Redser: Kilkenny influence has toughened up a Thurles Sars who had gone soft

Winning four in a row softened up Sarsfields, says former star Ger O'Grady

Fri, 12 Nov, 2021 - 07:30

John Fogarty

Ger “Redser” O’Grady has hailed the Kilkenny influence in Thurles Sarsfields’ return to a first senior county final in four years this Sunday.

The most decorated senior club in the county completed the four-in-a-row in 2017 but the former Tipperary captain feels there was a natural drop-off following that achievement.

O’Grady claimed his fifth and last SHC winning medal in the first of that quadruple and based on what he’s seen of his club so far this season under Dicksboro man Mark Dowling he is hopeful the Dan Breen Cup can remain in Thurles after they face Loughmore-Castleiney.

“From talking to the boys, they are very happy with Mark Dowling and Liam Egan. They have changed training a lot, playing a lot of possession games and toughened them up.

“When you achieve something like the four-in-a-row it’s a natural thing to go soft. You look at the likes of Ballyhale and Toomevara, they couldn’t get to the five-in-a-row.

“I’ve been at all the games and when the game was in the trenches against Kiladangan, when it was a drawn game, our lads came out fighting. Maybe last year or the year before they wouldn’t but the training and the new voice is helping.

“The Thurles B team have come on a lot in the last while and they’re driving things. We have 30 lads training, there are places up for grabs. There are five new lads on our team this year — Darragh Stakelum, Paddy Creedon, Joseph Ryan, Jack Derby and Paul Maher — and they’re flying it. They were on the B team last year. Durlas Óg is going well too.

“Since Lar (Corbett) has gone, we had been missing a goal threat but Paddy Creedon, who scored five points from play the last day, has scored more goals than any other player on the team. Stephen Cahill is playing well two and Aidan (McCormack) is always steady with the frees. We’re more aggressive this year too but it will mean eff-all if we don’t lift the Dan Breen for a 37th time this Sunday.”

Sarsfields recently launched the second volume of their club history, written by Liam Ó Donnchú, and their storied past is very much a motivation, says O’Grady.

“We’ve eight All-Ireland winning captains on the walls of our clubhouse and each time the lads get out of their cars they see them. Jimmy Doyle is our God, John Maher, Pádraic and Ronan Maher’s grand-uncle, JJ Callanan… we all looked up to them. Now the young fellas’ Gods are Pádraic and Ronan.

“We were under severe pressure in the early 2000s. I got beaten in five county senior finals, four of them in a row. I saw grown lads cry in the dressing room after the fourth in a row. Lar went on to win eight but we thought we’d never win one.”

O’Grady anticipates a battle on Sunday. “Loughmore are playing better this year than last year. They’re probably the best club in Tipperary. Four finals in two years at senior level, it’s hard to fathom what they have done. Losing those finals by a point, a lot of other clubs would have thrown their hat at it but they’re a different breed out there, them farmers. It’s hard to get the better of them.”