Sense of enjoyment may be key in St ThomasÕs title bid

There is no more exciting a week in the life of a club hurler or footballer than the build-up to a first All-Ireland senior final at Croke Park and it is great to see that the St Thomas’s panel are embracing the prospect of taking on Kilcormac-Killoughey of Offaly on Sunday with such a relish.

Some teams retreat from the limelight when faced with the biggest date in their club careers; some give sullen, short answers; but the men of Peterswell, Kilchreest, and Castledaly are making the most of what really should be the best weekend of their lives.

Team manager John Burke has managed to bring a great sense of fun and enjoyment to the club’s senior panel this year. It was remarkable how relaxed the players were when Marty Morrissey and an RTE News crew visited the Galway champions for the Six One News this week.

Instead of engaging in bland platitudes, Burke produced the kind of fighting talk which stood his team in such good stead when they faced into the All-Ireland semi-final victory over reigning champions Loughgiel Shamrocks last month. Burke is not cocky or arrogant, but he is not afraid to talk up his side’s chances either.

St Thomas’s have a right to be confident after coming through a tough Galway championship, which included ‘derby’ wins over neighbours Gort and Loughrea, but they also showed a great sense of joy when the Burke clan – John has six sons on the panel – re-enacted the closing scene from 1970s TV show The Waltons for the news show on Tuesday evening.

One by one, the lads turned off the lights in the family house for the TV cameras; while they also pucked a ball from one house to another to show how close this band of brothers are to each other, and the likes of the Murrays and Kellys just down the road.

It’s been refreshing to see a group of players face into a big final with such a great sense of humour, without neglecting to focus on the task in hand.

Given how the championship has been dominated by the likes of Portumna, Loughrea, Athenry, and Clarinbridge, it’s been a decade and a half since a club as small as St Thomas’s, who represent barely 200 houses, were top dogs in Galway hurling.

The Sarsfields team of the 1990s was hugely popular both inside and outside the county and, given how extremely youthful Burke’s side is, the potential in this team is nothing short of frightening if they can keep this group of young players together for years to come.

David Burke, Conor Cooney, and James Regan all have the vital experience of playing in front of 82,000 people in last September’s All-Ireland finals at Croke Park with the county side, but once again the club final is bringing up some wonderful stories.

Such as the prospect of seeing wing back Enda Tannian, on the verge of his 19th season with the team, finally getting to represent St Thomas’ in the country’s biggest stadium – a man who was more used to Intermediate battles, and a few pints after a game, in his early days with the club’s adult side.

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.