Munster Club HC Focus on GarryspillaneKeith Duggan talks to coach Tony Considine who, stung deeply by defeat in last year's county final, has guided the club into the provincial championship
"That's the way it is. Hurling is hurling," declares Tony Considine in explaining his latest project and passion, which has delivered Garryspillane a first Limerick championship.
It seems like a long time ago now but when Clare rose up like a storm on the hurling landscape, Considine and Garryspillane veteran Frankie Carroll were in two very separate worlds.
Considine was the happy, amicable lieutenant to Ger Loughnane's driven, pale-eyed general and Carroll was a key forward on Limerick's talented and desperately unlucky mid-1990s team. The counties produced one of the last epic do-or-die contests of the old championship, when the All-Ireland champions were put to the sword after Ciarán Carey's immortal point left Limerick 1-13 to 0-15 ahead when it fell to a breathless close. All water under the bridge now.
"That time was hardly ever mentioned," says Considine. "The thing about hurling is that when you are with a bunch of fellas, it isn't long before you get drawn back in. I had to think fierce seriously about going back in at all. After 1999, I promised myself I wouldn't. But like all these things, I was asked to lend a hand with the Garryspillane under-21s and once you are back out on a field, it isn't easy to walk away.
"The thought of turning out during nights of hailstones and all the rest wasn't thrilling, now, but ah, the rewards have been something. We have played 14 championship games in the two years I have been here and we have lost one. And that was to a free in the fourth minute of injury time. So it hasn't been bad."
Garryspillane's 2004 final loss to habitual county winners Ahane bugged Considine enormously. Deep down, he probably hoped and even anticipated orchestrating a perfect season at the first time of asking and they had chances but fell at the last to a Niall Moran free.
Big Frankie Carroll had a chance to claim a goal that afternoon, a score that might have made the difference in a tense, low-scoring game. Instead, Garryspillane were bridesmaids once again.
"I have thought about that game as much as any I was ever involved in. And it is funny, for all the good days a team has, those narrow defeats tend to stick with you. It did hurt. And it was important that we remembered that this year.
"When the draw for the championship was made, I got a call from Jim Dooley. We were in a group along with Ahane and Patrickswell, the county champions of the previous two years. And the general reaction was, 'God, what a tough draw'. But I was of the view it was the perfect draw. We decided we were going to try and get out of the group unbeaten and make up for last year. And that is what happened. We beat Ahane by a point and never really looked back."
When it came to the final against Kilmallock, last year's sufferance stood to them. It was a thrilling encounter given the soft October conditions, with the lead see-sawing before Carroll clipped two late scores to push Garryspillane towards daylight, 2-15 to 2-12. It was the achievement of a lifetime for players like TJ and Donie Ryan but for Carroll, after 20 years of senior club hurling, it was little short of a miracle.
"When you go to a place that is little more than a crossroads and a pub and see what it means to everyone, it is a very powerful thing. Very intense," remembers Considine.
"I just went for half an hour or so. I don't drink but I remember being surprised that Paid O'Brien, who would take a pint, wasn't indulging. 'I'm too happy too drink,' he said to me. It was the same with Frankie. And I think a lot of the boys just wanted to savour that feeling on the night they won it. They probably made up for in on the Monday, mind you, but when you spend so long searching for a thing, you want to make sure you enjoy the moment."
Two years in Limerick has convinced Considine the state of the game there is fundamentally sound. "I would only comment on club level. And I feel it is fairly competitive. You get tough hard games and there are some good hurlers out there."
His experience has also made him evaluate the All-Ireland senior championship in a slightly different light. He finds it regrettable that club hurlers, whose dedication is comparable to the feted county men, cannot get more games in fine weather. Playing the game in November weather makes "a bit of a lottery out of the whole thing".
Their opponents in tomorrow's lottery are Waterford champions Ballygunner.
"It is all new to us and we are looking forward to it. You often see that when a team manages to finally get out of a county, it can liberate them and give them that bit of a push. They play with confidence that mightn't have been there before. We hope it will work that way for us. Ballygunnar have been here before. And sure there will probably be 'oul showers of rain and it will be getting dark at four o'clock and the whole lot. But where else would you be?"
