Nenagh's 15 month journey to the brink of Harty history 

FINAL STEP: Nenagh CBS Captain Darragh McCarthy and Manager Donach O'Donnell at the TUS Dr. Harty Cup Final. Pic: Keith Wiseman

Nenagh CBS made a most dramatic exit from last season’s Harty Cup. It was a premature and dispiriting exit that has shaped their road to Ennis and a shot at history. It was an exit this writer had a ringside seat to.

On a busy and concluding afternoon of Harty group fare 15 months ago, we were dispatched to Hospital for the meeting of Nenagh and Gaelcholáiste Mhuire an Mhainistir Thuaidh.

Nenagh had begun the day two points behind De La Salle on the Group 1 table and with a score difference 20 points worse than the Waterford students they had drawn with a month previous.

Irrespective of what happened between De La Salle and Christians at Ardmore, Nenagh knew that to position themselves for knockout involvement they had to win at Hospital and by a margin that wiped out the aforementioned 20-point score difference.

Both boxes were comprehensively ticked. A 25-point gap at the final whistle. Their bit done, attention turned to Ardmore and the wait for white smoke.

A WhatsApp message came through to say Christians were three ahead in injury-time. It was a state of play immediately relayed to the Nenagh camp standing in the middle of the field. It was a state of play that would see Nenagh progress.

There wasn’t a word spoken during the wait for a full-time message. As the seconds and minutes passed, the collective anxiousness soared. And then it arrived, the outcome Nenagh had most feared.

Last gasp De La Salle goal. Draw match. Nenagh gone.

Players sank to their knees. Hurls were fired at the ground in frustration. The cruelest of eliminations.

Of the 15 that started in Hospital, eight are still around the halls of Nenagh CBS.

“We had it, and we were all waiting in a circle for the text to come in about the other game. But it went wrong,” recalls manager Donach O’Donnell.

“Our fellas were really, really disappointed after making up the score difference and it still not being enough. On the back of that, we had a chat.” 

They swore to store their disappointment. They swore to leave no stone unturned when the calendar ushered in a new Harty campaign.

A month before school returned last September, Nenagh’s Harty hurlers were gathering on the backfield once and twice a week.

“We started in August. Obviously, they were all playing club matches at the time so there was nothing physical in it, we were trying instead to get a lot of the organisation stuff out of the way, puckout and different plays, things like that. 

"We tried to work on that from very early on so that when we did properly go back training, you were a step ahead.

“We have a core leadership group that we take a lot of input from. They were really hungry and really motivated. There was a great buy-in.

“From being so close to qualifying last year, they really wanted to give it a go this year. The players have thrown everything at it, really.” 

Thus far, what they’ve thrown has stuck. Hamilton High School Bandon, Christians, and Charleville twice have all been conquered.

Christians had 11 points on them last season. When they met in last month's quarter-final, Nenagh took the verdict with 16 to spare. A 27-point swing.

This afternoon in Ennis, they will become the fifth team from the school to contest the Harty showpiece. The previous four classes - 1990, ‘96, ‘97, and 2012 - came away empty-handed. History is once more on their doorstep.

“It is a dream for them, it really is,” O’Donnell continues. “Throughout their six years, they supported the Harty teams that came before them. They watched them win and lose games.

“Now they are the ones being supported. The occasion is huge. Our history hasn't been great in the competition, but they are growing it. It is like a dream for them. It is what they really want. They have given everything for it.” 

History has already visited the doorstep of Nenagh CBS this season. Their Dean Ryan hurlers (U17) won the competition for the first time ever. From that side, Conor Grace and Eoghan Doughan are set to start at Cusack Park in chase of a Munster double.

“I think winning the Dean Ryan gave our lads another bit of confidence. Little things like that make a big difference.” 

Irrespective of the end result at Ennis, they’re determined not to depart with the same regret they cradled that Wednesday afternoon in Hospital. This is their story, and they won’t ever again allow anyone else to write it for them.

“From day one, our mantra has been that it is in our hands, we have the chance to do it if we want to do it, that we are not relying on results from other places, that they can work for each other, play for each other, and improve as a team. That’s all we want.”