O’Meara: Winning matches best defence against player burn-out

AIB MUNSTER CLUB SHC SEMI-FINAL:

What pressure, laughed Sixmilebridge manager John O’Meara.

“It’s tough but at least we have the winning momentum built up. Now it’s only a matter of keeping it going. It’s probably easier on the lads if anything, there’s no really hard training, just keeping things ticking over, keeping them fresh. I think they’re enjoying it all to be honest. Games will never burn you out, especially when you’re winning, it’s training that burns fellas out.”

Their most recent game was the Clare final on Sunday last. The pitch in Cusack Park cut up badly as the rain got heavier through the hour. Sixmilebridge revelled in the conditions, however, and snatched the crown from neighbours Newmarket-on-Fergus in what was a dogfight.

“Sunday was a massive boost to us,” said O’Meara. “Eleven years without a county title is an awful long time for The Bridge. Since we won the first title in the ’70s we had been very successful, but that had all dried up.”

The reason?

“There was a sort of a lost generation for want of a better way of putting it. Take Gillie [star forward Niall Gilligan, scored 1-6 from last Sunday’s winning total of 1-10]. He’s 37. Then there’s Tadhg Keogh and Paul Fitzpatrick, they’re 32, but the next man down then is only 26 and the rest are in their early 20s, a couple in their teens. There’s a whole host of fellas in their late 20s and early 30s who have gone missing for one reason or another.”

That lost generation had a chance he says, one chance.

“We got to the semi-final in 2007, a day that Davy Fitz got injured, and we were very close that year. I think if we had beaten Tulla we’d have gone on to win the title because they beat Crusheen afterwards. That would have bridged the gap for us.

“I’m three years younger than Niall, one of the lost generation myself. I’d be the same age as John Reddan, Stiofán Fitzpatrick, all those guys but I gave it up at 30. Stiofán is still hurling intermediate, John is in England. We should have more representatives on this team but that’s one of the lessons we have to learn from all this, learn from the mistakes of the past and don’t repeat them.”

There was another reason of course — nature itself. In the smaller GAA units good teams come in cycles, a special generation emerging every so often. This is one such cycle in Sixmilebridge.

“We’ve been dominant again lately, won five U16 titles in a row, got to four minor finals in a row and won in 2011, won three of the last U21 titles, and a lot of those guys are now on the senior team. Prior to that we had a number of lean years.”

They’ve already had the glory years, a proud record in Munster especially, where they’ve reached eight finals, winning three of those (1984, 1995 and 2000), the best record of any club in Clare. They’ve also parlayed one of those Munster titles (1995) into All-Ireland.

“Yeah, 1995 Clare also won the All-Ireland and the dolphins were outside Durty Nellies again! It’s a huge battle ahead but we’ll be ready. Midleton are back after a longer wait than us, with an age-profile similar to ours.

“It’s still raining but I hear Páirc Uí Chaoimh is in good condition which should suit us.

“Hopefully better than the conditions we played in last Sunday anyway, in Cusack Park. It’s a good feeling, back in Munster, preparing as best we can in the week we have for the challenge we face.”