Rise and rise again, like the Phoenix from the ashes!

Well it was not to be. Derek’s young charges did the County proud and Galway were a team inspired, just that wee bit stronger on the day.

It was a pulsating match with so many highs and lows. A rip roaring final, that saw two teams give no quarter. We witnessed colossal hits, a frenetic pace and talented hurlers covering every single blade of grass on Croke Park’s field of green. A better advert for hurling there could not have been.

I watched the match, along with thousands of others, in Waterford City’s newest outdoor venue, The Apple Market. This re-engineered corner of the City was built with many, many detractors. If the truth be told, a venue, which during the construction phase, received endless amounts of unfair criticism by hundreds of keyboard warriors, from all over the country. Yet, on Sunday 3^rd September this performance area would play host to a magnificent Gladiatorial contest.

With three screens to choose from, every supporter in white and blue could comfortably view the match. The whole area was filled with Déise families, friends and the odd tourist, wondering what the hell was going on. I saw visiting Spanish students getting caught up in the majesty of the day. I know that Waterford hurling has now gained a few more International supporters from the Basque country.

There was a never ending number of small children running around hysterically, in their Déise colours. Quickly pursued by a Mum or Dad, trying to bring them back to order. A hopeless task, as they would be off at the earliest opportunity, pretending they too were in Croke Park, just like their heroes Gleeson, Brick and Moran.

Tipperary referee Hogan blew the whistle at 15:30 and within a few minutes our hopes seemed shattered. As Galway steamed into an early lead and it looked like the Déise men were in for a very tough day at the office. Then up popped the white and blue Captain, to blast the sliotar into the Tribesmen’s net – dare we start to dream?

It would be a pulsating game with never more than a few points between the two teams. At halftime there was only one point in it and we could all take a collective breath. There was a rush to get refreshments and take back to your vantage point. Hoping that supporters would be polite and normal order resumed prior to the start of the second half. With everyone back in their place the game restarted.

The Déise ever so briefly went into the lead around 16:30 and the crowds’ excitements levels rose. If we were not careful the new Apple Market roof would be lifted right off the foundations! We were all shouting and screaming in unison. A choreographed emotional rollercoaster that had all of us hoping that our heart rate could be controlled.

At around the hour mark, the Tribesmen’s talisman Joe Canning, got his eighth point of the match and a few of us started to feel that the match might just be slipping away. Suddenly there was a four point difference, as the clock ticked inevitably towards fulltime.

With four minutes of added time, could our Déise men make up the three point difference? Would Austin Gleeson get another wonder goal to drag us back into the match? Alas, it was not to be. When Hogan blew the final whistle, the Tribesmen were three points to the good. Galway would win their fifth All-Ireland Senior Hurling title, a first for 29 years.

Despite the thousands of supporters, thronging The Apple Market, you could have heard a pin drop towards the end of extra time, as the match drew towards its inevitable conclusion. We collectively applauded and cheered the wonderful effort by Derek’s squad. It was a titanic struggle and “Boi” can we be proud of our county.

Galway were just too strong on the day and watching “The Sunday Game”, you could evidently see why. The graphic for “Man of the Match” clearly showing, two giant Tribesmen beside the Déise’s Jamie Barron!

Waterford has surely a great hurling future. Our new outdoor venue, The Apple Market, will have its roof raised many times, in the not too distant future.

Déise Abu. 

(Burzza restaurant window Waterford, Photo of Derek & Dan: Piaras Ó Mídheach, Irish Independent)

Dare we dream?

Well, well, well, just how do you put that into words? What a Sunday performance from Waterford’s young charges. They quite literally destroyed the Rebel Army from Cork, in that hurling semi-final. An early September final weekend awaits with Galway.

Is it now time to start dreaming?

I openly admit, that having being brought up in Scotland, on a diet of amateur rugby, I am no hurling cognoscenti. But Waterford’s second half performance was just magnificent and a sheer joy to watch. The pace, the passion, the aggression, the determination and for the first time that I can recall, a steely determination and strength of mind to win at all costs. I get the feeling that these players would have run through the walls of a nuclear bunker, for Derek McGrath and his backroom staff.

Though some on the RTE’s Sunday panel were not so enamoured with the way we played. They were surely watching another game, or maybe it was just a wee bit of sour grapes! The Cats will be at a loss come 15:30, on that first weekend in September. For the first time in an awful long stretch, Kilkenny will have to support another team.  As we chase that little white sliotar around the vast green fields of Páirc an Chrócaigh. Maybe they will see fit to support their Waterford neighbours?

I know nothing about Mr McGrath’s “Controversial” sweeper system or the way a team has to set up, to play this way. What I do know, is that it is working 100% and maybe that is all that counts. This team, through absolute hard graft and effort, have worked out how to beat other squads. Waterford’s set up, contentious or not, suits this line up and this group of players. Perhaps the Naysayers, those RTE panellists included, should shut up and embrace our team’s ambitions? A winning formula appears to have been found and if we are celebrating on the 3^rd of September, others might just start copying Waterford’s set up.

What also struck me, was the sheer number of blue and white supporters, who travelled up to Dublin, to shout “Déise Abu!” Waterford must have one of, if not the best supported hurling teams in Ireland. It looked like half of the 70,000 crowd came up the M9, or sneaked up the M11, to avoid the clash with Cork supporters on the M7!

I can only imagine, that tickets for the final clash with Galway, will be rarer than hen’s teeth. This, I have been told, will be the first time these two teams have met in an All Ireland Final. Neither will want to lose, on such an historic occasion. The match has the capacity to become a game we will all remember for many a year. Those lucky enough to secure a ticket, will remember the experience forever.

It never ceases to amaze me, how sporting successes can lift our spirits. Particularly when Waterford is still dealing with some very serious infrastructural issues. To take a trip to Dublin in early September, is both a distraction and is a welcome relief. This gives hope that a brighter future lies ahead for the people of the Déise.

As an aside and probably due to the excitement of a possible semi-final win, we all seem to have become very giddy. I noticed over the weekend a platform has appeared in the middle of the River Suir, just in line with the clock tower and the centre of the North Quay. When I asked what it was for I was told “We had struck oil and gas”. Forget the Corrib Gas Project, Waterford was to become the Dallas of Ireland! We would all get rich on the back of this and our Hurlers be presented with a brand new 50,000 seated stadium, with many bells and whistles, if we allowed Shell to start drilling!

As our young hurlers get down to the Herculean task of preparing for the All Ireland Senior Hurling Final we must support them in every way possible. We need to show our support by turning the city, county and of course Páirc an Chrócaigh blue and white.

Déise Abu!

(Hurling photograph taken by Ray McManus, with our very own Noel Browne in the background!)