Small base no obstacle to Inny U14s winning all-Ireland title

There was a great burst of excitement when the overall winners of this year’s Westmeath Examiner Community and Sports Awards were announced, and it took us, the organisers, a few moments to settle things down on the stage. The energy from the 15 young sportsmen could have powered the lighting and sound equipment, if it could have been harnessed.

The official photos taken, Damien Maher, sports editor, spoke to Garry Doyle, joint manager of the Inny U14s along with Tommy Keena, about a massive year for the team, which sadly included personal tragedy as well as sporting success.

“The thing that strikes me about it and the success of it all, coming from such a small base, is it didn’t seem to be any obstacle to you guys,” said Damien. “You were able to gel together, build a team, build a bond and go on and beat the very best and the biggest clubs in the country.”

Garry’s response: “Yes, thanks Damien. I think the secret to what we did was that it wasn’t just the 11 players, or the squad of 17 – it was the fact that we turned into a sort of travelling army when we went to different towns like Galway, Castlebar, Kilkenny.

“We got a group of really dedicated parents who gave up so much time, so much money to invest in these boys and their children and to invest in a vision and a dream which we didn’t know if we could fulfil or not, because it’s a sport of so many variables.

“But when you are a rural club and you have a spirit and you have togetherness, I think you can achieve anything, and these guys have got enormous spirit.”

Damien: “This success, Garry, is not just about sport – it’s also about community when you consider all those factors.”

Garry: “Without a doubt, and it’s about sacrifice. A lot of the kids have siblings that sacrifice their free time to come and support their big brother or their little brother, and there are a lot of grandparents and uncles and aunts who came along the journey with us.

“It was a year of loss, it was a tough year, we lost one of our player’s fathers halfway through the year and we’d like to dedicate the win to Shane,” Garry added, the emotion of the moment clear in his voice.

Damien: “Well done. Obviously, there is a remarkable bond among the players and the coaches.”

Garry, turning to his fellow coach, Tommy Keena, in jest: “There’s no bond between me and that man! No, seriously, the two of us get on like a house on fire, which means there’s plenty of sparks as well, but the key to it is if you’re together, you can achieve anything, and throughout the year Tommy and I… I’d say we’re on the phone to each other every three times a day. It does take a lot of organisation and a lot of motivation and a lot of drive, but we had all that, and we weren’t scared of anyone.

“It doesn’t matter what the population of the village is because there were only 11 players on the pitch for us, there are only 11 players on the pitch for them, we weren’t scared of anyone, and I’d hope that these boys will realise that because you’re from Westmeath it doesn’t mean that an address should stop you from believing you can be national champions.

“I’d like to predict that you’ll be seeing a lot of these guys wearing Westmeath jerseys in the future and winning a lot of medals in the future.”

Concluding the on-stage interview, Damien said: “An absolutely outstanding achievement, ladies and gentlemen, to be the first village team to win this national title [the SFAI All-Ireland U14 Boys Cup]. I think that says it all and it illustrates that despite how difficult it is to do it, these guys have done it – they’ve made history. It’s a remarkable story and we have very worthy winners here today.”