Aaron Graffin, who has not worn an Antrim jersey since suffering a cruciate ligament injury against Westmeath in May 2015 makes his return to the Saffron shirt against Carlow in tomorrow’s Christy Ring final at Croke Park.

The team is along expected lines but Graffin’s inclusion being the big talking point while Dunloy teenager Conal Cunning had been added to the list of subs

By John McIlwaine

Neil McManus was out working in the garden of his new home in Cushendall when a voice from behind says “ Hi boy you better take it easy, you have a big match coming up next weekend”. Neil turned to find behind him none other than Hollywood superstar Liam Neeson, who had been spending a couple of days in the seaside village. Big Liam went on to chat about the game of hurling and told the Antrim star that he had hurled a bit himself in this time at St Patrick’s College in Ballymena in the1960s where he won the North Antrim Vocational Schools title in 1966.

“I was totally dumbstruck to be honest” was Neil’s reaction, “I couldn’t believe just how down to earth the man was. I was buzzing about meeting such a big star so I went in the house and got one of my Antrim jerseys and presented it to him”

 

The news of Liam playing for St Patrick’s is something I was well aware of as I was a member of that very team in 1966. To be honest I wasn’t very good and in truth I don’t really remember whether Liam was either as the stars of that team were the boys from the hurling clubs like PJ O’Mullan, the late Barry Mullholland and Denis Burns from Loughgiel and Kieran Dempsey from Cushendall. The team was made up of players from areas which at that time had no hurling at all like Ballymena, Glenravel and Ahoghill, but some of the players from there like Ahoghill’s Raymond Quinn and Ballymena’s Tony McAvoy (better known for his boxing prowess) and ‘tough as teak’ Pat Jordan were natural athletes and took to the game like ducks to water. We played our home games on the newly laid All Weather pitch at St Patrick’s, which I might add was nothing like the lush grass-like 4G surfaces of today. This one was as hard as the road with a sprinkling of quarry dust on top to cushion the blow and if you went down on it your bore the scars for weeks afterwards. Our team manger Dominic O’Loan, who that season guided Glenravel to their one and only Senior Football Championship title, knew that once we got used to the surface it would be a big advantage to us, and so it proved. We beat Our Lady of Lourdes, Ballymoney in the final, for which we had home advantage for some strange reason, and while they had a lot of players from the hurling strongholds of Loughgiel and Dunloy in their ranks, they could not adapt to playing on our pitch, having played all their hurling on grass. Dominic had us working on ground hurling and on a surface like that the ball flew along. I can’t remember the actual score of the game but I’m almost sure we score more goals than points in that final.

When Liam was granted the Freedom of the Borough of Ballymena back in November 2012 I was there photographing the event for the Ballymena Times. During a quiet moment when Liam was in the  Parlour with Mayor of Ballymena Ald PJ McAvoy (older brother of the aforementioned Tony McAvoy) I got the chance to present him with a copy of the team photo from that final, and got him to sign a couple of others as well. There are a good few players in the photograph whose names I still struggle to remember, but I was amazed when the big man rattled them all off.

The Hollywood legend is a regular visitor to this part of the world and comes back to see family and friends when his busy schedule allows. He loves his native Ballymena, the Glens of Antrim and his county, so who knows he may well pop up in Croker on Saturday to cheer on the men in Saffron.

You know something…he might even be wearing McManus’s jersey!

 

 

Carlow hurling historian Leo McGough’s love affair with Carlow hurling began many years ago, and in a somewhat quaint fashion, but it engendered in him a love of the greatest game on earth. Since those early days Leo has travelled the length and breadth of the country, following the game at all levels, and in all counties, but the love of his native county outweighs them all. With strong Clare connections he is an avid fan of the Munster championship and the path between his Carlow home and Semple Stadium in Thurles is well trodden. On the eve of the Christy Ring Cup final he tells us about his early love of reading, and writing and about following the ‘Scallion Eaters’ through the good days and the bad. Many Antrim supporters will know just how he feels.

