Laffan building on the strength of one panel to continue Loughmore-Castleiney’s dual threat
STABILITY has been the buzzword in Tipperary hurling circles in recent days. The announcement that Michael Ryan will succeed Éamon O’Shea as boss when his tenure comes to an end next season was viewed as a shrewd move in a county that has a past reputation for volatility.
Given their return to the top table last season, the powers that be clearly feel there is no need to tinker with a winning formula. It’s a sentiment they would agree with in LoughmoreCastleiney as they prepare to defend their county crown in the SHC final against their mid-Tipp rivals Thurles Sarsfields.
Tipperary’s journey to an All-Ireland hurling final, and subsequent replay, has wreaked havoc with the club calendar in the county so Loughmore’s journey has been slightly different to last year, when they claimed both the hurling and football titles for the first time in their history.
The Tipperary football championship is so far behind schedule that the county is not sending a representative into Munster but Loughmore have remained true to the principles that served well last year. The management team and the players are the same, just a year older and wiser.
Declan Laffan is both senior hurling and football manager at the club and with a baby daughter born just a few weeks ago, he has his hands full, at present. But he is relishing the opportunity that the club have to consolidate its status as the pre-eminent team in Tipp.
‘Not too much has changed from last year,’ Laffan observes. ‘The same management team are in place, same players. With one exception of a lad who plays football but not hurling, it is the same panel for both codes. I suppose when a club wins a county title after so long, there is the usual question about hunger the following year but I don’t have to worry about this with these lads.’
Last year’s remarkable journey to the double was also quite emotional after club stalwart, and former Tipperary defender, Eddie Connolly was diagnosed with a brain tumour after the SHC quarter-final.
A year on, and after surgery and treatment, Connolly came off the bench for a brief cameo in Loughmore’s impressive semi-final win over Mullinahone last weekend. It gave the entire team a lift. Laffan said he had no apprehension about sending Connolly into the fray as it was down to the player himself.
‘He came to me a few days before the game and said he would like to be sent on if the opportunity arose and I asked him again before sending him in the game.
‘It was a lovely moment but it is a testament to Eddie, too, and his courage and the type of character he is.’
Connolly’s remarkable recovery is just one of the sub-plots ahead of this county final. Thurles are Loughmore’s keenest rivals and the Sarsfields captain
Pa Bourke has enjoyed playing his neighbours before, scoring six goals in a mid-Tipp match back in 2012.
But Loughmore have buried a demon or two in the past few weeks. In their final SHC group game, they were trailing Toomevara with a few minutes remaining before Noel McGrath inspired them to a slender victory – their first over their more-vaunted rivals in championship hurling. It was quite a milestone for the club.
‘We had never beaten Toomevara in the championship so it was a huge thing for the team,’ Laffan recalls.
‘During the 2000s, when the great Toomevara team were at their peak, we drew with them and were beaten by a couple of points.’
There have been some bumps in the road. They only squeezed past Clonoulty-Rossmore by a point in the quarter-finals, thanks to a superb double save from Shane Nolan in stoppage time. Tipperary’s prolonged summer also had its advantages as Noel McGrath was the only county player (his cousin Liam was on the extended panel).
‘It is somewhat of an advantage. A couple of years ago, we had 12 involved at county level between minor, under-21 and senior and it does cause a disruption. But that advantage is offset by the fact that for almost three months in Tipp this year there was no club action so the team weren’t playing anyway.’
And while Sarsfields, with Bourke and Lar Corbett in their ranks, may be considered the artists of today’s final, the perception of Loughmore as a spirited bunch is starting to grate a little.
‘We are always praised for our courage and our attitude, rightly,’ Laffan says. ‘But I would like the team to be praised for our hurling ability, too, because we couldn’t have got this far without a bit of that.’
Loughmore’s feat in claiming the hurling and football double has been replicated by both Cratloe in Clare and Slaughtneil in Derry this year.
‘It goes to show that it is very doable for any club. It is all about respect for both games, but it can be hard in counties that are perceived as more hurling or football.’
For the moment, though, it is all about hurling in Loughmore-Castleiney. In Tipperary, where there is such a buzz about continuity, they will be hoping to maintain their dominance today.