By Cian O’Connell
“The first thing I'd say is that it has been really enjoyable,” the highly regarded Naomh Eanna trainer Willie Cleary remarks about a Wexford Senior Hurling Championship like no other.
This has been a deeply uncertain time, but joy has been found in the journey, significant lessons learned as Naomh Eanna prepare for another county final against Shelmaliers on Sunday.
“It has actually opened all of our eyes maybe to unnecessary time we put into it in other years,” Cleary continues. I'd be coming back in January training for a Championship that really only gets going after Wexford are beaten in August or when they are out of the Championship. It is crazy on people's lives.
“This has opened all of our eyes to the positivity of a split season, having a club calendar and having an inter-county calendar so we can all plan our lives around that.”
Naomh Eanna, who were Wexford champions in 2018, have stitched a plan together under Cleary’s careful guidance.
“It has been tough,” Cleary admits. “We want back in January, trained like mad and had our challenge games for March. Then on March 12, that Thursday night, it was all called off. In fairness to our lads they were given programmes to do week by week and they stuck to them, they kept themselves right.
“We came back then maybe three weeks before the Championship started. We got some really good challenge games, it was just really intense, with games every week. That is what the lads love, they love the challenge of playing.
“We got a chance to play Dicksboro, De La Salle, Na Fianna, Lucan Sarsfields - top clubs from other counties.
“Lads loved doing that building into a Championship. Once the Championship started it has just been crazy since - week on week, but we are lucky enough to be in a final now.”
That is precisely the place Naomh Eanna want to be and it has been a remarkable stint for the developing Gorey club.
The 2018 sparked amazing and memorable scenes in the town, but Cleary is adamant about maintaining the high standards that have been reached.
“I think the one thing we do strive for is that we are really striving to create a legacy within the club and within the town,” Cleary states.
“2018, not only was it the club's first title, it was the first ever appearance in a senior final. They had won an intermediate only in 2015, so they are only senior for five years. Last Sunday was only the fourth ever county semi-final the club had ever played in.
“We are trying to break new ground, to bring new traditions into the club and the town. I think the biggest kudos for that is the underage work that has been done in the club during the past 15 years. It is very easy for me as a coach to come in to train a talented group of players that have come through.
“It is the people that started out with these lads when they were six, seven, eight years of age, the army of volunteers that developed the club in the past 15 years. That work is starting to come through now. We owe it to those underage mentors, who coached all the youngsters in the club.”
Remaining relevant is critical for the long term future according to Cleary. “We owe it to the youngsters, we owe it to the old people in the town,” Cleary stresses.
“We owe it to everyone, all of the volunteers, the coaches that are up in the club to do the best for Gorey. At the minute we are trying to create a legacy. It is often said that a good team wins one and a great team can win another. We are really striving to do that, but we have a juggernaut in our way on Sunday.
“They are in the same boat, they won a hurling in 2014, they won a football in 2018 so they are really experienced in big games. We know what is coming at us. That is what we are trying to do. I don't know if you remember the scenes, the homecoming we received in Gorey.
“We owe it to those people that supported us that night and who came out throughout the years. It has been a tough year for everyone, local businesses, local people, older people in the community.
“We are trying to put a smile on their faces in Gorey, that they have a pride in where they are from and this team is trying to represent that.”
Cleary’s is involved with Naomh Eanna for four years, and a deep connection has been forged. “It has been lucky, it just worked out that way,” Cleary replies.
“This is my fourth year with them. We've been lucky enough to get to two finals, hopefully we will have two Championship victories, not just one. I took over a young group, full of lads in their early 20s. We have three lads over 30, the rest of the group is from 26 down, from Conor McDonald's age group all the way down to one 17 year old, his first year out of minor.
“It has just worked, the stuff I've asked them they have enjoyed doing and I have enjoyed working with them. It has fitted well, but it could change on Sunday if it doesn't go right.
“Look it is a great group, a group I love working with and I hope they like working with me. It is all about winning now on Sunday, when it comes to county final stage.”
So many hurdles have been cleared during the past number of months which adds to the sense of satisfaction. “It has been extremely intense in terms of when the restrictions were lifted,” Cleary remarks.
“We got our three weeks of a training block before the Championship started. Everything started early in Wexford, I can't even remember the dates, in the middle of June sometime. We had a bye in the first round so we haven't had a break.
“This will be our fifth weekend in a row, we had two group games, really tough games against the Rapps and the Shels.
“We won both by a point. In the quarter-final we had Ferns, who beat us last year in the quarter-final. It was level with three or four minutes to go, but we happened to win by seven, we pulled away to win in the end.
“Last Sunday was another titanic battle, we were very lucky to come out of it with a one point victory too. There has been a lot of heart shown, a lot of commitment and a lot of togetherness has got us over the line. We will need a lot more on Sunday.”
Cleary knows all about the value and importance of sport. For the past three years Cleary has operated as Wexford GAA’s Hurling Development Administrator, but a return to the classroom as a primary school teacher beckons in the coming weeks.
“It was a perfect fit really, you understand how the schools work, how the kids work, and a passion for hurling,” Cleary reflects. “It was great to do because teaching is a long 40 year stint, it was nice to get three years out of the classroom.
“The County Board rang me in January 2017 and it was very much always going to be a career break. It wasn't a career change, it was great to do the few years.”
A renewed sense of vigour will accompany Cleary when going back to Ballygarrett National School. “You learn so much,” Cleary acknowledges.
“I learned so much in the job, dealing with people, computer skills, everything you wouldn't think of, that you learn in the GAA job.
“There is a structure in place now, the underage squads are in a good place, the primary schools are in a good place. It is about building on it now.”
Solid foundations established, Cleary’s coaching career will always be worth monitoring.