Tom Hayes on the pull of Upperchurch: 'There's a toughness in us, but it's allied to a lot of skill'

The Tipperary outfit look forward to special day in Croke Park this weekend. 

Upperchurch-Drombane's Keith Ryan. Pic:  ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Like several Tipperary people living in Dublin, Tom Hayes discovered the secret of bilocation a long time ago.

Hayes was in his teens when he left Upperchurch and threw a stone in the Liffey.

For many years, his adopted Ballinteer St John’s has benefitted from his presence as has the Tipperary GAA Supporters Club in Dublin but in many ways he’s never left home.

From the capital, he played and then served as Upperchurch-Drombane chairman and remains part of the club’s executive committee. He isn’t on one of the four supporters’ buses leaving the parish for Croke Park on Saturday, but he won’t be long in greeting his folk as they step off.

“I’m an Upperchurch man to the core,” smiles Hayes, brother of former Tipperary kitman John 'Hotpoint'. “I still have the house I grew up in, in Drombane. I hardly miss an Upperchurch championship match.

“They are my roots, my friends, my neighbours. I’m passionate about the game of hurling, whether it’s in Tipperary or Dublin. And we’ve had a tremendous year of it in Tipperary with the All-Ireland senior and U20s, somewhat against the odds. This Upperchurch run makes it extra special. It’s beyond the wildest dreams.

“The main objective this year was to win the county intermediate championship and get back up to where they considered a rightful place to be in the Dan Breen competition to win the county championship. And that was no easy task.

“Getting through, they were quite fortunate, especially the Ballina game in the round-robin when they almost went out of the championship.

“The teams they beat after – Killenaule, Gortnahoe, Carrick Swans – would all be worthy of playing in the Dan Breen but thankfully we’re there. And we hope to stay there. Only yesterday I was talking to a man from a very strong hurling club in Tipperary and he said nobody will fancy playing Upperchurch in this year's (senior) championship.” 

It was less than four years ago that Upperchurch made their first senior semi-final, losing out to eventual winners Kilruane MacDonaghs, just as they finished runners-up to Clonmel Commercials in the senior football championship.

Much like Loughmore-Castleiney, they have found a way to complement their dual pursuits. Their All-Ireland final opponents, inter-county laden Tooreen, have an abundance of players proficient in both codes but of Upperchurch’s All-Ireland semi-final starting team 11 began the SFC semi-final against Clonmel Commercials.

“The one thing about Upperchurch, and I mean, I know myself, I hurled with Upperchurch for years and even observing them for the past number of years, by the time you've Upperchurch beaten, you've earned it,” says Hayes.

“Sometimes, they play teams that maybe are technically stronger or whatever and maybe have a better spread of inter-county players. But I can tell you this much, there's a phenomenal character, resilience, physical strength in them as well. They're, I suppose, mountainy people. There's a toughness in us, but that toughness is allied to a lot of skill.

“You have lads now who have played inter-county apart from the likes of the Ryans, Keith and Gavin, such as Luke Shanahan, Paul (Shanahan) got a run at one stage, Paddy Phelan has a minor and U20 All-Ireland medals. Ally that to the indomitable, never-say-die spirit that's there, you have the makings of a team.” 

Upperchurch will require all of that when leading forward Paudie Greene has been ruled out with a dislocated knee he sustained against Danesfort before Christmas and there are doubts about the fitness of starlet Phelan.

But according to the club’s most decorated member, former Tipperary defender and 2016 All-Ireland SHC winning manager Michael Ryan, they have been emancipated since emerging from the county.

“Against Ballinhassig, they played with a freedom that hadn’t been seen earlier in the year,” Ryan said earlier this week. “Now they have achieved what they set out to achieve, and we are in bonus territory. They have raised their level at every successive stage.” 

Manager Liam Dunphy (Roscrea) and coach James McGrath (Toomevara) were in charge when Upperchurch made the last four of the county senior championship in 2022. They were coaxed back after relegation. They didn’t need much persuasion.

“I would say we have made friends for life in Upperchurch,” Dunphy said last November. “We do this for the love of the game, the love of hurling more than anything else. The former chairman (Michael Griffin) came and asked if we would come back to give a hand. It was a pretty automatic decision. You get lots of phone calls in the GAA but this was an easy one to say yes to.” 

It’s a renewal of acquaintances that has reaped plenty so far. Further glory would prompt the greatest hoolie in the hills of Slieve Felim. The parish’s famous shebeen, Jim O’ The Mills, which only opens on Thursdays, may have to make an exception.