
Share
15th November 2023
12:47pm GMT

Brian Byrne leaves the field after Naas' loss to Ballyhale Shamrocks last year in the Leinster semi-final.[/caption]
"I'd say Brian has had a match every single weekend since he was about 12," says Noone.
"He's gone from being such an important player with the club underage, to the school underage and then with the county in both codes. That's not evening mentioning college, where he won a Sigerson Cup with UCD.
"But he just keeps going.
"He's an unbelievable role model to our younger players. The same goes for James and Daire too. We're delighted to have three guys who are able to do that.""Tom and Joe have been around a long time," continues Noone. "They played themselves, they know the story and they understand the demands. It's not rocket science and to a certain extent, the players would be involved in the decisions as to when and where they'll train and so on."
Noone says that, across both codes, the ladies side of the club included, there is a great camaraderie between the players which ensures Naas have a great support on match-days.
"Across the two teams, there's huge friendships because they'd have played together all the way up, in both codes.
"The footballers would fill the stands up when the hurlers are playing, the same with the camogie and the ladies football teams. They all support each other, which is great."
Unlike rural clubs, where a lack of numbers can be the problem, one of Naas' biggest issues is a lack of space. Their pitch committee has never been busier but no team is ever turned away.
"Every single night of the week, it's a struggle to put teams on fields. We've 92 teams, we use halls, astro pitches all over Naas. We rent, we hire. We never turn a team away. As the town has grown, we've grown too. That's all down to our pitch co-ordinators."
But days like these make it all worthwhile.
"In some cases, like my own house, the flag hasn't come down at all. It stays up all year round.
"Wherever you go, if you're queuing up in the shop, everyone's talking about it, what more could you want."
Read more:
Explore more on these topics: