Munster title is worth the wait for Drom & Inch
By Thomas Conway
Some might argue that Drom & Inch won this delayed 2020 Munster Final the previous Saturday, when they overcame Clonoulty-Rossmore to clinch a third consecutive county title. Momentum is a powerful force, and while the adrenalin of that triumph was still flowing through the Drom bloodstream on Sunday, their victory over Inagh-Kilnamona was the result of a grinding, tireless performance from the Tipp side. It was a memorable day for all involved in the Drom camogie community, particularly for the many with connections to Loughmore-Castleiney’s victorious senior team. Both sides were forced to dig deep, drawing on every last bit of energy and passion, and yet again, managing to prevail. Even Drom manager Pat Ryan was enthralled by his team’s strength of character in those tense final moments down in Killeedy. He speaks about his players with immense pride, but also deep admiration.
“The last couple of minutes were unbelievable. When you have your corner-forward (Joanne Ryan) bringing the ball out from the other end of the pitch, that just showed that they just didn’t want to give it up. It was as simple as that. The amount of effort that the girls put in, in the last five minutes especially, was awesome.”
Ryan agrees that the momentum of the county final win certainly benefited Drom in terms of the players’ confidence levels, but when you strip back the emotion, he also feels that it had a hugely positive impact on Sunday’s performance. Inagh-Kilnamona had been knocked out of the Clare county championship a number of weeks ago, dispatched at the semi-final stage by eventual champions Scariff-Ogonnelloe (a team which Drom may encounter before the year out). Drom’s battle with Clonoulty-Rossmore was the perfect preparation for Sunday’s Munster decider, as Ryan emphasises.
“I think winning the county final did work in our favour in terms of momentum, but I also think the fact that we had a good intense championship game really stood to us - coming into this Munster Final. Inagh hadn’t played a game in a month or so - they were waiting for us to come through, so the fact that we had that highly intensive match just the week before, against an outstanding Clonoulty team which put us to the pin of our collar, that did stand to us in the end. But again, the girls and their never-say-die attitude was tremendous. I couldn’t say enough about them.”
Much is made about the impact of sodden pitches and stormy weather in the context of club championship gaelic games. Most forethinking managers and coaches will mould their teams to adapt to the winter conditions, and Ryan has managed this transition expertly. Drom are a side which thrives on fast, dry ground, but as the seasons have changed, so too has their style of play. They have that unique ability to go to the well every single time, somewhat like another group of players, whom the Drom manager references.
“Look, we’re into December now and we’re still going, and it’s not like the pitches have gone from summer fields to winter fields overnight - we’ve adapted all the way along. We just seem to be able to grind out the results. We’re a little bit like Loughmore in a way!”