It started in the attic by Leo McGough

IT started with improvised attic insulation! My love affair with Carlow hurling and writing! Improvised attic insulation?! Yes, that’s how it all began and like many a love story it started without any warning! You see the father built a house in Brownes Hill in the early 60’s and used old newspapers as attic insulation, full copies of the ‘Irish Independent’ ‘Evening Press’ and ‘Sunday Independent’ layered between the beams along the ceiling-roof, some stuffed down into the gaps around the edges. I often remember as a small boy watching Daddy going up into the loft to fix something or other and he would bring down with him an old newspaper or two. As I got older and my interest in sport increased, I would ask for an old Monday newspaper to be thrown down! Monday’s papers had the match reports and having been reared on the hard-luck stories of Clare hurlers I would search the papers for mention of their games. Never found any but read with fascination about the exploits of the Irish rugby team, Shamrock Rovers in soccer, about International boxing, the Kuttner Shield, Ireland v. England or Ireland v. Wales. Came the time when I was old enough to take torch in hand and climb up the ladder into the loft myself. Dust, cobwebs and aching knees from balancing on rafters in confined space were small impediments in pursuit of the ‘truth in the news!’ Then, one Sunday morning, it happened. I was up in the loft browsing through the old newspapers when I came across a ‘Nationalist’ dated May 1962 and I’ll never forget the big heading on the sports page “The Boys are back in town” The sub-heading was ‘Carlow hurlers are ready to go places’ and underneath the opening paragraphs in bold read ‘Carlow’s Intermediate hurling team, the junior championship giants of 1960, the team that only fell to mighty London, and then only at London’s second attempt, are back in form.

‘With a twirl of ash and a twinkle in their eye they cut down the men from Westmeath in their youth in Dr. Cullen Park on Sunday. In the pink of condition and playing with all the dash and confidence of born champions the Carlow men had little of the staleness they showed last year when beaten by Wexford in the second round of the 1961 series. ‘Their performance was a great fillip for the few hundred spectators. Here was a team that looked like something and played like something. A team that could go far and surely will go far. The spirit of 1960 is back again and Carlow’s hurlers are on the highroad to hurling honours’.

