Ballygunner ready for final obstacle

“I imagine people weren’t expecting us to win in Waterford this year,” says Ballygunner selector Gary O’Keeffe.

Admirably honest, he continues the thought: “And certainly they weren’t expecting us to be in a Munster final. But here we are.”

The sliotar will be thrown in between Limerick’s Na Piarsaigh and Ballygunner at 2pm tomorrow in Semple Stadium. Despite being outsiders with the bookmakers, the Waterford contingent will enter on the front foot. You can hear the anticipation, the keenness, in this man’s voice.

The context for doubters was straightforward, as O’Keeffe explains: “Our panel is a fair bit different from last year. There are six or seven players from 2014 no longer in the frame.

“Wayne Hutchinson transferred to St Jude’s, who were beaten by Cuala in the Dublin county final. Alan Kirwan is not available. Pauric Mahony went out to injury early in the summer. There are others too, such as ‘Young’ Stephen O’Keeffe, as we call him.

“So you could see why, with all that, some people thought we mightn’t win another championship for a while, even though we were the title holders. But these obstacles can bring a team closer together, which thankfully is what seems to have happened.”

Fergal Hartley stepped down as manager when Ballygunner were beaten by Cratloe in last season’s Munster quarter-final. Winning managers rarely enough bow out, which created a new kind of dilemma. Denis Walsh, former dual Cork player and manager of his native county between 2009 and 2011, came on board as Hartley’s successor.

O’Keeffe and Darragh O’Sullivan, his fellow selector, have formed a tight group with Walsh. O’Keeffe has been much impressed: “Denis Walsh is a seriously intelligent individual. There is a lot to him, as a man and as a manager. He is ultra professional. But he has that affability factor too.

“Also, Denis is good with players in personal terms, without getting too close, either. He knows where the line is, and I suppose all his experience with Cork, as a player and on the sideline, is a big help there.”

O’Keeffe elaborates: “What particularly struck me about Denis is the way he went about getting to know our players. We have 16 or 17 of the panel living outside Waterford, which is a serious challenge. But Denis got to grips with everyone, wherever they were based.”

All the while, Gary O’Keeffe represents a particular emphasis in this club. Former Ballygunner hurler Andy Moloney, who managed Ballyhale Shamrocks to All-Ireland success last March, underlines the value of such a figure. “It’s great to see Gary involved with the seniors at last,”

Moloney notes. “He has a ton of work put down in the juvenile section, same as his father Jim before him.”

O’Keeffe glosses his own contribution: “I suppose I’ve been involved underage with two bands of players in the current panel. Two different batches, if you like. There are the lads a bit older, like JJ Hutchinson, Stephen Power and Shane Walsh. Then the young lads in their teens trying to break into the team, like Ian Kenny, Barry O’Sullivan, Tim O’Sullivan.

“It is genuinely satisfying to see someone you knew starting off as a six or a seven-year-old get to the brink of our Senior team. That’s what it’s all about.”

O’Keeffe outlines a broader pattern behind the scenes: “Every club has its own way of doing things. And every club could do some things better. But one of the good aspects in Ballygunner is the way mentors will come all the way up with a team, all the way from U6 to Minor. And then they’ll go all the way back down again, without ever looking to be involved with an adult team.

“They just head up on a Saturday morning and lock in again with another beginners group. There’s a terrific dynamic in the club in that regard. I see lads I worked with, lads like Patrick Haran and Fergal Hartley, doing exactly that. I suppose it’s where I’ll be going myself, when this Senior spin is done…!”

The journey has not lacked for difficulties. Paul Foley, former player, immensely popular clubman and respected referee, died in tragic circumstances last September.

“Paul’s death shook us back for a bit,” O’Keeffe recalls. “Paul had a word for everyone, whatever age they were. So everyone, young and old, committee members and players, got knocked back. But it’s probably something that helped the bonding too.”

O’Keeffe instances another tragedy: “There are always incidents that remind you of what’s important in life. Adam O’Connor, a young hurler with Erin’s Own, lost a struggle with cancer earlier this year. He was only 22. Adam has cousins on our panel.”

Outsiders or not, he feels Ballygunner have momentum. He draws nerve from semi-final victory over Glen Rovers: “We feel that game did a lot for us. Up till then, we’d only been doing enough to win. Against The Glen, we had to do more. We had to pass a test.

“You need a tough struggle to find out about your team. We think meeting Glen Rovers gave us a chance to get our ducks in a row.”

Tomorrow? O’Keeffe returns to the importance of hot ambition, cold judgement: “Denis got the job in probably the most difficult possible situation for a new manager. That situation was the fact we had won Senior in Waterford the year before. Where do you go from there? That was a tall ask.

“But Denis didn’t take the easy option. He set not just the target of back to back titles but that Ballygunner would do even better than in 2014. And definitely, by making the Munster Final, we have improved on last season.”

Likeably wry, balanced to the end, Gary O’Keeffe embraces flat truth: “But that improvement won’t mean a whole lot if we don’t have this cup back in the clubhouse on Sunday night.”