Ballina rising to new standards in football

By Thomas Conway

Few things capture the essence of autumn quite like the closing stages of the county championships. As the evenings darken and smoke begins to waft from chimney pots, pitches grow heavy and clubs around the country start vying for a coveted place in their championship decider. The coming weeks will produce fierce battles. Ballina and Grangemockler/Ballyneale will contest, in all probability, contest one of them.

The convergence of these two clubs is intriguing, not least because each has taken strangely different paths over the last few seasons. Three years ago, adult football in Ballina was on the brink of non-existence. There was a team there alright, but it generally came together once the club’s hurling fortunes had faded, then quickly dispersed following a North championship defeat to Portroe.

2021 produced a great awakening. Ballina’s odyssey through both the county and Munster championships proved definitely that football was alive and well in this corner of North Tipp.

Such proof was never needed in Grangemockler/Ballyneale. They’ve been a presence in the county intermediate championship for years. The club has found itself within touching distance of achieving senior status for the past two consecutive seasons, falling at the final hurdle in both 2020 and 2021.

Ballina manager Kevin Byrne isn’t under any illusions. He knows that Grangemockler will test Ballina in all sorts of ways. He knows that his side are coming up against a genuine football team, not some group of hurlers cobbled together after an early championship exit.

“I think it will be a good game of football,” he said.

“Grangemockler were the beaten finalists in the intermediate championship for the past two years, so we know that they’ll represent a huge challenge. They’ve had a couple of good underage teams over the past few years as well.

“So, we recognise that it will be another step up for us, but in order to keep on progressing, we have to make that step up. That’s the challenge this year.”

Generally speaking, Ballina have risen to that challenge, notwithstanding their lacklustre defeat to Mullinahone on the hottest day of the summer in mid-August. The temperature seemed to affect them that day, but so too did Mullinahone’s ball-retention ability. Ballina were carved open by a team playing pure, unadulterated football. A comprehensive victory over Galtee Rovers has since restored confidence levels on Shannonside, and Byrne feels his squad have now adapted to the pace of the intermediate grade.

“There’s a big jump from junior to intermediate, there’s no doubt about that,” he said.

“You’re playing against teams that are more focused on football, teams that are putting a lot more time into football and have more natural ability. I’ve watched a lot of this year’s intermediate championship and I think there’s definitely a good standard of football in the county. But we knew that would be the case, and I think we’ve adjusted to it.”

Byrne feels that neither the commitment nor the enthusiasm of his squad have waned since last season. Granted, they’ve lost a few players, but they’ve also gained some new bodies, and training numbers have been consistently high. Ballina have managed to strike and maintain a perfect balance between hurling and football, thus avoiding the type of conflict that often besets dual clubs. Is the Ballina manager contemplating the prospect of successive county titles and an upgrade to the senior championship? You can probably guess the answer. “No, our focus is firmly on this semi-final.”