Cian Ward: Shorter Meath career could've given me more Wolfe Tones joy

Ward is 35 now, eight years departed from the Meath squad

Wolfe Tones players Cian Ward, left, and Brughach Ó Fionnagáin celebrate at the final whistle after their side's victory in the Meath County Senior Club Football Championship Final match between St Peter's Dunboyne and Wolfe Tones at Páirc Tailteann in Navan, Meath. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile

There’s a neat symmetry to the fact that Wolfe Tones struck 1-9 to win Sunday’s Meath SFC final, the same scoreline they tallied in their one and only previous triumph in 2006.

Cian Ward is one of the few playing links between those two teams, although he says it was an entirely different experience on Sunday.

He’s 35 now for starters, eight years departed from the Meath squad, having only been getting up and running as a county man in 2006.

He was man of the match 15 years ago too, shooting 1-7 in the final compared to the 0-2 he contributed on Sunday, arguing that “this is very much a new team, this is their team”.

The biggest difference of all for Ward, now a popular analyst, is that he won this latest title alongside his brothers, Fiachra and Caolan.

“A massive thing for me,” says Ward. “They probably were in primary school at the time when we were bringing around the cup in 2006. Actually, a lot of the current guys would have been in primary school.

“It’s brilliant for my brothers that they would have achieved now what they saw happening in 2006. It’s great to be able to be in the household and everyone has a Keegan Cup to their name.”

Ward’s ex-inter-county player status now takes a little explaining. The 2010 Leinster medallist, who struck 4-3 in a qualifier against Louth in 2011, was surprisingly cut from Mick O’Dowd’s panel in the middle of the 2013 season and never earned a recall.

Looking back, he reckons he may actually have won more county titles with Wolfe Tones, beaten finalists in 2009 and 2012, if the decision to cut him loose from Meath had happened earlier.

“The harsh reality is that most of the time when you go back after an inter-county season, your body is broken and you’re not actually able to perform with the club.

“Realistically, in hindsight, if I could have cut my inter-county career a bit shorter, this might be championship number three or four with the club. That’s just the unfortunate thing. Hindsight is 20-20, isn’t it? That’s life.

“Look, when your inter-county career ends, and mine was probably cut short against my will, you just focus fully on the club. I didn’t miss out on anything at county level and I’ve had great success now by winning this with the club, so I’ve had a very enjoyable number of years.”

The fun doesn’t have to stop here. On paper, the Kilberry outfit will be considerable underdogs against St Judes or Kilmacud Crokes, the Dublin representatives, in the AIB Leinster club quarter-finals on December 5. However, boss Micheal McDermott has already taken one team all the way to an All-Ireland club final, Clare side Kilmurry-Ibrickane in 2010, so Tones could spring a surprise.

“We’re not thinking about it and we won’t be thinking about it for a week or two,” says Ward. “I do know that we have a very important club wedding, because Stephen Sheppard is getting married that weekend so look, who knows, we might turn up!”