Plunketts end long wait for Minor glory

There was no mistaking the pride and emotion in the voice of St Oliver Plunketts minor hurling manager Eddie Casey as he reflected on his club’s long-awaited minor success last Sunday, the Mullingar club's first at this level for 24 years.

Coming on the back of a successful U20 campaign last year, it is hoped this can be the catalyst for a hurling revival in the town.

“It has been a long time coming,” he admitted. “The guts of 30 years waiting for a club to get back to winning a minor title. It’s not before time. The club was in difficult times up to 10 or 12 years ago. We were amalgamated with different clubs. We decided as a group, a committee together - a good few of us got together and said we’re going to drive this on.”

That collective resolve has borne fruit. The 2024 Under-20 title hinted at progress, and many of those players have now added minor honours. “You saw last year at U20, the first crop of those boys came through there. A lot of these were playing Under-20 last year as well,” Casey said. “I suppose this is the group that is our marquee group. They’ve won everything barred the U13 title. I’d probably blame myself for that game,” he added with a smile.

The manager was quick to point out the depth within the squad. “We’ve been all year keeping a few lads on the line that weren’t even playing today. They were injured. They’re a good group. Our plan is to keep them together and hopefully move forward.”

Asked about the team’s well-drilled performance and clever match-ups in the final, Casey credited years of familiarity between both clubs. “That’s what happens when you’re at underage. We’re training these boys; we’ve been playing Clonkill at this level since U8. We kind of know their players and they know ours. They play together in Coláiste Mhuire; they play together for Westmeath minors,” he explained. “The key to any team is having some Westmeath minors on it. We have a nice scattering of them on each line, which was very important today.”

One of the standout performers was full-forward Adam Buckley, who hit four goals on the day. Casey wasn’t surprised. “Adam Buckley has been coming for a while. If you follow underage with us, he was probably in and out of the team at that level. The last two years he’s kind of grown up; he’s six foot tall at least, and he can hurl. His grandad, an avid Limerick supporter, brought the MacCarthy Cup up to us when we were kids. I’m delighted for Adam that he’s starting to produce what he showed at real underage level. He was outstanding today and has been outstanding all season. This isn’t a freak or a one-off; he did the same against Castletown and Clann na Gael in the quarter-final. They were important games for us.”

While conditions were tricky, Casey said neither wind nor sun fazed his side. “I was more worried about the sun today - it was vibrant down to that goal. We said if we’d win the toss we’d go with the breeze and the sun. We don’t mind playing against or with the wind; it’s easier to clear your lines with it. I’d say it was a fairly simple system we went with in the first half; no rocket science there. Where you have a big guy, you might as well hit a big ball to him.”

The victory was made all the more special by the presentation of the Ben Kelly Cup, named in honour of a much-loved clubman. “I mentioned to the boys before the first game,” Casey said. “Some of the lads wouldn’t know what would be going on in the club. I mentioned Ben Kelly, and we have a plaque on the wall in St Oliver Plunkett’s. The lads need to know the history of the club; I feel that’s very important.”

He also remembered others who helped build the club during leaner times. “Even mentioning Maurice Wallace today; a huge loss to the club. When the club had nothing, Maurice was driving people around, getting finances, getting our pitch in Robinstown. Those people are great. We can be quick to forget about people that put in so much effort before us. Ben was taken too soon; he could have been 38 or 39 when he died. This is our first time to win the minor title since he passed.”

Casey recalled the 2003 final defeat, his last as a minor manager, and the long wait to put things right. “It’s taken us 22 years to get back to a final. It took us almost 30 years to win it,” he said with conviction. “It won’t be that long again.”