Jim’s history of St. Anne’s club is a priceless gem

AS THE G.A.A. season ramps up I had a particularly enjoyable weekend, culminating in another fine win for Davy Fitzgerald’s young charges in front of the now familiar fanatical Wexford support in the Park on Sunday.

Despite my love for the purple and gold, my highlight of the past few days was firstly reading Jim Berry’s wonderfully written ‘October 2000’ which is the definitive history of his beloved St. Anne’s G.A.A. club, and then attending the launch in a packed Rathangan clubhouse on Saturday evening.

The book itself is a priceless gem full of witty stories, great characters and history-breaking exploits, and fully encapsulates the spirit that has driven the south county men since the 1800s.

The sense of atmosphere and occasion in the room was a credit to the ladies and men of the parish, and as Jim regaled us with a whistle stop tour of this wonderful book, you could hear a pin drop which really tells its own story.

A lot of people contributed to the project and were acknowledged by the author, but for a man to dedicate half a lifetime to completing this G.A.A. gospel and write by hand all of the 500-plus pages is a commitment that is phenomenal by any standards.

We hear in the book about legendary supporter Stephen Lee cycling through Battlestown and asking a local how far was it to The Hook? On being told it was eight miles as the crow flies, Stephen asked ‘if the crow was riding my bike, how far would it be?’

We are also told that Martin Ryan was the G.A.A’s answer to Cliff Richard because he played in four different decades. In short, the book is riddled with stories about a fantastic club and guarantees enjoyment to any potential reader. Well done to all and thanks for an unforgettable night.

The most palpable thing about Wexford hurling at the moment is the sense of optimism, and criticism and complaint seems to be disappearing more and more each week.

I know that things can change in sport in an instant, but as we sit in late February I feel that Davy Fitz and his young team and all the back-up systems should be given the credit due for their achievements to date.

We have qualified for the quarters, retained our top flight status, and sit on top of the hurling league which would have been barely imaginable 18 months ago.

There is still work to be done but I for one am really enjoying the spin whilst still realising there are always dangers ahead (next Sunday for example).

We have a settled, confident team playing comfortably within a plan that will provide a serious test to any of the top teams in the country at present and maybe (just maybe) we can dare to dream of even bigger days ahead.

I can’t go through every player but our team spine is really strong, with Rapps duo Liam Ryan and Kevin Foley (what a league Kevin is having) really coming to the fore.

We are building strength in depth (this is every emerging team’s biggest challenge), and young Conor Firman has settled nicely having come in for an equally settled but injured Simon Donohoe.

The forwards are beginning to run up match-winning scores and if they succeed in capitalising on the goalscoring opportunities being created, the sky is the limit.

I was glad to see Shaun Murphy get a little rest from the extra man role at the end of the game as we rely very heavily on the brilliant Oulart man’s quarterback-type role.

We need to make sure we have an alternative if anything happens injury wise.

Overall however, life is good and I look forward to Sunday in an atmospheric Nowlan Park. Kilkenny had a great win over Tipp but the premier had a stronger outfit on display a week earlier. I think we can win.