Passage ready to make leap

WATERFORD SHC FINAL:

The fluttering red and white colours on that cross-river ferry give it away, of course. If it’s October and there are decorations up in an Irish village then you know they’re involved in the sharp end of the championship.

It’s 20 years since Passage sent their senior hurlers out to contest county senior hurling finals in Waterford, but the memory is fresh enough for one of the smallest kids who went along that time to shout for them.

“I was seven years old for the last one,” says Noel Connors. “But I remember it, yeah. We had a great team in Passage that time and we made three county finals, but we just couldn’t manage to get over the finishing line.”

Now they’re back in the decider. Passage saw off perennial aristocrats Mount Sion in the county semi-final, the kind of scalp that eluded them in recent years. What has made the difference?

“One of the big things that Peter has brought in this year is that he’s instilled a confidence and belief in the team, even though we’re very young, and it helps, obviously, that he’s been through the mill himself and been through it all at club and county level.”

The Peter referred to is Peter Queally, who starred for Waterford for over a decade before building an impressive CV as a manager in recent years.

“He’s brought something different to the table,” says Connors. “He’s certainly brought us on as a team.

“At club level it’s a different job, management, to intercounty level, but he certainly ticks all the boxes — drills, preparation, motivation, all of that comes naturally to him.

“He’s had Waterford U21 teams as well recently, which is a help with a team like ours, because it’s so young. He’s used to dealing with younger players, which isn’t something that every coach or manager can do, but he can convey to younger players what’s involved, what’s required for the top level, and because of his own playing career those younger players pay attention.”

The ferry isn’t the only splash of colour in the village, by the way.

“Since we came back up to senior we’ve been there or thereabouts,” says Connors. “We’ve been making quarter- and semi-finals regularly but we couldn’t make the breakthrough to the final.

“Now that we’ve made it there’s a great buzz in the place. Passage is a small village by the sea, one of these places where people naturally tend to focus on the GAA club as a centre.

“Nearly everyone on the team knows each other, grew up together, live next door to each other . . . I know that’s a cliché but it’s what makes a county final special.”

Not all of them are locals. Eoin Kelly arrived from the city a few years ago, but Connors points to the strength of the former Mount Sion star’s local connections.

“He’s here for years, he’s married to a local girl and he lives locally, so he’s part of the place. Anyone who knows hurling would know about Eoin and his quality.

“We’ve probably benefited from the fact that he wasn’t playing inter-county this season for the first time in a long time, so he had a lot more time to spend with us.

“He’s trained hard with the team and his experience has been a huge bonus — his performances have been outstanding and the fact we have such a young team, he’s very good to give advice and to rally the lads in tight games.”

Connors has just completed a Master’s on sport and leadership in WIT, so it’s hardly a surprise when he diverts the conversation to tomorrow’s curtain-raiser: “The minors winning the All-Ireland has given everyone a boost. We’ve been competing at the top level in colleges, schools and so on, but an All-Ireland title like that is a great bonus.

“I think everyone was happy with the win on its own terms and with what it means for Waterford in the future, I’d expect a good crowd to be in Walsh Park early tomorrow to see the minor final.”

And to see Passage’s opponents in the senior game.

“Ballygunner are a very strong unit, and most of them would have played inter-county for Waterford at underage or senior. We wouldn’t see one individual as a threat, it’s the whole team, but we’ve been concentrating on our own performance all year and we’ll do that again tomorrow. We’ve had a lot of success in recent years at underage level, so it’s great to see that coming through now on the senior team.

“All year Peter’s been saying to us to go out and express ourselves, and now it’s about going on to win the big one.”