The Roscommon Gaels senior hurlers.
By John Harrington
There’s usually a story behind a result.
Roscommon Gaels’ county SHC quarter-final victory over Tremane last weekend is one such example.
Even hurling die-hards in the club would struggle to tell you when they last reached a county hurling semi-final, so this win very much fell into the breakthrough category.
The Gaels were once the preeminent hurling club in the county and when they won their last county championship in 1970 they were way ahead in the roll of honour with 24 titles to their name.
They haven’t even contested another final since 1972 though and in recent years they consistently failed to even make it out of the group phase of the championship.
That changed last year when they reached the quarter-finals so following it up now with progression to the semi-finals represents sustained progress.
That doesn’t happen by accident in hurling’s developing counties. A collective effort has helped Roscommon Gaels raise their level in recent years.
There have always been some great hurling zealots in the club and they’re now being well-supported by an executive that has embraced the One Club model.
A lot of work has gone into coaching and development at underage level, and the senior team has benefited from the transformative management of Ronan O’Meara over the course of the last three years.
Former Roscommon goalkeeper Adrian Tully is a Four Roads man originally but, as a 'blow-in', is one of those who have done a lot of good work to spread the hurling gospel in Roscommon town for the last couple of decades.
The Roscommon Gaels U10 hurlers pictured at a recent blitz.
He manages the U-16 hurlers, is the club development officer, and also helps out in a medical capacity with the club’s senior hurlers so he’s got a good grasp of why hurling in Roscommon Gaels is trending in a positive direction.
“Everybody doesn't have to love hurling and that's okay as long as they don't pull against hurling,” he says.
“We all know of places where they would literally burn the hurls if they could. That culture doesn't exist in Roscommon Gaels. Whatever you like to do, you do it, and the club will encourage you to do it. That's very important.
“We have a very good executive that's a mixture of new and old. Every code is being catered for and it’s more of a One Club model. Everything is structured right down to sponsorship whereby everything that comes in to the club is across the board rather than for one specific team.
“We also made little tweaks in the club that really helps the development of hurling. If U16 hurling training is on a Wednesday and Saturday then there cannot be U16 football on those days. It's hard to believe, but we previously had a situation where you might have a minor hurling team training on a Tuesday evening and then a minor football manager would call training for the same evening.
“So that fella who was a borderline hurler will always go to the football. That has all changed, it's not allowed any more, right through from juvenile to senior level.
“For the last number of years there has a good effort put in at all levels, in fairness. Particularly at underage the results have really started to improve. And not just results, but just generally the level of competitiveness. We have a few very dedicated people involved at underage level who are doing great work.
“And then in terms of the senior team, they'd always been doing okay but struggling for various reasons until we appointed Ronan O'Meara as team manager who is in his third year with the team.
“We've a notable amount now of dual players at adult level which we didn't previously and that's down to Ronan O'Meara and the level of management and coaching he's brought to the thing with his management team.
“Because the standard has risen you'd have some guys who were always talented dual players but who previously only committed to football now playing both codes again. They always loved hurling, but now because it's very well organised they're motivated to go back to it again.”
Roscommon Gaels will play defending champions Four Roads in the County SHC semi-final.
Senior team manager, Ronan O’Meara, is a Garda in Roscommon town and originally a native of Lorrha in Tipperary.
A member of the Roscommon team that won the Nickey Rackard Cup in 2015, he hurled with distinction for many years with Athleague.
Immediately after his retirement from club hurling he took on the role of Roscommon Gaels manager and has made a hugely positive impact in his three years in charge.
“He has been incredible,” says Tully. “For a fella in his first senior management role, the way he carries himself, the way he looks after players and the buy-in he gets from them is brilliant.
“He has never had an issue with football, he always met football managers and worked well with them.
“I've been hugely impressed considering his level of experience coming in. He's just been phenomenal.
“He knows his hurling and he's not roaring and shouting and breaking hurleys across tables. It's very controlled on match-day and he has a great knowledge of the finer arts of hurling from a coaching perspective. Things like positioning, cuteness, that stuff. I couldn't speak highly enough of him.”
The way Tully sees it, Roscommon Gaels are now very much in bonus territory this year.
Camogie is also in rude health at underage level in Roscommon Gaels.
No-one is predicting they’ll defeat reigning champions Four Roads in the semi-final so he hopes they’ll be able to hurl freely with no weight of expectation on their shoulders.
“Last Sunday was a massive game for Roscommon Gaels,” he says. “We needed to get to a county semi-final for the first time in I don't know how long and doing so was very much a monkey off the back for us.
“We're real underdogs now going in against Four Roads particularly as we're missing some key players with injury, but you would hope they would just throw the shackles off and just have a go at it.
“If they lose they lose and they haven't let anyone down. They're not expected to win, so go and have a cut off it.
“I know from my own playing days with Four Roads that we hated playing the Gaels because at home we were always expected to win it. If we won it by 10 points there was no credit and if we didn't win it by 10 points we'd get awful stick.
“Four Roads are always expected to beat the Gaels so the Gaels need to get a squeeze on Four Roads and however they do it stay in the contest for 40 minutes. If they do that then the pressure will come on Four Roads.
“The sideline will get louder, the Four Roads players will feel it, and the Gaels players will be encouraged.”
Regardless of what happens in the semi-final, Tully is very hopeful for the future of hurling in Roscommon Gaels.
The Roscommon Gaels U-14 hurlers pictured after a victory over Tooreen of Mayo this year.
Their underage structures are in good health and now those young hurlers that are coming through have a senior team in the shop window to be inspired by.
“That’s so important,” says Tully. “I don't want to sound like I'm forcing them but I'll always mention the senior game to our young lads and the importance of going along to watch them play.
“A number of the lads would be up there now at the senior games and they'd have their hurls with them. That's one thing that has definitely crept in a bit. You'd see far more young fellas now cycling around town with the hurl on the back or walking around with it in their hand.
“You need the seniors to be visible for the young lads so they have something to aspire to. Because definitely our footballers are out there and that's great. They're regularly reaching semi-finals and finals so that's why so many young lads would want to kick ball in town.
“It would be massive for the club if we could reach a hurling final and I do believe that Roscommon hurling needs the Gaels to come through. Hurling in the county needs an overall lift because it's not in a great place at the moment and, of course, if your town team is strong then it can only be a help.”
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