'Standard of Westmeath club hurling excellent' insists Boyle

Raharney’s Joey Boyle hailed the standard of club hurling in Westmeath following his side's victory over Clonkill in the Westmeath Division 1 Hurling League final.

“The standard is excellent. Some people think it’s poor, I think it’s very, very good. You see yourself that game out there today - look at the scores that were taken. You can't ask for much more.

"Going into the championship, every game is hell for leather. It’s cut-throat, with the round-robin system and only three teams getting through. It’s helter-skelter; do or die, every game. You can't lax, you can't lay off, you can't wait for the next one. You have to win all your games. We got caught out last year and that was it. Just working up to the game, working up to scratch,” he noted.

He referenced Castletown Geoghegan’s run in Leinster last year where they beat Kilkenny champions, Thomastown for the first time.

Speaking after the final whistle, Boyle, though battered and bruised following a physical second half against one of their great rivals, acknowledged the significance of the win and paid tribute to a new generation of hurlers coming through the ranks in Raharney.

“Of course I’m happy,” he remarked, having played a heroic role in his side's victory. “We’ve an awful lot of young lads there, as you can see. In fairness, the reason we’re in the league final is because of those young players. We have seven or eight lads in Westmeath every year. I suppose this is the first year we actually have enough lads, enough of a panel there of good hurlers, who actually won a few league games on their own bat, without any of us, and got us into that final.”

Boyle was particularly impressed with the contributions of Joe Mulvaney and Luke Darby, while he praised Clonkill’s Conor Daly in what was a game that didn't hit the highest levels in terms of quality, but was still illuminated by individual brilliance.

“There were some fabulous scores. Joe Mulvaney, who is just after finishing his Leaving Cert this year, no more than on the Clonkill side of Conor Daly; both sides had young lads playing. Conor Daly scored a couple of great points from play; he is only 19 or 20 years old. It was that young talent that probably got both teams into the final. Joe Mulvaney came on and, in 10 minutes made a big impact, scoring a wonderful point from play, down the sideline, off the right side, at full tilt. Great for a 19-year-old. In defence, Luke Darby stepped up. A football player, everyone says, but he did a good job on probably one of the best hurlers in the county, Luke Loughlin.”

Raharney started strongly and set the tone with an early penalty goal after Caolan Ready took on the Clonkill defence and was fouled. “Caolan Ready, only 19, stood up, took the man on – full back John Kenny, an experienced player with a number of senior titles to his credit. Caolan took him on, put the head down and went for goal, and John had to bring him down. Rory Keyes stepped up and took the penalty well.”

However, Clonkill, as expected, responded with intensity in the second half. Boyle wasn’t surprised by that, or the quality shown by dual star Luke Loughlin.

“Loughlin always steps up. He’s due a score like that in every game and we were just lucky we had enough of a lead when he did get it and we got back into it. When he got that goal, we could have sat down. But in fairness, again, Cormac Boyle came on, adding experience for the last few minutes, and he won a few balls around the middle. Rory Keyes stepped up. They won a few dirty balls and really drove into it, in fairness. You can't ask much more.”

With the league title secured, all focus now turns to the championship – where Raharney, winners in 2023, will be chasing the title once more.

Boyle is acutely aware of the challenge facing them.

“There is absolutely nothing between Lough Lene Gaels, Clonkill and Castletown Geoghegan – any of these teams. They have so much class and talent. There’s literally a refereeing decision between any of those teams. So you just have to keep your head in the game, work hard,” he observed.

“It’s four weeks now before the first round of the championship; we’re playing Fr Dalton’s. We played them here last year, they scored five goals and we only beat them by a point.”

Manager John Shaw is facing into his second championship and there is a belief the Raharney legend can guide the players to great days.

“He’s so passionate. He’s done it all as a player and he has coached all of us. When I was 17, I was playing at corner forward with John Shaw and he was telling me where to run, what to do. It’s just a real honour to be playing underneath him now as senior manager,” remarked Boyle.

“He’s such a keen hurling person, a proud Raharney man. We all have so much respect for him, but it just depends: if we can get upstairs right and get the right momentum behind us, that will determine everything.”

With a fine blend of youth, experience, and leadership, Raharney look well placed to make another strong bid for senior glory this year.