Stakelum clan reflect on hurling pedigree for launch of Dundon biography

Thurles Sarsfields Darragh Stakelum races past Loughmore Castleiney Lorcan Egan.

Last Saturday, the extended Stakelum family and friends descended on Ballycahill Hall to celebrate the launch of Noel Dundon’s “Legend of the Ash” biography about their great patriarch Pat.

Captain of Tipperary’s 1949 All-Ireland winning team, Pat’s nephew Richard famously emulated him in lifting the provincial title in 1987. Two years later and another nephew Bobby Ryan was first up the Hogan Stand steps to end the county’s 18-year wait for the Liam MacCarthy Cup.

Launching the book and underlining the clan’s hurling pedigree was the family’s most honoured captain, Pat’s grand-nephew and Limerick’s four-time All-Ireland winning skipper Declan Hannon. Factor in his five Celtic Crosses and the Stakelums have amassed 15 in total across three generations.

Among the crowd that night was current Tipperary forward Conor Stakelum junior, who faced his second cousin Hannon for the first time in championship fare this past summer. Nephew of Richard and son of 1989 and ‘91 All-Ireland SHC winner Conor senior, a selector to Michael Ryan when Tipperary beat Kilkenny in the 2016 final, it’s fitting that he has graduated from Durlas Óg, which was set up by Pat, to become a Thurles Sarsfields mainstay.

As hefty as it might seem, never once has he felt the weight of the Stakelum lineage. “Dad, to be fair, didn’t transfer extra pressure or the name. All his uncles and brothers were the same – there was never any expectation there.

“All he wants us to do in sport or life is just be honest and stay working hard. At least you can stand by that but in terms of living up to the family name I’ve never had to do that or felt it. As long as you leave it all out there on the pitch, I think people will look you in the eye and know you did your best.”

For the most decorated club in Tipperary hurling, Stakelum readily admits Sarsfields’ best hasn’t been good enough these last five years. Two years ago, it took something monumental in a replay from Loughmore-Castleiney to deny them a 37th senior title, a game which Stakelum missed with a quad injury. But the seasons have otherwise been middling for the club’s flagship team.

Thurles Sarfields' Conor Stakelum shoots past John Campion of Drom and Inch.

Making his senior debut as Sarsfields completed the four-in-a-row in 2017, the good times ended abruptly for him. “In 2017, I was 18 and thought this was it, I’m going to be competing in county finals. I was just in awe of the players in there like Paudie, Ronan (Maher), Lar Corbett, Pa Bourke.

“That was the standard that they set but change happens and players drop off and the few years after were very difficult and you find yourself having to suddenly step up to the plate. That definitely was something we all struggled with as well. When you get to the top, how do you maintain it and we all agreed we dropped off.

“I think when Pádraic went from playing in a county final (in 2021) to being gone all of a sudden and Ronan was missing for a few games, their absence was a big shock for us.

“It also took us a bit of time to adjust after the four in a row. It might have taken us too long to say, ‘Right, let’s inject some youth into the team’. Slowly, we began to rebuild with fresh faces and to be fair Mark Dowling did a great job with us. There is expectation but other clubs have those aspirations too. There are no easy games in Tipp. The standard has definitely gone up.” Those benchmarks extend to off the field too. Setting up a video production and marketing company Retake.ie with Ben Walsh, Stakelum chose not to launch it until Tipperary exited this year’s championship.

With his business management acumen and Walsh’s videography expertise, the pair have already landed contracts producing high-spec visual content for large corporate firms. “We haven’t yet pinpointed what we are,” he says. “We just want to be ready to move whatever way the landscape shapes up. We’ve a good growth mindset.” In his second year in Tipperary panel, Stakelum was an ever-present from the second championship game against Cork. It's another forum where the 24-year-old has had to step up but Liam Cahill and Mikey Bevans have been encouraging. “A lot of us there have soldiered together underage and it is up to us now to take it to the next level but that’s not a pressure, that’s just the nature of the beast.

“Some lads move on and other lads have to take their places. Liam and Mikey have put in place the structures that will allow us do that. Seamie and Noelie and Ronan, how they have helped younger players has been huge. They’ve been the leaders on the pitch and away from it when nobody sees.” Stakelum considers himself blessed to still have the counsel of Pádrraic Maher. As manager, he has guided Sarsfields from a first day slip against Kiladangan to the form team going into tomorrow’s final.

“We regrouped and to be fair I don’t think the best management team in the world would be able to plan for a team to hit peak form in a quarter-final or semi-final,” says Stakelum. “Momentum is a funny thing. You can’t just decide to have it. We just ground out a few results from tricky games and kept building.”