The Clonguish U-16 hurlers.
By John Harrington
Growing hurling in counties where Gaelic football is the dominant sport isn’t easy, but the good news is that hard work pays off.
The Táin Óg U-16 Finals take place this weekend and all of the clubs involved will tell you a version of a similar story.
If you give children the opportunity to play hurling they will grasp it with both hands and ultimately the experience will be enriching for players, mentors, and parents alike.
Clonguish from Longford contest the Connacht West Division 1 semi-final and, hopefully from their perspective, the final also on Sunday, and they’re typical of the growing number of clubs in Ireland who revived their underage hurling structures and are reaping the rewards.
“There hadn't been underage hurling for a number of years and the team that will play this weekend is the first gang we've had from U-8 hurling all the way up along,” says Clonguish U-16 team manager, John O’Brien.
“They're a really good bunch of hurlers and have gotten a lot of exposure to good games this year.
“This year we entered Division 1 of the Táin Óg just to see where we were at in terms of the standard and how much the guys have progressed.
“We expected we'd be playing teams of a higher standard but we've actually been well able to compete against them in all bar one of the games which was against Athleague from Roscommon. That was a bit of an eye-opener but it was great for our lads to be able to test themselves and see where the bar is.
“We also played Roscommon Gaels and Castlebar and we were well able to hold our own against them which was good and is a testament to the work that's gone on over the last number of years.
“It just goes to show that when they do get consistent games over a number of years that there's a real improvement and an appetite among the lads to play hurling.
“Right now they're at an age where they can pick and choose what they want to play and where they want to go of an evening because there so many other options now.
“But in fairness to them a good chunk of them have stuck with the hurling even though they'd all be footballers as well. So you're talking about lads who are really keen to be dual code players which is great.
“A lot of them would be on underage county football panels but they've stayed committed to the hurling as well because the games are there and the standard is there.”
The Clonguish and Roscommon Gaels captains pictured before their Táin Óg U-16 clash earlier this year.
The genius of the Táin Óg and Cúchulainn Leagues is that they wipe away county and provincial boundaries and give clubs in developing counties a greater number of meaningful matches than they could possibly have from playing teams within their own county bounds.
“We've played five competitive games already this year in the Táin Óg and if we didn't have them you'd be wondering where you'd get matches,” says O’Brien.
“You just wouldn't be getting them, you'd have to be scavenging the country looking for challenge matches which isn't easy.
“So, yeah, the Táin Óg is a Godsend. We'd actually love if it could be extended and you could play both home and away against every club because we'll have a bit of a lull period before our next hurling competition starts at the end of June which is the regional Féile.
“There's a bit of travelling in the Táin Óg because you're playing teams in other counties but the players don't mind travelling and the parents seem to be happy to travel too once the kids are as interested as they are."
Clonguish play Western Gaels of Roscommon in the Connacht West semi-final at 11.30 in Bekan COE with the winner then taking on the either Athleague or Roscommon Gaels in the Final.
Having tasted defeated against Athleague earlier in the competition, Clonguish would love a chance to test themselves against the same opposition if the stars aligned.
“Yeah, Athleague are in the other semi-final and I know our lads would love to get to the final so they could have another crack at them because we were missing a few players the last time we played them,” says O’Brien.
“I think that's what has the guys really looking forward to the weekend and buzzing to play. We had a good training session the other night and they all seemed to be very eager. So, yeah, we're looking forward to it.”
