Experienced Portlaoise hurler Tommy Fitzgerald pictured ahead of the AIB Leinster Club Intermediate Hurling Final.
By Eoghan Tuohey
The staunch hurling community in Portlaoise have had a tough time lately. Relegated from the senior ranks of Laois hurling last year, they opened their account this season in the lower senior “A” tier with two straight defeats, and it initially appeared as though the team were rapidly descending into a period of decline.
Fast-forward three months later, and their fortunes have undergone a dramatic U-turn. According to experienced half-forward, and team captain, Tommy Fitzgerald, a collective regroup and a round three victory over Tromaire/Trumera, as well as the return of several players from injury and travel cemented the squad and spearheaded a collective quest to reclaim their senior status, and indeed, any rewards that could be secured thereafter.
“It wasn’t easy (coming straight back up to senior), we actually lost the first two games in our local championship, after being relegated in the league as well, so, it wasn’t going well for a while, but we turned it around in fairness, we’ve won six games on the trot now, so to be heading into a Leinster final now is a positive experience, especially for the younger lads, a lot of them it’s actually their first year playing senior hurling,” Fitzgerald states.
“We were short a few lads, to be fair, in the early stages, we’d a couple of injuries and lads in America. We knew we’d get stronger as the championship continued. After the second round of the championship, we had fellas coming back in, and that was really the turning point.”
There is no denying the rich tradition of Gaelic Football in “The Town”. Unlucky to lose a Leinster SFC semi-final to Kilmacud Crokes at the weekend, and the winners of 11 of the last 12 Laois senior football championships, it would be easy to assume that hurling was always the poor relation, and an afterthought for when the football season has concluded.
Yet, Fitzgerald explains how there is, in fact, a strong hurling heritage in the midlands town, including periods where they dominated the code in the county formidably, as they now do with the big ball equivalent. The glory days of the 80s might still be out of grasp, but there is a passionate cohort that will continue to work hard on the ground to ensure its survival and growth in a competitive sphere.
“Yeah, there is a tradition of hurling in Portlaoise, I think we’ve 11 senior county championships, we’d have been very strong in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, and there was a four-in-a-row in the 80s,” Fitzgerald says.
Former Laois hurler Tommy Fitzgerald.
“When Laois were going well in the 80s, they would have been backboned by six or seven Portlaoise players. I suppose if you think of people like John Taylor, Niall Rigney, Cyril Duggan and Cheddar (Plunkett), Cahir Healy.
“The last couple of years, we’ve gone down the pecking order in Laois, we were relegated frim senior last year, which was a big blow for us, the hurling community within the club, but, look, we won the senior “A” championship this year to come back up, which is a positive. To get back to where we once were, is still a bit away.”
Contrary to what may be a popular perception, there are only a handful of dual players, those playing on both the senior football and hurling sides. Such are the demands placed on amateur players, and the standards they must meet to remain competitive, to devote themselves to two codes is often a bridge too far for many.
This illustrates the depth of players within the town, and the popularity of Gaelic Games. The ability to field two senior panels of separate players boasts a healthy playing population, and indeed speaks volumes about the well-being of the GAA club going into the future.
“There was a time when we had more (dual players), there were seven or eight at one stage a few years back, but we just have three who are playing senior hurling and senior football at the moment. It’s tough on those guys, week in and week out playing knock-out matches. But, look, so far, so good, we’d be hoping that obviously they don’t pick up any knocks on the way, they’d be big players with both teams.”
Having rebounded impressively to regain their senior status immediately after demotion, Portlaoise are now setting their sights on further accolades. A Laois team has never won the Leinster Intermediate hurling championship, and Kilkenny club sides have won the last six in a row, a statistic their opponents, Kilkenny IHC winners, Graigue-Ballycallan, will be eager to augment.
As such, despite the differences in geographical size, the Kilkenny representatives will be entering the fray as warm favourites, backboned by vastly experienced and impressively-decorated former county stars, Eddie Brennan and James Ryall, as well as fresh new talent coming through, including current panellist, Billy Ryan.
Mark Vaughan, Kilmacud Crokes, and Tommy Fitzgerald, Portlaoise, during the 2004 AIB Leinster Club Semi-Final clash.
The Laois men know what they will be up against, and yet, such has been their turnaround in fortunes, they see no reason why they cannot go that extra step and create hurling history in the province.
“Any team that comes out of Kilkenny is going to be strong, the Kilkenny Intermediate championship is probably the most competitive intermediate championship in the country, to be quite honest. We’ve often played intermediate teams from Kilkenny down through the years.
“We had four weeks between the county final and the first round of Leinster. It took a week or two to get lads’ heads back focused, and to realise there’s another championship here to play for. A lot of us would have gone through Leinster campaigns with the footballers, so trying to tell the lads that this could be a very enjoyable experience.
“We’ve got a couple of wins now, it’s great experience for the young lads especially, to be going hurling into December is great. When we go back up senior now next year in Laois, this experience will be valuable.”
The scene is set for a novel pairing this Saturday at 1.45pm in Nowlan Park, with Graigue-Ballycallan seeking to emulate what many of their Kilkenny counterparts have done before, and kick on from county glory to secure provincial and even All-Ireland honours.
This Portlaoise panel, the majority of whom have selected the less popular game in their club as their primary choice, will have seen their football colleagues receiving much of the plaudits in recent times, and will be quietly confident about creating some history of their own.
