Willie Hyland of Clough Ballacolla, Laois pictured ahead of the AIB GAA Leinster Senior Hurling Championship final against Ballyhale Shamrocks. This year’s AIB Club Championships celebrate #TheToughest players in Gaelic Games - those who are not defined by what they have won, but by how they persevere no matter what - and this Sunday’s showdown is set to be no exception.
By John Harrington
What’s seldom is wonderful, and Clough-Ballacolla’s Willie Hyland has enjoyed every moment of his team’s journey to Sunday’s AIB Leinster Club SHC Final against Ballyhale Shamrocks.
Before this year the Laois champions had never won a single provincial championship match.
Now they’ve upset the odds to beat the Wexford and Dublin champions in quick succession, and won’t mind at all that they’re underdogs again on Sunday.
For a small, rural area where the rhythm of life revolves very much around hurling, this this is dream-land stuff.
Hyland has loved being right in the thick of it out on the pitch, but the reflected glow of happiness from everyone else in the parish has felt even better as the place prepares to empty for the trip to Croke Park this Sunday.
“I'm only a passenger on this team now, I'm getting on," says Hyland. "I'm delighted to be out there. But I get more of a buzz from seeing family, friends and neighbours in Croke Park. We're a small little area. To see our people go to Croke Park on Leinster final day is just a hugely proud moment for me and all the lads.
“You see every GAA club has die-hards, we have some die-hards who probably have never been past the Red Cow. So to see everyone going to Croke Park is just an amazing feeling for everybody.
“I get more of a buzz out of that than anything, it's not about me or anybody else playing in Croke Park. It's our community and being able to make everybody in the parish proud. I think everybody is going on Sunday so it's a great occasion.”
Hyland is being humble in the extreme when describing himself as a passenger on this Clough-Ballacolla team.
He’s 33 now and arthritis in both hips means he can’t train as much as all of his team-mates, but his class is permanent.
This is a man after all who scored 21 goals and 470 points for Laois in 122 competitive matches until those hip issues forced him to retire in 2016.
He’s still a sharp-shooter when opportunity allows, but it's his ball-winning ability and intelligent use of possession in deeper positions that really makes him a key cog in this Clough-Ballacolla machine.
Willie Hyland of Clough-Ballacolla takes a free during the AIB Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Club Championship Quarter-Final match between Clough-Ballacolla and Rapparees at MW Hire O'Moore Park in Portlaoise, Laois.
His maturity and temperament means he’s also a man for the big occasion, and he’s savoured every minute of the run to Sunday’s Leinster Final.
“You do, there's no point saying anything different,” he says. “You savour every bit that you can. What makes it all the sweeter is the days when you've lost finals, lost replayed finals, lost semi-finals.
“The dark days...dark might be the wrong word, it's sport at the end of the day.
“But from a sporting point of view when you lose and you've a year too get back and try rectify a loss, that's what makes days like the last couple of days that we've had all the sweeter. I'm in the twilight of my career so you really do treasure them.
“We're a very small, rural area. We have 270 members in the club. To see our little area on national TV is a very, very proud day for all of us.
“To go on and win the last two games has been brilliant. We have people messaging us from all over the country and around the world to say how proud they are of us - people that are from Clough/Ballacolla that have left the area. It's been an amazing time for us.”
A Hollywood script-writer would love the narrative of Sunday’s Leinster Final against Ballyhale Shamrocks.
In one corner you have the plucky upstarts from Laois who are playing in their first ever Provincial Final.
In the other you have the most successful club team in the history of the game who have previously won10 Leinster titles and eight All-Ireland titles.
It’s going to take an almighty effort from Clough-Ballacolla to cause an upset, but they’re energised by the challenge rather than overawed by it.
“No, there's no fear factor,” says Hyland. “It's very simple this Sunday, we have to bring the same intensity that we brought to Kilmacud Crokes and we'll have to improve as well.
“We made some mistakes on Saturday night. We were dropping an awful lot of ball short into the goalie's hand, we had a few wides, we had poor decision making at times.
“We made up for it with our heart, want and desire but we're going to need more than that on Sunday. We're well aware of that.”
