Adam Screeney: 'Leinster club final will be a titanic battle'
Adam Screeney of Kilcormac-Killoughey scores a point.
A neighbour of the Screeneys is a glazier who has gotten plenty of business from the household over the years.
Adam, in particular, has heard that telltale smash and felt his stomach drop many times. It happened again as recently as last year, an errant strike and a sound of glass shattering.
"Any time I end up ringing him, he knows to ask, 'Oh, which window is it?'" smiled Screeney. "He has measurements to all the windows now."
It's a classic 10,000 hours of practice tale which explains just how Offaly's boy wonder has developed his remarkable collection of tricks, flicks, touches and skills.
He was at it again last weekend, scooping up a loose ball in the dying minutes of their Leinster club semi-final against Castletown Geoghegan and striking to the net. It was the match-winning goal and the ball never touched his hand. A mastery of hurling's fundamentals.
And yet, bring up Screeney's name around the watercooler and you'll be told he needs to bulk up.
"I don't really pass much remarks on it, to be honest," shrugged the UL student. "You don't want hurling to turn into just a game of fitness. You still want the level of skill that people from other places can't do. Like, people who aren't from Ireland come over and they can hardly hold a hurley, it just shows how talented all those hurlers are out there and what they're able to do with a ball.
"I do enjoy going to the gym with the lads. It's as enjoyable as going training. I suppose everyone is built differently. We'll keep going at it anyway."
Richie Hogan made the comment that when he was Screeney's age, he wasn't as good. And it didn't work out too badly for the Kilkenny man.
"I think he won Hurler of the Year one year and that doesn't come around for everyone," said Screeney. "He was a fair operator in his time and he still is now. I saw a game with Danesfort and he was very good. I don't know, maybe just because it was him looking at himself, he doesn't realise (how good he was), but he's extremely skilful."
Screeney is part of a group of brilliant young players who all came through at once for Kilcormac-Killoughey. County chairman Michael Duignan spoke recently about an 'exceptional' U-14 team that Screeney was part of. Remarkably, 11 Kilcormac-Killoughey players made it onto this year's All-Ireland winning Offaly U-20 panel.
And yet there are no guarantees he'll leave Croke Park with the tin.
"Na Fianna are a serious side and they have great experience after being there last year," said Screeney. "It's going to be a Titanic battle."
Na Fianna (Dublin) v Kilcormac-Killoughey (Offaly)
Padraig Dunne
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