I was hooked! The report had introduced me to, among others, ‘Red’ Willie Walsh, ‘Black’ Willie, Walsh, four-goal Pat Brophy and Willie Hogan. I wanted to know how these hurlers got on? Did they go places? What was it happened them against London two years previously? From that moment on I was a Carlow hurling follower! That was early 1972 and the ten year old Nationalist not only sparked a keen interest in Carlow hurling but those bouncy paragraphs – written by Seamus O’Rourke – also inspired me to put pen to paper myself. The internal hurling league in Carlow CBS Primary School was recorded in a spare copy-book, match reports attempting to ape Jack Mahon’s ‘Twelve Glorious Years’ and his personal account of an eventful era in Galway football. The same Jack Mahon had started a very popular column called ‘Junior Desk’ in the now defunct ‘Gaelic Sport’ magazine in which he invited readers letters and I had been one of his most faithful correspondents, listing my favourite Clare hurlers and giving news of the school league! Now, though, I had a new interest, Carlow hurling and if the fascination with the Carlow hurlers of the 1960s wasn’t sufficient, along came a marvellous 1972 county senior championship and again the power of words was brought home to me. The small previews and after-match reports in the ‘Nationalist’ whetted my appetite further, previews and reports which carried a tempo and passion that I like to think I emulate to this day. Most of those words of ’72 were penned by the late Jim O’Brien and many years later I took it as a huge compliment when Ollie O’Boyle, a strong Carlow GAA man, compared my writings to those of the former County Secretary. Jim, football manager Turlough’s father, was also to play a big role in solving the problem of what happened that Carlow team of ‘The Boys are back in town’ heading as he had in his possession all the back issues of the Nationalist! Those bound, hard-covered files were perused with avid interest and it was there was born the idea of publishing a book about Carlow hurling, tracing the game from it’s early origins in the county to the present day. Having had the idea passed at a meeting of Carlow Hurling Club, the work got underway in earnest and apart from consulting the old newspaper files we set about interviewing many of the most important people involved with the small ball code by Barrowside. Thus, with P.L. Curran in the role of Chief Research Officer, acting as chauffeur and in charge of tape recording, I got to meet and chat with the aforementioned ‘Red’ Willie Walsh and Willie Hogan as well as Pat Somers, the captain of the Carlow ’62 team, Jimmy Phelan, the man who trained that historic winning team, a man who had scored 2-1 for Kilkenny in the 1939 ‘Thunder and Lightning’ All-Ireland final. Seeking information on hurling further back in time it was a privilege to interview such gentlemen as Mick Jones and Mick Gaynor of Bagenalstown, a doyen of Carlow hurling, a star of the Carlow team who beat Wexford in Enniscorthy in 1935. The final product was a publication called ‘Carlow Hurling Memories’ a book that has become a real collectors’ item. Printed by the Nationalist, the 128 page A-4 sized pages were packed with tales of Carlow hurling, club and county, the centre-piece of which was ‘Carlow’s Glory Years 1957-1962’ in which all the questions posed by that newspaper find in the loft were answered! Memorable days, famous outings in New Ross (the 1960 Leinster Junior final, the county’s first title win since 1907), Kilkenny (‘the wet September day on which Cork, the home of Munster hurling were beaten in the 1960 home final), New Eltham (a mud-lark on the outskirts of London, caught by late Phil Wilson scores), Birr (Galway, then Munster champions, outscored in the ’62 ‘Home’ Intermediate final) and Croke Park (sweet revenge against London) were recalled, the story ending with Carlow’s first ever All-Ireland title in either code, the Intermediate championship of 1962 and their subsequent NHL victory over Cork and Christy Ring and all in their first outing as seniors. 1962 will always hold a special place in Carlow hurling folklore for, as the Roscrea chapter on their Tipperary SHC breakthrough declared, ‘There will never be another first’

Yes, the Nationalist reporter Seamus O’Rourke who declared, long before Thin Lizzy, that ‘the boys were back in town’ had been proved right in his assertion that Carlow were ‘on the highroad to hurling honours’. London cabbie calls the shots It was to be fully 30 years before Carlow again enjoyed All-Ireland success, the ‘B’ SHC success of 1992. In between Carlow had come close on a few occasions, reaching the Leinster IHC decider in 1968 and winning the All-Ireland ‘B’ SHC ‘Home’ crown in 1987 only to lose the final proper to London in Dr. Cullen Park. In ’91, Westmeath toppled Carlow in the All-Ireland ‘B’ SHC ‘home’ final in Croke Park, a game played as a curtain-raiser to one of the famous Meath v Dublin football draws, but Carlow were to gain sweet revenge again the following year when beating Westmeath in a ‘Home’ final replay in Tullamore. The final was in London and with a bus organized from Kelly’s of Centaur Street this scribe was destined for his first journey outside the country. It was a great trip, a real test of fitness!, and, of course, the result made it all worthwhile, John Byrne leading Carlow to their second All-Ireland title, thus lifting the exact same Cup as Pat Somers did for the Intermediate championship three decades before. A different cup now but it is, effectively, the same competition as Carlow won in 1962 and 1992. The night before the ’92 final a group of us were traveling in a London taxi from Sheppard’s Bush to Ger Foley’s Windmill pub in Acton which had become a haven for all ‘scallion-eaters’ that week-end. We were in good spirits, literally!, and got a great laugh out of one of our party asking the coloured taxi driver as to “what he made of the Carlow hurlers?” Without any hesitancy and with a deadpan expression our taxi-driver friend quickly replied “they not as good a team as they were last year”!

Casement Park

The Antrim hurling horizon Early 1992, just three years after Antrim had contested the All-Ireland senior hurling final, just a year after the Saffrons had rattled Kilkenny in an All-Ireland semi-final, I sat high up in the Casement Park stand, an old-fashioned fixed-phone in hand, sending a live after-match report to the old KCR Radio on a vital Antrim v Carlow National Hurling League match. We had travelled with high hopes of promotion, the home side’s greater big-time experience proved our downfall. I can vividly remember looking out over the Belfast horizon and telling listeners that though we are disappointed right now, I would love to see our conquerors bring the Liam MacCarthy Cup to Belfast, to the hurling mad Glens and, you know, at that time, it was not a complete pipe-dream, Antim were not coming from as far back as, say, Offaly were on their rise to the top. That gap between us and Antrim was there in 1976 in a virtually deserted Croke Park when Antrim hit us for six (six goals!) in an All-Ireland ‘B’ semi-final, my first time to cheer on my beloved red, yellow and green in headquarters. In ’76 and ’92, we were, truth to tell, significantly behind Antrim in hurling’s pecking order. The gap remained when we were well beaten in the 2006 Christy Ring Cup final. Fast forward to 2010, an All-Ireland qualifier, we on a high after beating Laois and sweeping into an early lead of something like 2-3 to 0-1, Carlow cheers echoed round Casement Park. We were beaten in the end, the Antrim celebrations were a testament to our improvement, but we have yet to beat the Northern stickmen in a major hurling confrontation …

Maybe on Saturday…….the gap is closing!

 

 

 

 

By Brendan Hennessy

KCLR commentator Brendan Hennessy, a man with Belfast connections give his views on Saturday’s Christy Ring final between his native Carlow and Antrim. Brendan has commentated on sports like rugby and Gaelic football for a range of channels over the years in both radio and TV, but his first love is hurling and can’t wait for Saturday’s decider.

I am delighted to get the opportunity to write a few lines for the Saffron Gael in the lead up to the Christy Ring Cup final on Saturday, as my connection with Antrim hurling goes back a long way.

As a spectator from Carlow, I sat in the bottom of the Cusack stand with my father and my Belfast cousins and friends on all Ireland final day in 1989 (even though our tickets were for Hill 16 ) cheering on Antrim against Tipperary, I knew all of the Antrim players at that particular time  and remember all the great names of that era , Ciran Barr was my favourite player and I also liked  Sambo McNaughton.

St Patricks day 1989 is also another day I cheered on O’Donovan Rossa against Buffers Alley as my cousin Chris Condon was part of the Rossa team that took part in the AIB Club final, and here I am years later broadcasting all Carlow GAA games on Radio,and meeting great people like John Curly McIlwaine on my travels every week.

Gerry Rogan became a great friend of our family over the years and when the Rossa team travelled to play in the Siucra 11s in Carlow during the early nineties, a late session in our house did not help their cause in trying to win the tournament. I will say no more as the fella said.

My father still has a hurl that is pride of place in our home that Gerry Rogan gave to him back then.

So on to Saturday. Well both Antrim and Carlow have served up some terrific games in recent times with just the bare minimum separating them on each occasion.

Antrim have the experience of playing in Croke Park while for a lot of this young Carlow team, many of them are making their first appearance at headquarters including their talented Captain Marty Kavanagh from St Mullins.

Colm Bonner seems to have a clean bill of health as he was without some of his key players during the league and Christy Ring Cup in the early rounds against Antrim, Kildare, Mayo, and Wicklow.

Carlow have played well in all of their games but they did allow teams back into games after pulling away, if they are to defeat Antrim on Sunday they will need to score goals and keep up momentum when they gain it.

GAA is in a good place in Carlow at the moment ,as the footballers have gained a lot of attention and I suppose it’s just as well a big shock in overcoming the Dubs didn’t come to fruition , because if it did ,we would not here a thing about the Hurling final on  Saturday .

There are only six senior hurling teams in Carlow and it is great credit to each and every one of the clubs for producing the standards they do.

St Mullins in the south of the county have completed 3-in-a -row last October and have produced many fine hurlers for the county teams over the years , Mount Leinster Rangers success was a marvellous achievement when they got to the All Ireland Senior Club final, after beating Loughgiel Shamrocks of Antrim in the semi-final. That came just the year after they won the All Ireland Intermediate final against Middletown of Armagh, again another great nursery for the County.

Carlow have bad memories  of a heavy loss to Antrim back in 2006 but it is a different ball game now, as Carlow now have strength in depth Their objective back then was to get to play in Croke Park , and now Carlow’s objective is to win in Croke Park.

They know all too well that Antrim are a formidable outfit, and I feel we are about to witness one of the great games of Hurling in 2017, I think it will be very close yet again.

The new format for the 2018 Championship looks like it will get the go ahead , so if it does ,it will be great, as this allows both Antrim and Carlow to take part in the McCarthy cup from 2018 onwards no matter what the result is on Saturday.

This is great news for all involved and A great incentive for two great proud  hurling counties, may the best team win and I look forward to meeting everybody on Saturday in Dublin .

I will be broadcasting the game on kclr96fm Radio for Carlow /Kilkenny and it is availble on kclr96fm.com if anybody wants full uninterrupted coverage in any part of the World .

 

 

 

 

By Brendan McTaggart

This Saturday Antrim travel to Croke Park with redemption on their mind and their chance to take another step in the right direction.  A chance for more silverware and the chance to right the wrongs from 12 months ago.

After an unsuccessful league campaign in 2016, the management team of Dominic McKinley, Terrence McNaughton, Neal Peden and Gary O’Kane came into steady the ship.  In 2017 the Saffron ship has made progress, cleared shallow waters and on Saturday they are looking to go full steam ahead.

Carlow stand between the Saffrons and their third piece of silverware this season having already secured the Division 2A crown with another Ulster title.  It’s fair to say that the Barrowsiders are familiar opposition already this season and opposition who will present Antrim with a stern examination.  But after a controversial defeat to Meath at the same stage last year, the Saffrons are a different animal in 2017 and joint manager ‘Woody’ McKinley attributed the Saffrons turnaround to the pain of defeat in Croke Park when he told us: “Last year was a bitter disappointment not just for the players and us as managers but for everyone concerned with Antrim hurling.

“In the off season we re-evaluated what happened and where we went wrong and we came up with a charter basically on what we expect from players.”

A lot has already been said about the gruelling pre-season the Antrim hurlers were put through but McKinley told us that it was an ends to meet the means: “We felt that last year we threw away eight, nine and ten point leads.  That’s simply something that shouldn’t be happening.  We had a look at that in particular and we just thought that the commitment wasn’t there.  We felt that the problem was also more of a mental block on how to win tight games but there wasn’t enough coming from the players and we went to work on that.

“We’ve asked for commitment and honesty from the lads and we think that they’re showing that they have the right ingredients to take Antrim hurling forward looking ahead.  They are showing a unity and togetherness and what we have now is players who are willing to do whatever it takes to win when they’re wearing an Antrim jersey.”

It’s a 14 months since the current Saffron management team took over and Woody told us that they are now starting to see the style of hurling they want from the squad: “It does feel like we have more of our own stamp on the team this year.  It felt like we were always playing catch up last season but we feel like we know the players more now and know what we can expect from them.”

It’s the fourth time in 2017 that the Saffrons will play the Barrowsiders and if the previous contests are anything to go by, Saturday’s Final will be an absolute cracker.  A draw in Carlow on match day two of the league was followed by a Saffron victory in the league Final six weeks later.  Goals from Cushendall duo Eoghan Campbell and Neill McManus helped Antrim to a three point victory after staving off a Barrowside onslaught in the second half.  The sides faced off recently and most memorably in the opening round of the Christy Ring Cup and although Antrim left the Netwatch Cullen Park with the win, it came after extra time and after the Saffrons had looked dead and buried in both normal time and the additional extra time.  One point separated the sides after 90 epic minutes of hurling.  Woody told us that they are under no illusions as to the size of the task that face them at Headquarters: “Look this isn’t going to be easy, far from it.  We’ve played Carlow plenty of times in the recent past and it’s never been easy.  Just look at this season.  We drew with them during the league and yes we got over the line in the league final and the Christy Ring opener but we needed extra time and we had our backs against the wall big time.”

