By Cian O'Connell

“It is huge, I'd always say that you have people here as passionate about the game as they are in Kilkenny, Tipperary, or Cork,” remarks Ballyraggett native Jimmy Lacey, who is now synonymous with the Castleblayney hurling story.

“There just isn't as many maybe, that is the only difference. There is an argument to say that the people here are even more passionate. To promote it and to push the game on you will come against setbacks, it isn't always the easiest thing in the world so you really have to have your heart in it to drive it on, to keep at it.

“Definitely you have people here who are every bit as passionate about the game as anywhere else in the country.

That grit and determination means Castleblayney can now look forward to an interesting AIB All Ireland Club Junior Semi-Final against Leitrim outfit Carrick on Sunday.

A hurling club from either Leitrim or Monaghan will get an opportunity to perform at Croke Park so the stakes are most certainly piled high with Lacey acknowledging the significance of the game.

“It is brilliant, you have clubs and counties that wouldn't have a whole pile of representation at Croke Park, they wouldn't be too used to playing in it,” Castleblayney manager Lacey says.

“So there is going to be a great prize there at the end for someone. One thing we are stressing is that we keep hearing it is great to get a team from Leitrim, but as far as we are concerned they are after winning their own County Final and beating the Sligo champions and Galway Junior champions.

“We aren't taking anything for granted or looking too far down the line. We are just concentrating on this one, give the boys from Carrick the respect they deserve, try to get over that hurdle and try to look forward to the next one if we can.”

Since 1999 Castleblayney have collected 16 Monaghan Senior hurling titles underlining their dominance in the county and Lacey is enjoying the journey with the latest Ulster Junior triumph proving an injection of hope.

“It has been a good time and we've done fairly well,” Lacey states. “We have a great crop of players there, the same crop has been the backbone of the last couple of success we've had.

“We won back in 2014 and a lot of the boys that are there now were just making their way into the team at that stage. They are well settled now, we have done fairly well over the past few years and even before that.

“We have won Ulster now three times and we have been successful in our own Monaghan competitions. We are used to a bit of success, but we are still hungry for more at the same time.

“Historically there has been six clubs there over the last few years in Monaghan, but this year two clubs amalgamated so you had five clubs involved in our own Championship. It has been very much dominated by Inniskeen and Blayney over the last few years.

“I don't think anyone other than those two has won it for at least 15 years now I'd say. I'm a Kilkenny man originally, I came here in 2007 and nobody else has won it in that time.”

Lacey stresses the value and importance of a vibrant underage set-up that has been established in the town. “We have teams at every age group,” Lacey adds. “We have a fairly successful and well organised nursery group at the moment, that would be Under 7s and we have teams all the way up to minor, a reserve team and a senior team at senior level.

“There is an overlap between the reserve and senior teams, we have a panel of 35 or so. It is good to have both competitions because it means earlier on in the year and when the Nickey Rackard competition and the inter-county competitions are on, we have a good few representing the county, that our reserve competition runs in conjunction with that.

“It means that the boys not playing county hurling can give a bit to the club. It is all the one panel, but we have two separate teams operating at the levels.

“Generally we would have 10 or 11 involved with Monaghan. It is slightly different this year because a lot of years you are in pre-season now, but we are coming towards the climax of it so the boys are fully committed.

“Down through the years it can be hard at this stage because they are flat out training with the county. There is a big pull with county hurling and club football it can be fairly hard to juggle it. We came across that last year, but we feel we navigated it well, we are where we are now.”

How Castleblayney have reached the national stage is a source of considerable pride and optimism. The vast majority are Monaghan born and bred. “We very much have a home based team,” Lacey comments.

“I played for them for a few years, but I'm retired about two years. Historically at one stage there was an army barracks in the town and with customs, that type of stuff, you would have had people historically coming in and out.

“But since I've got here I've been the only one, we had one or two fellas here and there, generally the team is made up of boys from the area, who have played all the way up through juvenile with the club. They have gone on to represent them.”

With most of the panel playing Gaelic Football at some level Lacey is heartened by the response of Castleblayney Faughs and other clubs in the locality. “On the team we would probably have seven or eight dual senior players,” Lacey reveals. “Five or six of those would play for Castleblayney Faughs in the town and we would have one or two from other clubs around us that would feed in.

“We've had a good relationship, especially with the club in the town, the other manager and I were able to work fairly well throughout the year. We are two different clubs. We would work together as best we can, there has been plenty of well wishes from the football club in the town, they have been very supportive.”