Ken Dunne – the reluctant General

By Shane Brophy

It’s fair to say that if Ken Dunne had his preference, he wouldn’t be manager of the Toomevara senior hurlers right now.

It’s not that he never wished to be in the role, but the plan was it would be further down the line after working with the clubs under 19 and under 21 hurlers.

“I was a bit selfish, as I knew we had young players coming and could challenge for a North title at under 19 and I knew we’d challenge for the next five years at under 21,” he revealed.

When the senior role became vacant for the 2023 campaign, he still didn’t feel it was the right time until he was successfully convinced, he was the right man at the right time.

“I was under 19 & 21 manager under the previous senior management when it became open, and I still wasn’t enamoured by the job, and I did have to be coaxed into it. My wife Denise and brother Tommy played a big part in that,” he revealed

“I eventually took it, and I only took if I had a good management with me and I went about that and obviously getting Shane (Hassett) was a big plus for us.”

Shane Hassett is one of the hottest coaching commodities right down with the Drom & Inch clubman on the cusp of a double having played coached Clare to the All-Ireland senior hurling title this year. It also helped that the Dunne’s and Hassett’s are also related.

“There is a family connection there as his dad and my dad are first cousins,” Dunne reveals.

“I wouldn’t have been in contact with Shane much, and I knew he was involved with Clare.

“I initially contacted him to see if he knew of anyone to come on board as coach. What you want coming to Toomevara is a young knowledgeable coach that is fresh and lots of energy.

“When I met him, it became clear that he would like to do it as he lives in Limerick. I was lucky to get him, and it has worked well for both of us.”

The split-season has benefited many areas of the GAA, including for coaches who can work with inter-county and club teams with their focuses on different times of the year, however, Dunne’s ask of Hassett is total.

“He is here every night,” Dunne revealed of Hassett’s schedule of combining Clare and Toomevara in the first half of the year.

“I demanded him to be here every night. You would want him here every night because you hear of teams having a number of coaches; in my mind it is one voice, and it is consistency in doing things over and over again. Shane brought that and it is so important.

“So, we adjusted our schedule around Shane and to be fair to the club they were very accommodating, as well as other teams, because we would have trained previously on certain nights so we would have had to change that up for last year.

“It’s ferocious commitment on his part, he is an amazing guy. He is a great communicator, and the lads love him being around the place.”

The link-up has worked as there is a crispness to Toomevara’s play on the ball, coupled with an intensity with a number of managers, including Moycarkey/Borris’ Eddie Brennan and Loughmore/Castleiney’s Eamonn Kelly remarking that the greyhounds are the hardest working team in the championship, an aspect Ken Dunne looked to improve when he became manager.

“That was the one thing I did want when I came in,” he added.

“I wasn’t thinking about North finals or County finals, I just wanted to get back to basics and get back to working hard.

“It was an eye-opener for a few months for them at the start of last year during the county league as they probably didn’t get what we asked of them for a long time.

“Fitness for me was a big thing, and while some lads still have some work to do, we are fit and that is where the workrate comes from, and to be able to sustain the workrate is the biggest thing for the full hour, and work as hard as we do, you always give yourself a chance.”

This Sunday’s final has a lot of family ties for Ken for whom his first cousin Paul Treacy is Loughmore/Castleiney’s strength & conditioning coach while Ken’s sister Triona is married to David McGrath, an older brother of Aidan & Ciaran McGrath who will be playing in the game.

“They are a phenomenal club,” Dunne says of Sundays opponents.

“This is where they really come into their own in the latter stage of a championship in both hurling and football.

“I would consider our two teams, Toome and Loughmore, quite alike in lots of ways, the way we carry ourselves, in the way we go about of hurling, we can play it long or short, both teams work hard.

“In the second half against Thurles Sarsfields, they were outstanding, the fought for and one every dirty ball and we’ll have to match that if we are to have any chance."