Woody continued by telling us that it was the recent match against Carlow where they noticed the change in mind-set and a willingness to fight for the Saffron shirt right to the end: “We started off well in that game but they came back into it and we really had to dig deep on more than one occasion to get over the line.

“We’ve shifted the onus back onto the players when it comes to this type of thing and realistically the performance and character shown against Carlow in that match was all down to the players.  The management team didn’t really do much for the turnaround and that was particularly pleasing.

“The players have grown and matured as the season has progressed but I think that comes from winning matches as well.”

McKinley told us that they won’t be springing too many selection surprises ahead of Saturday’s contest and they have a full fit squad to choose from, adding: “You could probably pick our starting 15 for Saturday now whereas last year we were chopping and changing a lot.  We’re keen to keep consistency in selection.

“Most teams are built around 12 or 13 players and you’ll get the two or three positions that are up for grabs, we’re no different as things currently stand.”

Antrim have had some injuries concerns since the comprehensive Semi-Final win against Down and during the season and while it is good news for some, Woody confirmed that it may be too soon for others when he told us: “Conor (McKinley) is fit.  He’s been out training fully for the last few sessions and is available for selection, as is Shorty (Paul Shields).  Both will be in contention for starting places.”

“We’ve been carrying knocks and niggles throughout the season and the physio’s are probably the hardest working members of our team.  They’ve been flat out.”

We had injuries in the defence with Stephen (Rooney) and even Ciaran Clarke up front.  Both have had ankle knocks so we went out and had a look at a few players.  Matthew Donnelly has been a real surprise package for us this year and he’s worked tremendously hard to get his fitness levels up.  He’s been there or thereabouts but the match is looking like it will come too soon for him.”

Woody and his team have decided to call up Cushendall defender Arron Graffin ahead of the Final and the Saffron joint manager told us that they were forced into action as the niggles and injuries began to mount: “The panel was never closed at any stage, we’ve said that from day one.  Bringing Arron into the squad felt like a no brainer to be honest.  He’s one of the best defenders in the county and he’s a player who certainly wouldn’t weaken our team in the slightest.”

The Saffrons have made progress on the pitch in 2017 and Saturday presents their third outing at Headquarters in 12 months but McKinley told us that Antrim are moving in the right direction off the field also when he added: “Ahead of Saturday’s Final we would like to thank the clubs for their cooperation and help.  They’ve been brilliant in rearranging matches to give us more preparation time and they’ve certainly played their part as have the County Board.

“With Saffron Vision the funds have been raised to allow not only us but the development squads to make progress.  Please God we can deliver a win on Saturday and if we do it will be as much to do with them as it is us as management.”

These two sides know each other inside out.  It’s not often club teams would play each other four times in just five months so for two counties it is somewhat rare.  Antrim have the upper hand with the recent results and probably more importantly ahead of Saturday, they have the upper-hand psychologically as well, especially after their recent encounter.  Carlow had Antrim beaten, twice, but the Saffrons came back from the brink and recorded a memorable victory.   The scars from that defeat will run deep and Antrim have been improving since.  Their victory over Down in the last four was every bit as comfortable as the score line suggested and was in stark contrast to the victory over the Ardsmen at the same stage 12 months earlier when it took a goal keeping clinic from Chrissy O’Connell and a nine point turnaround in the second half for the Saffrons to make the Final.

It promises to be another epic battle but Antrim have what it takes to bring the Christy Ring Cup back to the Glens for the second time in their history.