All in the head for St. Anne’s
‘I quickly realised I was involved with a serious bunch’
TG4 IS treating us to many games of yesteryear, and the more the merrier as nothing beats looking back on some of the classics of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s.
It has, for me, magnified the incredible change in style and the way hurling is now played, with some merits in both the new and old style.
One question I am constantly asked is whether the game was tougher in the old days and, again, this is a matter of opinion. There is no doubt that more was tolerated in days of yesteryear, and certainly discipline in the form of red and yellow cards was much less liberal when I was playing back in the day.
Things were certainly more dangerous (protective equipment has advanced beyond recognition), and the sight recently of watching Rod Guiney and Joe
Dooley contesting an aerial ball in the ’96 Leinster final with not a helmet in sight would send shivers down your spine. On that occasion it left the unfortunate Offaly man with a serious head injury.
Although the stitches were certainly more plentiful, the physicality today would probably trump the old days given the condition of our present-day stars.
Every year in the ’80s, pre-championship Buffers Alley would always organise a challenge with the toughest club team I have ever come across - St. Martin’s (Muckalee) from the Kilkenny/Carlow border - just to gauge where we were at.
Don’t get me wrong, the Kilkenny men were tough but fair, and this particular ‘friendly’ in Bagenalstown in the early 1980s was as tempestuous as you would get.
We all survived, however, and as we togged back in my late father, who served a few years as club Treasurer, burst through the door in a particularly agitated state.
He demanded that this be the last challenge against the men from the mountain as we had broken 24 hurls on the evening and the club just couldn’t afford it.
Seán Whelan was reprimanded particularly for breaking six. One of the great changes compared to modern day is the amount of ash broken, with ball to hand and possession now being the priority.
Way back in 1999 I had a very brief but hugely enjoyable spell with St. Anne’s who were at the time attempting to break into Senior ranks.
The first practice game we played was against neighbours Rosslare, and I was quickly introduced to the tough and uncompromising way the men from the south approached their game.
The match had barely started when a mistimed block resulted in one of the players getting a full blow to the head and going down (again, not a helmet in sight).
Being a bit squeamish myself, I allowed I’d let the other selectors run in to attend to the injured player and decide whether an ambulance would be necessary. After a couple of minutes, the young man in blue resumed his position and I asked was everyone sure he was alright.
‘He’s grand, he only got it in the head,’ was the reply. Over 20 years later I am still trying to work it out, but quickly realised that I was involved with a serious bunch of men.
I would contend that sledging is not a new concept in hurling and football, as verbals were always part and parcel of the game.
In 1991 Buffers Alley met an up and coming Glynn-Barntown in the county semi-final. It was very early in the Glynn men’s development and the Alley at the time were hot favourites.
And so it played out as we were winning comfortably coming into the final minutes. A long ball dropped in behind the late Jim Laffan and his immediate opponent, John Gahan, and luckily for me, from about eight yards I caught it perfectly on the half-volley, putting it in the net and only missing netminder Lorcan Doyle’s ear by a centimetre.
My momentum brought me nose to nose with the legendary ’keeper who at this point hadn’t moved. Lorcan looked me straight in the eye and coolly said, ‘now isn’t it an awful pity you wouldn’t do that against Offaly, Thomas’, referring to a recent championship match against the midlanders. Quick thinking and it really took the good out of the goal.
Two of the greatest men I have faced were Martin Hanamy and Joe Hennessy, gentlemen both on and off the field. Every time I came out to stand with Martin for the second-half, he would give you a dig and say ‘still here Tom’ which, now looking back, could be termed as sledging.
Joe used to continually say if we ever led the Cats, ‘ye have us now Tom’. And you know what, we very rarely had.
Almost 30 years later I now realise that was using psychology in its purest form. An absolute legend but a cute Kilkenny hoor.