Watergrasshill's Seán Desmond pictured ahead of the AIB All-Ireland Club IHC Final.
By Cian O’Connell
“He has brought an awful lot, to be honest with you,” Seán Desmond responds when asked about Watergrasshill manager Eddie Enright’s contribution.
Back in 2001 Enright won an All-Ireland with Tipperary, while also starring in UCC and Thurles Sarsfields colours. Throughout the past decade and a half, though, Enright has been a key figure on and off the field of play for Watergrasshill, who face Tynagh/Abbey-Duniry in Sunday’s AIB All-Ireland IHC Final at Croke Park.
“He has brought a serious amount,” Desmond adds. “Eddie has been down in Watergrasshill for a few years now, he has been involved before with the intermediate team, and he's back involved this year.
“We probably train Tuesday, Thursday, and at the weekend, but you'd see Eddie there down below at the pitch on a Monday training the kids, he could train another set of kids on a Wednesday night.”
That passion for hurling and development is crucial. “He brings an awful lot to the team, but to the club, too,” Desmond says. “He is a massive part of the club. Eddie runs Cúl Camps in the summer down at the pitch, he's a massive part of our club.
“He brings an awful lot to the table to help us as a team. We're grateful to have him, he's a big part of the success. He's a big person to have with the squad.”
Winning Intermediate titles in Cork and Munster illustrates Watergrasshill’s potential. Desmond has won an All-Ireland U20 with Cork and acknowledges that something is stirring in the club. “Watergrasshill was always known as a small place, but now it is starting to build,” Desmond says.
“You've a lot of new houses going up so you've a lot of young fellas. There is probably two teams for a fair few ages along the way. There is a load of young people coming through.”
Securing silverware at adult level helps the next generation. “The success we've had is not for us as the players and management from 2024 or whatever,” Desmond remarks.
Sean Desmond and Micheál Mullins celebrate following Cork's All-Ireland U20 Final win in 2021. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
“It is to benefit the whole lot of the club. You see kids, you're coming off the pitch after a game, they're just over the moon watching their adult team in the club getting to finals and winning cups. That is going to drive them on to do the same thing in years to come.
“They're going to try to push as hard as they can to get up the years, to play with us. It is a snowball effect really, we've some serious young underage hurlers, who will be coming through.
“The main goal is to keep them involved, to keep them playing, in the hurling. Hopefully we will get them involved with us down the line.”
Desmond mined three points in Imokilly’s Cork SHC triumph over Sarsfields in October. It was a hectic, but rewarding spell. “It is actually fairly full on, to be honest,” he says. “There is a great understanding between the Imokilly Division and the club.
“In fairness, we'd asked Eddie at the start of the year, what the story was with Imokilly. He was all for us to go about it, the more of us the better, he said the more of us playing with Imokilly, at a higher standard, we'd bring that into our own club games, to rise up the standard there, too. So, it definitely benefited us a lot.”
Planning and plotting was needed, but Watergrasshill found a way. “It wasn't easy,” Desmond says. “You were probably out Monday night with Imokilly, you were out with your club Tuesday night, you're probably off on a Wednesday night, but you're not really. You're doing a bit of recovery after doing two sessions night after night.
“You're back in with the club on Thursday, you might have an Imokilly session on the Friday maybe. You'd have club then again at the weekend. So, it was fairly full on. It is what we love doing, we enjoy doing it, and we got to where we're today, we're happy enough.”
Croke Park on a Sunday in January is the next stop on Watergrasshill’s adventure. “It isn't a bad place to be, that is one thing for sure, at the start of the year,” Desmond accepts.
“It is going to be class, in fairness, it is a new one for a lot of us. Everyone is excited for it.”
