St Mary’s a hurling oasis in Tipp football country

They fetched up in Davin Park, Carrick on Suir on the Sunday before Christmas for the South U21 hurling final. The last day out. The last match of a magical year. In the past, St Mary’s of Clonmel might have approached such a fixture hoping for the best. These days they approach such fixtures – yes, even South Tipp finals – expecting the best.

And lo, in this case their optimism was well founded. Bright day, good underfoot conditions, decent crowd and a mature, controlled performance. St Mary’s 0-14 Killenaule 1-9. South U21 champions for the first time in 28 years. The winners started brightly with four unanswered points, led 0-9 to 1-4 at the break and always had a slight edge thereafter. Ross Peters anchored a strong half-back line. Michael Boland made a sharp save from Killenaule dangerman Tom Stakelum at a crucial stage. Eric Walsh was lively at midfield and Michael Murphy a handful up front. If St Mary’s were four or five points, rather than merely two points, a better team, no matter. More silverware. “A dream end to a dream year,” as club chairman Kevin Leahy puts it.

Let us measure the dimensions of the dream. St Mary’s won the South U21 title. They retained the county minor title. They had a man on Tipperary’s MacCarthy Cup-winning team in September, the first from the club to pick up an All-Ireland senior hurling medal as a starter. They would have provided the captain of the All-Ireland minor champions had Gavin Ryan’s summer not been ruined by a hamstring injury. They honoured their South senior champions of 1981. They even brought out an updated version of the club history, first published in 1990. What’s the superlative of annus mirabilis?