to use the feelgood vibe generated by big occasions like the Munster final win.

“Those days are massive. The hype is huge in Limerick. I’m a small bit worried there might be too much hype, but every young fella and girl is talking about it, and the county’s bedecked in green.

“I often said that we loaned support to Munster Rugby, and now I think it’s coming back. Hurling is the subject of conversation everywhere you go, which is fantastic.”