By Cian O’Connell

Good news stories continue to emerge in Mayo hurling.

Founded 18 years ago, Ballyvary initially focussed on developing underage talent, but in 2023 the club is fielding at adult level.

It is a significant achievement for Ballyvary, who defeated Gaeltacht Iorrais in their first competitive fixture more than a week ago.

Billy McGhee, a native of Rathcoole in Dublin, but a real enthusiast for the sport, is delighted that Ballyvary’s perseverance has culminated with a panel now operating in the Mayo junior ranks.

“As somebody involved in Mayo hurling for a good while it has been a real struggle for adult teams,” McGhee says. “Tooreen have been the dominant force, I suppose last year for Moytura to resurrect themselves, and for Gaeltacht Iorrais and ourselves to come along at the same time is hopeful.

“For many of us who have put work in at underage it shows that it actually can be done. It gives us a little bit of hope. I suppose we lost so many players, they got to a certain age and we had no adult team.

“We might have brought them up from U6s and when they got to their teenage years being in a really strong Gaelic Football county, fellas just drifted away and there was no team for them.

“The odd good fella went into Castlebar Mitchels. It is good that in a non traditional hurling place that clubs are managing to put their best foot forward.”

It has been a rewarding spell, but McGhee acknowledges that challenges had to be embraced too. “I suppose when the club was founded you had that initial burst of real enthusiasm,” he reflects. “Even some of those that were involved hadn't come from hurling backgrounds.

“There was a good flush of young players that were brought from U8s and U10s, when they were teenagers they won a couple of competitions. They would have beaten the likes of Tooreen and some of the other teams, when they got beyond minor and U21 it just fizzled out then. A lot of the lads went playing football, you had no adult team to fall into.”

Tough days were plentiful. “There were some lean enough years, hard working coaches kept the show on the road,” he adds. “Sometimes we might send a juvenile team and you could get a real beating which is demoralising too. It was always a struggle for numbers.

“If I was to be honest I'd say about four or five years ago, particularly at U13 and U14 you were thinking what sort of future is there. We had Féile in 2018 so we put a huge effort in.

“We amalgamated with Ballina James Stephens. They were struggling for teenage numbers too so we amalgamated for Féile. That gave us a little bit of a push, we were one of the host clubs.

“There was a big push in 2018, we had a squad then. After that football, rugby, different sports and for many of the lads hurling was their number three sport, and something generally goes in the teenage years. The thing that really saved us to get these lads to play adult hurling was we went into an amalgamation.”

By simply collaborating with others, McGhee sensed that possibilities existed. “We had been with Ballina, but we joined up with Caiseal Gaels to the east, a small club like ourselves. The amalgamation was called St Ciaran's - there was a very good relationship between the three clubs.

“We really worked well together. Individually as clubs we probably had three or four good players each, but that was it. We said in the first year with the amalgamation that we just wanted to compete - we just wanted to put a team out.

“Individually as clubs we knew what it was like to be ringing around. If we were going to Westport we knew what it was like to have eight or nine players. In all fairness a lot of the hurling clubs would look after you because they knew what it was like for small clubs.

“I remember going to Westport one evening for a Táin Óg match, we had eight players and their manager said to come on over.

“They gave us a couple of lads and we ended up having a really good game. The first year we said we'd compete at U15 and U17 level. So we did that and we had numbers which was great.”

Suddenly Ballyvary and the other clubs saw improvement. Competing for honours helped the process too according to McGhee.

“Last year we brought it on another level,” he says. “Lads knew that there was a team, that there was a good bond between the clubs. The likes of the Táin Óg actually really helped us, St Ciaran's won an U15 Táin Óg title last year, our U17s were beaten in an All-Ireland final up in Fermanagh as St Ciaran's, our U17s won a B county title, and our U19s who an U19 B title in MacHale Park.

“I know you only have a handful of clubs, but these are lads that had never won anything in hurling. What happened also was that some of the lads started making county panels. There was a platform, and with a team they were able to develop their own skills.

“When we won the U19 B title at MacHale Park last August and word filtered back to me - maybe because hurling was getting a better profile on social media, things like that - and also they were beginning to play hurling finals at MacHale Park. We hadn't seen that for years so maybe hurlers were getting a better look in.

“Word filtered back to me that lads, who had come in that very first wave of Ballyvary players wanted to know was there a chance - they wanted to go back playing hurling - could we do something. Maybe they knew we had a couple of lads coming through from U19 level.

“We had a couple of tough years, but I'd definitely say the St Ciaran's amalgamation just kept lads hurling that we might have lost before over the previous 10 or 12 years.”

McGhee highlights the sterling work being carried out the clubs involved with St Ciaran’s. The willingness to work together was critical. “Exactly, in many respects, and I know St Kieran's is an amalgamation, we have seen them before, but the St Ciaran's teams actually felt like a club even though the three clubs never lost any of their identity,” McGhee replies.

“I work with Michael Bracken from Caiseal Gaels and Michael Bolger from Ballina, the great thing was, and I can honestly say it was a really equal partnership. We all realised we needed this amalgamation for survival.”

That a pathway is in place for juvenile players to graduate to the adult ranks in Ballyvary is vital. “It was a very historical day for Mayo GAA, but looking at the sideline looking at the Ballyvarry kids that came - U10, U12, U13 hurlers, they had a team to look at wearing Ballyvary colours,” McGhee states about the recent encounter with Gaeltacht Iorrais.

“They can aspire to playing there. Over the winter months while chasing down anybody who expressed an interest in playing hurling, Adrian Hession, the former GPO, who did a lot of work for hurling, he practically knows every hurler in the county.

"I was telling him that I was trying to get the numbers together, and I was wondering was this the time to go, he said a great thing 'sometimes Billy you just have to put a roof on the house'.

“We had a club that was open ended on one level for years, we produced a couple of nice hurlers, who drifted away or went to another club.

“We had a committee meeting last week and there is just something that feels a little bit more complete about the club. That is lovely. You have kids down there at U6s all the way up now to adults. Certainly it has just given a new dynamic to the club.”