All about the good times for Pat Ring ahead of All-Ireland semi-final

Pat Ring grimaces when he recalls the dark days. Tomorrow, Ring will send his Foxrock-Cabinteely side into battle against Cork outfit Mourneabbey, in what is the Dublin club’s third successive All-Ireland semi-final appearance.

It wasn’t always like this for Fox-Cab, who have Dublin All-Ireland senior medal winners Sinéad Goldrick and Niamh Collins in their ranks. In conjunction with Naomh Olaf, Fox-Cab first fielded an adult team in 2005, when Ring was a selector and Philip McAnenly was team manager. From there, Fox-Cab rose through the ranks, winning an All-Ireland junior crown in 2007. Then, as Ring recalls, the real challenge began.

“We went intermediate in 2008 in Dublin, and won the championship. So, we went from junior to senior within two years, which was tough. We went senior in 2009, and hit a brick wall for three years, particularly in Dublin, which was frightening. A lot of the players were still very young. We still have most of them now and they’re a lot more experienced, but we got some terrible hidings in 2010, 2011.