LIKE Bandon in football, Clonakilty are often referred to as the sleeping giants of hurling in West Cork.

BY TOM LYONS

With a record number of South-West junior hurling titles to their credit, it seems they can land that title whenever they put their minds seriously to it. But Clon is foremost a football town, with nine county senior titles to their credit.

Hurling has always been in the shadow of football in the club but every now and again, especially when the future of hurling looks gloomy, somebody, or somebodies, emerge to drive on the hurling cause.

This season they are in the capable hands of two former stalwart players, Liam Ryan as trainer and Brian Daly as coach, two men with hurling blood in their veins.

‘We certainly didn’t expect this,’ admitted Daly after the Division 1 league final win against Kilbree.

‘But we’ve been doing well all season, unbeaten in the league. We have a good cohort of players, very committed, although many were missing tonight for various reasons.

‘The panel is very young, a lot of good young hurlers coming up from underage where great work is going on in hurling. These lads are the beginning of those lads coming through.’

Football is usually the first preference of young lads coming through in Clon, but this team now has a core group fully committed to hurling.

‘We have a very good relationship with Martin (O’Brien, the senior football manager), and his management team,’ said Daly.

‘The players do most of their physical training with him and we have them hurling training once a week at present, plus a game when possible. We are lucky that we have a backbone of lads who now put hurling first on their agenda and that makes a huge difference.

‘All we ask of these players is honesty of endeavour, to give us all they can on the day and in training. We know the effort needed to stay in senior football these days and we know we can’t drive them too hard. In fairness, they have given great commitment so far this season,’ he added.

So what does the future hold for this Clon outfit?

‘Rome wasn’t built in a day but we have a good junior hurling administrator in Séamus O’Brien who will have that all mapped out for us,’ Daly said.

‘There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Clonakilty hurling. It may take a couple of seasons to bring them through, but I would be very optimistic for the future of Clon hurling.

‘We won’t get carried away but I think we’re on the right road.’