Now is their time.
“Most of the lads on the team are 26 or 27, so it’s our prime age to be hurling.”
St. Patrick’s Ballyragget captain Stephen Staunton has been on one hell of a journey with his club.
There were glory days in 2012, when as a sprightly nineteen-year-old he climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand alongside his club mates as All-Ireland junior hurling champions.
There have been tough times in between. Four times they’ve lost the county intermediate hurling final in the last six years, each heartbreak more crippling than the last.
This year they got over that line. Their victory hit the headlines for the wrong reasons, after their celebrations came under scrutiny, but as Staunton asserts himself, that’s in the past and if anything, it’s driving them on to bring pride back to Ballyragget.
“That’s forgotten about. It’s in the past, we’ve moved on and we just want to prove ourselves on Saturday now. It wasn’t a distraction, no. It happened and it’s in the past so we’ll move on, so hopefully we can make up for it and bring a good spirit to the parish now next weekend.”
These are the best of times. On Saturday, six years on from that famous triumph over Charleville in GAA HQ, the Bally boys will grace the hallowed Croke Park turf for a second time.
TIME CONFIRMED! @stpatsbally v @KanturkGAA @ 15:45 on the 4th feb in @CrokePark in the @AIB_GAA Intermediate Final #final #ALLIRE #GAA @KilkennyCLG @officialgaa pic.twitter.com/uHrtia7qke
— St.Patrick's GAA | Ballyragget (@stpatsbally) January 27, 2018
And as Staunton peers out on the green grass of the GAA’s promised land on Tuesday, that anticipation is building again. D-day is only around the corner.
“We’re looking forward to it. It’s some feeling, being able to play with your club in Croke Park.
“It was a massive thing then (the junior final in 2012) and it’s a massive thing now. Lads might be a little bit more relaxed this time around and we’re relishing it, really.”
They were a young team in 2012. Now this team are in their prime.
“A good few of us are still involved. I was only 19 at the time, so I suppose I was lucky enough to get the chance to play two times for my club in Croke Park. Some of that team have moved on, but in their places, we’ve a lot of young lads coming through.
In. Out. Winners https://t.co/12EIPJQHRF
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) January 21, 2018
The despair of a losing county final dressing room will live with him and his club forever, and you can sense the pain in his voice as he recounts them, but that’s what makes these victories all the sweeter.
“We were up in intermediate after that win in 2012, and I suppose we’ve been stuck there since. The longer you stay there, the harder it is to get out of it. We stuck together, like there was plenty of heartbreak – we lost four intermediate county final in those six years. Lads were great to stay going, and that experience helped us a lot this year,” he said.
The might of Anthony Nash’s Kanturk are the opposition this time around. The Kilkenny and Leinster champions are rearing for action.
“They’ve loads of household names, like you’ve Anthony Nash, Lorcan McLoughlin, Aidan Walsh and his brothers. They’re a serious team, a serious physical team, but we’re relishing the challenge, because you know, the bigger the name, the harder they fall.”
David Buggy’s side believe. In one another. Man to man, from their nineteen-year-old midfielder to their full forward who’s twice his age. These boys are united.
“I’ve a lot of cousins on the team. We’re all best friends, we all went to school together and luckily we stuck together, no lads never strayed too far.
“There’s a great bond between the lads – like we’ve four brothers on the team in the Brennans who are a great hurling household. Paddy is the youngest of them and he’s only 19. He wasn’t involved in the panel last year. I’d have great time for him because he’s put in a serious effort to get on the team in the county final and he’s kicked on. He’s a real workhorse, I’ve serious respect for him, because it’s not that easy coming into a team when lads are 26 or 27.
“We’ve Brian Phelan at full forward who’s 37 year’s old. He’s a serious athlete and a leader, and I always remember him telling us to relish these big days. He lives for these challenges like. He doesn’t say much like, but he always adds the right things, he’s cute on the pitch and he’s been a leader for this club for 20 years. Everybody looks up to him.”
They’re hell-bent on making it count.
Stephen Staunton of Ballyragget ahead of the AIB GAA All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Club Championship Final against Kanturk taking place at Croke Park this Sunday 4th February. For exclusive content and behind the scenes action throughout the AIB GAA & Camogie Club Championships follow AIB GAA on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat
