By Cian O’Connell

“I don't know what we would talk about if we hadn't sport in our house,” Doon manager Tony Ward laughs.

That was the grim Covid reality during lockdown when the thought of preparing for a match provided a dash of hope for the future. Last weekend, though, the Ward family were all readying themselves for battles on the playing fields of Ireland.

Tony Ward is synonomous with the Galway camogie and Sarsfields hurling stories, but is now thoroughly enjoying a stint in charge of progressive outfit Doon, who face Kilmallock in a Limerick SHC semi-final at the LIT Gaelic Grounds on Saturday.

“Hurling and camogie has always been a big part of my life,” Ward explains. “If you take last Saturday morning here in our house my son was getting ready for a county quarter final with Sarsfields in the senior, my other son was training Ahascragh-Fohenagh for a county quarter-final and my two daughters were getting ready for a county semi-final in camogie.

“It was an interesting Saturday morning here in our house, I was down in the conservatory trying to plot Doon against South Liberties. So that is the kind of a house I'm coming from.”

Sport is always on the agenda around New Inn and Bullaun. “When you come from the same area as the Joe Cooneys, Michael McGraths, Padraig Kellys, sport is everywhere you go,” Ward admits. “Even outside mass on a Saturday evening it is sport that is talked about all of the time in the area.”

Ward played when Sarsfields were great, the most respected outfit in the land. “You learn from different managers,” he acknowledges.

“I trained under some of the best managers going, Mike Conneely, even to train for a while under Inky Flaherty. You learn. The longer you go on and the longer you stay in it the wiser you get. 

“It is in the blood. When you stop hurling yourself you get into it. When you are hurling I enjoyed it, I loved it, and I hated pulling away from it, but time catches up on everyone.”

There is always some challenge that can be embraced, though, according to Ward. The days with the Galway camogie team brought further tests and triumphs too.

“To go back into management was always a dream I had,” Ward adds. “I probably went into management maybe a bit too young, back in '93 I took over the Galway senior camogie team.

“That wasn't an easy task at that time when you were just straight out of hurling, but it was the best way of learning your trade really. Everyday you get up you are learning something new, the day you stop learning is the day you get out of it.”

Now the guts of three decades have been spent getting teams at every level primed for action. That brings a sense of satisfaction, but 2020 has been a year like no other.

The opportunity to manage outside of Galway was an itch Ward wanted to scratch. “It is something that was always in my head to do, whether it be an outside county or an outside club team away from Galway,” Ward states.

“You learn from going to other clubs and the way different people approach things. It was something I always wanted to do and when the chance came I took it. I'm really enjoying it.

“Okay I don't enjoy the long miles now that the nights are getting dark again, travelling in the dark, but it is something I always wanted to do.”

Doon’s similarities with Sarsfields are plentiful. “I couldn't have picked a better club team than Doon because they are so into it and they love their hurling,” Ward remarks.

“They are passionate about it - the supporters, players. It resembles the Sarsfields team I was involved with where you had the McGrath brothers, Cooney brothers, Kenny brothers. Now we have Ryans, Stapletons, O'Donovans, all families again, the Colemans and O'Briens, first cousins. It is all a family thing again and they resemble Sarsfields in a big way.”

Injuries have impacted Doon in recent weeks, but Ward isn’t looking for any excuses or mitigating circumstances.

Doon’s potential captured Ward's imagination. “It is a club that hasn't had a fall off in terms of players,” Ward comments.

“Most of the players that have come through have stuck the pace. They have fed off the Under 21 win and even this year's minors they are all lads stepping up for a senior jersey.”

While the pandemic has supplied problems and difficulties a deep connection has been forged with Doon. “It is 81 miles from my door to the training ground in Doon, I'm enjoying it because the boys are a serious bunch of lads,” Ward stresses. “They want to get over that line, to get that senior county title, they really want it.

“If someone told us four months ago that we would have even this behind closed doors we'd have taken it. I think the one thing this Covid has proved to people is how important the GAA - hurling, football, and camogie is to people. It is a major part of their lives.”

The interest levels in the club game are increasing and Ward is relishing the adventure. “They have never been higher and the only sad thing about it is when we were leaving Doon on Sunday morning going to the game was seeing the people in the village lining both sides of the street,” Ward reveals.

“They wanted to be there, inside in the Gaelic Grounds supporting their sons, nieces, nephews, and young kids that wanted to be there for older brothers or uncles, their heroes.

“The young fellas from Doon wanted to be in shouting for the Pat Ryans, Darragh O'Donovans. That side of it is sad that they can't get more supporters into the grounds. It is hard, but it is great to have the hurling back and the football back.”

Ward’s passion and purpose endures.