BALLYHALE SHAMROCKS HAVE been victorious in each of the seven games they’ve played at Croke Park since 1990.
The first six of those wins came in All-Ireland club finals, with the seventh arriving on Sunday in the Leinster final pummelling of Clough-Ballacolla.
There’s no doubting the wide expanses and pristine surface of headquarters suits their skill levels and attacking brand of hurling. On a day when their opponents were experiencing the pitch for the first time, Ballyhale group were able to draw on the experience of winning the two All-Ireland deciders at the venue since 2019.
Their forward play and slick passing was mesmerising to watch at stages against the Laois side, who saw their season end in a cruel manner. When Ballyhale are on song like this, there’s hardly a club team in the country that can live with them.
There was much pre-game talk about Clough-Ballacolla’s small parish, but Ballyhale are a small community themselves, even if they’ve been the dominant force in club hurling.
The manner of their re-generation each year is remarkable. They’ve lost legendary figures like Henry Shefflin and Michael Fennelly, yet continue to raise the standards.
Even the early withdrawal of TJ Reid at the weekend did not hamper their momentum. Eoin Cody took over on frees and didn’t miss a beat.
“You want to keep onto Eoin, ‘You need to be getting these over the bar. TJ’s not going to be hurling forever’” remarked Colin Fennelly.
“And he needs to be moving and stepping up into that position and it was great to see him putting those balls over the bar. You don’t just stop. That’s the problem we’ve had over the last number of games; we go up by seven, eight, nine points and then we just completely fall asleep. We had that scare last weekend, it was a massive scare.
“Realistically, St Rynaghs should have bet us, they were all over us and here we are today Leinster champions, it’s just amazing. But look, we had that scare the last three, four, five years. It’s not like we come to Leinster and win handy on that scoreline.
“We have those tough matches coming up to it. Today, for the first 15 minutes it was point for point and their crowd were getting behind them and we were in trouble and we just came through with those passes from TJ and that bit of class.”
Reid picked out Fennelly with a defence-splitting 40 yard pass that resulted in Ballyhale’s first goal. For the second, Fennelly pulled off a brilliant piece of improvisation by lobbing the onrushing goalkeeper Cathal Dunne as he bore down on goal.
Ceann cruthaíoch ag an gcaptaen Colin Fennelly ó Cluiche Ceannais Laighean
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) December 20, 2021
No one saw this finish coming from Colin Fennelly in the @gaaleinster hurling final@BallyhaleGAA | @KilkennyCLG | #GAA | #Hurlingpic.twitter.com/fgI1QMRpto
“It is a split-second [decision],” he explained. “With experience over the years, there was very little choice about what to do next. I think I had a lad on my left, a lad on my right, a lad coming at you and a lad behind.
“It was just a flick and you hope for the best. There’s no point in saying I had a plan or anything like that; it’s split-second. When I saw it roll into the goal I said I’d certainly take it alright.”
He went close to sealing a first-half hat-trick but after doing the hard work rolled a close-range shot wide.
“It’s a killer,” Fennelly smiles. “It was probably one of the handier ones that I had and I just took my eye slightly off the ball and it hit the end of the hurl.
“It was those inch-perfect balls from TJ that just make all the difference. The class that he brings to the game is just amazing and then his brother Richie at the back spraying the ball around the field, Joey Holden behind just mopping up. It was just an overall team performance.”
The 32-year-old recently announced his Kilkenny retirement, having taken a year out in 2021. He’s determined to squeeze as much as he can out of the remainder of his Ballyhale career.
“I’m enjoying it a lot more because you’re coming near the end of it and you want to make the most of it and I think we are making the most of it.
“It’s absolutely amazing and it is extra special with the club. I said it before that when we won the four-in-a-row with the club with the old team of Henry and all those, you were winning here and there and then all of a sudden for three years you’re not winning anything.
“You think it’s gone so the fact that we have won the last four years in-a-row with the club is really amazing. You don’t think about it when you’re younger, you think you’re going to win forever and think it’s great, but when you get to look back on it all it’s an amazing feeling so it is.
“Just to see what the club achieved, see what my father achieved with the club, my brother, it’s just an amazing family, friends experience. You do look back on it all and I really do enjoy it with Ballyhale.”
The club celebrate their 50th year anniversary next year. What they’ve achieved in 49 years of existence is nothing short of incredible. They’ve won eight All-Irelands, 11 Leinsters and 19 Kilkenny senior titles.
To add another All-Ireland in their 50th year will serve as further motivation, says Fennelly.
“It will be motivation, yeah. It all comes through from who started the club and if you don’t mention the 50 years and what they have achieved and tell players ‘this is massive’… you invite that pressure, you invite that opportunity.
“You don’t avoid it and ignore it. It’s a massive opportunity for the club and if you win, you win and if you don’t, you look forward to next year. It’s not the be-all and end-all but you try the best with what’s in front of you.
“We focus on game by game and we haven’t a clue who we are playing in the All-Ireland semi-final and I don’t want to know. I want to enjoy my Christmas so I do, relax with the family and get going again in the new year.
“In fairness to James O’Connor, he just focuses on each game as it comes and he is brilliant at going into detail of matches.
“You can see it out there, having TJ and myself inside, it’s moving players like that which shows he’s not going out with the same team each week”
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