Making up for lost time
Killinan End
Toomevara head towards what historically must be considered their rightful place at the weekend. The shake-up for the Dan Breen cup is the natural environment for a parish whose intimacy with the competition predates even this famous old trophy. When Toomevara lifted the first actual Dan Breen cup in 1931 after a convincing win over Moycarkey the Greyhounds stood top of the pile with nine County titles. Little has happened in the intervening period to seriously challenge their status as one of hurling’s leading names.
Like all clubs there have been ups and downs and Senior ranks has not always been their home. In 1955, Toomevara won the North Intermediate title beating Youghalarra in the final, in the same year that Gortagarry won the Junior championship meaning both champions were from the same parish. It was a kind of reawakening for a club that had regraded to Intermediate at the start of 1954 and had not contested a County Senior final since the last one was won in 1931.
The following year they acquitted themselves very well in Senior ranks reaching a semi-final. They raised nine white flags more than Lorrha in that semi-final but unfortunately for them they also had to deal with Tony Reddin. While Lorrha scored five goals, despite relentless attacking this was not an option for Toome and they came up short. In hindsight there was no shame in it since Lorrha won the final subsequently.
Nonetheless, the future was bright and within two years they were North Senior champions again after a lapse of a dozen years – within four they were County Senior champions. Progress was incremental but real. A final appearance for Toome in ’57 saw Éire Óg win a first North in 42 years which must have seen some night in the town. But a year later it was Toomevara’s own day when Kilruane were beaten.
By 1960, they had reached the ultimate summit and Thurles Sarsfields’ great run was repelled in emphatic fashion at Templemore. Some 29 years had elapsed since Dan Breen had wintered in Toomevara when Willie Donovan carried it home and the Greyhounds had Matt O’Gara-Neil Williams-Tom Shanahan – a half-back-line for the ages.
When Toomevara stepped out onto MacDonagh Park in Nenagh to face Portroe in the dying days of September 1984, the same 29 years had elapsed since the club had won that Intermediate title which eventually opened the door to maybe their most memorable day at Senior level five years later. Their opponents were in the midst of a most extraordinary run which saw them play in five consecutive North Intermediate Finals 1981-85. Results were mixed with just two of them won but it is quite a tribute to them to be at the business end so consistently.
Toome themselves had soldiered on in Senior ranks until 1980 when the drop came to the middle grade. After a semi-final defeat to eventual winners Kiladangan in ’80, signs were good for an early return to Senior ranks in 1981 when they reached the North Intermediate final against Portroe. Signs became even better when they led 0-12 to 0-1 at half-time, albeit with a strong wind behind them. Portroe made inroads with the wind at their backs but with two minutes to go still trailed 0-15 to 0-10. Then came surely one of the most extraordinary twists in any North Final at any grade when Gerry O’Brien scored two goals in two minutes to win the day for Portroe in a most electrifying finish.
The same teams took to the field three years later. Only four of the ’81 team started for Toomevara, but the outcome was similarly tight. In the end the Hewitt Cup went back to Toome 0-13 to 0-12 after a tense tight match. The County title, comparatively, was straightforward with Kilsheelan and Clonmore well beaten in the semi-final and final respectively.
As with their 1950s’ counterparts progress at the higher grade came quickly. Within two years it took the All-Ireland champions, Kilruane, to beat them in the North Final. From 1991 the Frank McGrath cup became a frequent visitor not least because of the power of young talent that was bubbling under back in 1984. Pat King, centre-back on that team, was an early example of a new generation that was coming through. The North Minor ‘A’ title was won in 1981 for the first time in a quarter of a century. Four more titles followed during the rest of the decade.
The cavalry was coming over the horizon though nobody realised how powerful the effect would be in the two decades after 1984. They will sniff a County Final appearance around Ballymackey, Gortagarry and Toomevara again this week and if their history is any guide, they will take some stopping in that attempt. Bridging a sixteen-year gap would not be before time.