Captain O'Flaherty leads and speaks by example

By Thomas Conway

This was Nenagh Ormond’s greatest day, but it was also so, so poignant.

The mood at the final-whistle might have been ebullient, but on the pitch as well as in the stand, players and coaches and supporters and anyone who had anything to do with the club could feel the raw emotion of it all. A cascade of memories rained down the club community, as they often do in golden moments.

At the forefront of every mind was Keith Hayes, the former club president and Ormond stalwart who died so tragically in 2022. Fittingly, his initials were emblazoned on the sleeves of the players’ jerseys, the letters KH serving as a constant reminder of the man who embodied Nenagh Ormond so brilliantly when he was alive.

Every player paid tribute to him. The captain, Kevin O’Flaherty, in his acceptance speech, spoke eloquently about his impact on the club at large, and of course on this group of players. Not long afterwards, O’Flaherty emerged from the dancing of the dressing-room to give another heartfelt tribute.

“It’s hard to find the words in terms of how much this means to us,” he said.

“I kind of alluded to it in my speech, the driving factor for us is a legend of the club, and that’s Keith Hayes. His initials are on the sleeves of our jersey, and you know, I mentioned him at training on Thursday, I mentioned him before the match, I mentioned him after the game. We had to do that man justice. All he wanted to see was this club be successful and from the bottom of our hearts, this win was for him.”

Squad effort

Reflecting more generally, O’Flaherty extolled the work-ethic of his team-mates, citing the sheer size of the squad and the effort invested to take Nenagh to this point.

He heaped praise on the management, referencing the knowledge and guidance of head coach Derek Long, Director of Rugby John Long, and the rest of their team, who have led Nenagh’s remarkable ascent over the course of the past two years.

“The lads are ridiculous,” O’Flaherty said.

“I said it on the pitch, there were 22 lads who put on a jersey today, but there’s another twenty who could have gone out and done it justice as well.

“The squad that we have there at the minute is just really talented, especially when you look at the bench and the lads that come on and make such an impact, week after week. It really is a squad effort, the management have made us believe. They’ve put the work in like the players, and they deserve this every bit as much.”

Among a host of names, the skipper made reference to the likes of Jack O’Keeffe, cruelly sidelined due to a cruciate ligament injury sustained in recent weeks, as well as wing Conor O’Shaughnessy, who didn’t feature on Sunday.

O’Flaherty himself has played a leading role this season. The 32-year-old second-row collected his 200th cap in the AIL clash against Old Belvedere earlier this month, a momentous milestone for the Burgess man. But Sunday’s triumph ranked well above that, as he became the first Tipperary man to hoist the Munster Senior Challenge Cup in the 139 year history of the competition.