There’s a good moon rising outside Ennis after Ballyea's Canon Hamilton Cup victory
Last Sunday, Cusack Park in Ennis became a lovely riot of Ballyea players and supporters, as Stan Lineen lifted the Canon Hamilton Cup.
Founded in 1934, as used to lean periods as Jack Sprat, Ballyhea had done it. A driving replay performance against Clonlara added their name to Clare’s top roster.
People tend to retain snapshots of such moments, a reserved neighbour in open tears, children lit with joy. Frankie Griffin offers a twist.
“When full time went, I was thinking back to the evening after the drawn final,” he recounts.
There were some saying we had blown our chance.
But I knew, looking at the body language of players and management back home that evening, there was a genuine confidence about the next day.
“So at the final whistle I was thinking about the players’ body language that evening. Kind of, they had arrived somewhere different.
“No doubts… Robbie Hogan has been a great manager for them.”
Frankie Griffin saw all sides of the Ballyea moon. He is one of those hurlers who glimpse the promised land but only enters as a volunteer.
Now part of management for the club’s Junior panel, Griffin remembers the dog days of the 1990s.
“We were Junior A, Division 4 in Clare terms,” he notes.
“That was our first team… We were on the brink. The club itself was only hanging on.
“I think we lost seven championship first rounds in a row. We got up intermediate and immediately got relegated back down.”
Succour lay at hand in best form, fresh talent. “My brother Tony came in with other young lads in 1999,” Griffin explains.
“We ended up winning Senior B in 2004, after making the Senior Final against Clarecastle in 2003.
“Then our U14s won their A title and the Féile in 2007 under Dónal Kelly, Tony’s father. That group won right through to U21A. Dónal was very influential, especially with getting the lads from West Clare on board.”
Asked about this period, Dónal Kelly emphasizes winning the Lenmac U10 Tournament in the early 2000s: “That was serious hurling.
Nothing easy at all. Funnily enough, we beat Clonlara in that final, and Niall Deasy scored the winning goal, same as last Sunday!
“Eleven of that U10 panel are involved with our seniors. We kept them together. After winning there, we knew Ballyea had a good group, but we needed a few more.”
A funeral in Kilmihil soon afterwards proved crucial. “Jack Browne lost his grandfather, who was from out there,” Kelly says.
“I was at the removal and said to Carmel Coughlan, who teaches out there: ‘Have ye any hurlers?’ I knew Anthony Daly and Fr Peter O’Loughlin had done a lot of groundwork.
“She said: ‘There’s this young lad, Stan Lineen, who’s out in the yard hurling the whole time.’ The following Tuesday evening, we were training, and in they arrived from Kilmihil, Stan and a few other lads, including Martin O’Leary and Carmel’s sons David and Mark. They are all with us since, and Stan is a great senior captain, a great mixer with everyone.”
Féile na nGael is a glamour event, especially for each county’s winner, but Dónal Kelly insists on the importance of people behind the scenes: “I would never forget Noel Coote and Liam Fitzgerald for their input. And Joan Browne, Jack mother’s, was more or less the team doctor. Liam was our very best supporter.”
Ballyea sits south west of Ennis and is a gateway to West Clare and football. As Ballyea gives way to Clondegad (a sister club), same as where Kilmaley gives way to Lissycasey, small ball gives way to big ball. Players whose club fields no hurling team typically elect to play with Ballyea or Kilmaley. There are nice ironies.
Tony Kelly starred for Clondegad footballers in an U14 B final, where they were beaten by Kilmihil. Opposing him were not just Stan Lineen and Martin O’Leary but Jack Browne, whose paternal connection allowed him to opt for Kilmihil over Clondegad.
“We have an excellent relationship with Cooraclare and Kilmihil,” Dónal Kelly notes.
“Anyone who wants to hurl should be able to hurl. Look at what Conor Cleary has achieved with Clare, and Conor is from Miltown Malbay. A good hurler can come from anywhere.”
For this man, there is a broader moral: “You need to get them early enough. How many potential Seán Óg Ó hAilpíns were out in West Clare over the years, and never caught a hurley? What age was Seán Óg when he first saw one? Clare hurling needs to be picking from the whole county and not just a corner of it.”
Turning back home, Kelly well remembers the dog days of the 1970s. “Ballyea were Junior B,” he recalls. “We were fortunate to have jerseys… The club was kept alive by three unbelievable men, Johnny Hayes, John Cusack and John McNamara.
“Thankfully, the population has come over to our side. When I was in school in Ballyea, back in the 1960s, there were about 70 pupils. I think they now have around 250.”
True romance depends on overcoming serious difficulties.
Tomorrow Ballyea return to Cusack Park, with Thurles Sarsfields in the opposite corner. Frankie Griffin is philosophical: “They have, what, 35 senior titles in Tipperary? We have last Sunday. It’s a big contrast. But we feel we’re there on merit.”
He continues: “You’d have to remember two years ago, exact same stage, a Munster semi-final. Thurles Sarsfields were fierce upset after getting beaten by Cratloe. So they will be coming with that extra momentum, maybe with some bitterness at their back.
“Thurles will probably feel they owe the Clare champions. But Ballyea have a right chance. Our team is learning every day out.”
Good moon rising. Whatever tomorrow’s result, this club knows a new chapter is afoot, one magically remote from Junior A and Junior B.
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