Football club turned hurling delivering the goods for alive again Wexford

When Diarmuid O'Keeffe and Liam Óg McGovern were kids, Darragh Ryan was the man.

He was Wexford's fearless number three, he was the backbone of every Wexford team they could remember and most importantly, he was their rough and ready club-man. The lads were dreaming. Purple and gold summers, Wexford in Leinster and All-Ireland finals. Not too long ago, these were footballing fantasies but it was around the early 2000s when things changed here. Meet Darragh Ryan. The hurler who arrived by accident. He was a footballer by choice and by name, but a couple of knee injuries caused confusion. Re-climbing the ladder starts from the bottom and his first step was junior hurling. A county championship there led to an intermediate one here. A county-call up soon arrived, a whole club followed. St Anne's are very much a dual club now. Here in 2004, the lads are 13 and their county are living large again as Leinster champions after too long away. Nothing would have to change. Ryan was the man-of-the-match the day the fired up yellow bellies beat Kilkenny and down in Rathangan, everyone in St Anne's GAA  was proud. The stalwarts were delighted with their place on the map and the kids were out commentating on themselves scoring final-winning points in Croker. It's hard to believe it considered itself a football club up until a few years ago. It was around then when they discovered football doesn't roar like the hurling does. They were better at it too. Great times and sunny days. Wexford hurling was alive and well. St Anne's were in the middle of it. Ryan the unconventional football convert, was a hurling hero.

"You can't overestimate the worth of a county player to a club," says Darragh Ryan's father Thomas to us this week.

[caption id="attachment_203274" align="alignnone" width="650"] Darragh Ryan was one of Wexford's best players between the late 90s and 2006. He was an St Anne's Rathangan club man and he was an All-Star in 2001[/caption]

"They're worth their weight in absolute gold," adds the 73-year-old with the photographic memory and the thick Wexford accent. "The lads idolised Darragh and another St Anne's man Red Barry at the time, I remember seeing them out in the field pretending they were Darragh and Red, bursting out with balls and pucking balls in on top of one another and imagining they were playing against Kilkenny. They never left the place and you never saw them without a stick in their hand."

Care-free cuckoo-land sometimes lands down on earth. In between, Wexford lost their way again but Davy Fitz took a chance and the going is good. Racehorses O'Keeffe and McGovern are at the centre of the dusty summer fantasy they once dreamed. Croker is the track, Kilkenny are the opposition and Sunday is D-day. As for Ryan, his unreliable knees have long since given way but he has an All-Star and he has a legacy. He'll be watching on intently. Diarmuid and Liam Óg have chased their dreams, Wexford are back in a Leinster final and St Anne's, the little GAA club at the very south of Wexford is again awash with colour and anticipation.

"It's gas though because that's the way all the young lads in our club are now, looking up to Dee and to Liam Óg. Two great lads to be looking up to as well, Liam Óg could easily have thrown in the towel with the knee problems he had but it wouldn't be in him. Dee is the same, they're two of the most committed lads you could possibly have..."

[caption id="attachment_203372" align="alignnone" width="600"] After injuring both his knees, Liam Óg is back in 2019 with a different game. Previously reliant on pace, his brains and skill do the work now.[/caption] St Anne's are blessed and delighted to have them. Dee is a teacher up in Meath and Liam Óg - a Wexford footballer in a former life - works with Oracle, the global tech giant in Dublin, but it's far from making themselves scarce in south Wexford. Every time they're available, you'll see them in the pitch surrounded by adoring youngsters. Sound familiar?

"It it a bit of a pity that they're not living down here but I suppose you can't have it every way," laughs Ryan. "But for lads who are away and who are training what is it five or six nights a week, they call around an awful lot, they're two great club men."

Fond memories are what bring people back and the lads have lots of them here.

"Ah they were super young lads. Very tuned in from a very young age, very sharp and clever. Sure you can even see it with the jobs they have now and you can see it on the pitch in them now, they're as clever as any hurlers' out there," says Ryan. "They were our best players underage, I think it was 2008 when they were both on the minor team and they hurled a few years under-21 too. "For Dee, his dad would have been a huge influence on his career. His dad was the club chairman after me and he would have been an encouragement. That makes a huge difference with young lads, Liam Óg was the same, they were both pushed on and encouraged to play..."

Will it take them to a first Leinster title since 2004? A wily old Ryan reckons they have it in them, reckons Kilkenny are there for the taking. If anyone's going to take them, it's the midfielder who hit four from play in Wexford Park last time out. Ryan sees St Annes' rockstars making all the difference.

"I would have never played Dee wing back because he's not a great lover of high balls, in midfield he uses his brains and he's free to use them. He's great to just roam around and pick up a ball and then he has that burst of speed, he has an unbelievable burst of speed and they can't catch him..."

"Liam Óg too, he's the best I've seen to get onto a break and to give a pass..." "Hopefully they can do it again against Kilkenny now like they did the last day, we're all hoping that this is their day. I think it will be if they keep it simple, keep it out of our square and get it down to theirs', play it fast and play it direct, it's a simple game that doesn't need to be complicated..."

Shades of Darragh Ryan about it. And just maybe a St Anne's man will stop the mighty black and amber again...