History came calling for Thomastown on Sunday. Their utterly dominant display in the Kilkenny final upset predictions not alone of the outcome but the devastating manner of the win, by 11 points. It gave the club a first title in 78 years and carried a couple of echoes of 1946.
Back then, they created history by becoming the first Kilkenny club to add the senior championship to a junior, won just 12 months previously, in successive years – and this weekend, the club were winning back-to-back intermediate-senior titles.
Coincidence also chimed in the club’s goalkeeping fortunes. On Sunday, Paul Barron took over in goal from Diarmuid Galway, who was injured in the semi-final, whereas in 1946 they also had difficulties with the position.
According to local historian Dermot Kavanagh’s excellent and comprehensive record of Kilkenny finals from 1887 to 2003, Thomastown “had the unusual experience of having to replace both their goalkeeper and sub-goalkeeper through injury during the match”.
They also lost their influential county player Dan Kennedy to injury but prevailed by two points, 5-4 to 4-5. The following year, the club had the honour of nominating the Kilkenny captain and Kennedy led the county to the famous 1947 late, late win over Cork in the All-Ireland final.
That was it for Thomastown, who reached just two more finals before this year – both double-digit defeats, by Bennettsbridge in 1967 and by Ballyhale in 1988.
Having won the intermediate All-Ireland back in January, the club was ready to give senior a good rattle and they had a strong run to the final, including the defeat of Ballyhale Shamrocks, who had won three of the previous six All-Ireland titles.
Jonjo Farrell was once the Leinster championship hurler of the year during his intercounty playing career. He captained Thomastown to the junior All-Ireland in 2013 and has been providing experienced leadership to the current team in an influential centrefield.
He scored 0-2 from play on Sunday and his partner, Peter McDonald was named man of the match by Clubber TV, who were streaming the final. It has been a brilliant twilight for Farrell’s career.
“I’m 36 this year. We won a junior back in 2005 and another one in 2012 but that was the only success I had until last year, we won the intermediate and went on to win the All-Ireland. Then today! The end of my career has been a lot more successful than the start of it.”
With the success of the younger players coming through in underage competitions, he is determined to stay on and provide a guiding hand.
“We have such a young team – as I say, I bring up the average age a good bit! – a young, fit team with no issues. They’d run all day and hit all day. It’s unreal and something we didn’t have for years. We probably lacked physicality but now we have it in spades,” he said.
“Everyone knows the history. We were beaten in three intermediate county finals and a semi-final. There was a lot of hurt there but the team was young at that time and they’re after coming now and we’re at the top table.”
It’s all of seven seasons since a team from outside Kilkenny won the Leinster club title so the pressure will be on to duplicate at provincial level their rapid promotion in the county.
“Maybe it’s easier to do it the first year when you have the momentum of intermediate success behind you. We might have a few lads going off and different things happening. You have to grasp it when the chance is in front of you.”
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