Lahardane's biggest challenge now awaits
Fresh off a second Connacht Club JFC title, Lahardane MacHales will now look to make a first ever All-Ireland final. Picture: David Farrell Photography
A run to the All-Ireland semi-final six years ago captured the attention of all in Mayo and now as the last club in the county again standing in the All-Ireland series, Lahardane will look to make history.
Making history is something the club has become accustomed to over the past six years. They won their first Mayo junior ‘A’ and Connacht titles back in 2017 and have now repeated the trick. Given the work that has gone on with the club since that initial breakthrough, perhaps it comes as no surprise that it has happened again.
Club chairman Derek Sheridan has been involved with the club for close to eighteen years, managing at various underage levels as well as a stint as senior manager in 2016. He has seen the good times and the bad but the strong underage structure in recent years has begun to bear fruit. As a result, Lahardane were able to field at underage level on their own this year from under-12 up without amalgamating with Ardmoy, which they had done previously as Ardmoy MacHales.
“We got relegated last year and we were at a bit of a low point,” said Derek. “We had a few lads that were playing football who kind of bowed out from it. We had a couple of injuries as well and morale was a small bit low, but we honestly knew we had a very good minor team coming up that won a county final last year and under-17 did very well too.
“It was all about headhunting the right man and when we started out training in January I was quite happy with trying to get to a county final and see how we go from there - but we never expected this."
Derek added: “This little club here is nestled in between big clubs like Burrishoole and Crossmolina. We were really struggling there for the last fifteen years, with numbers and population. But huge credit has to be given to our Bord na nÓg, the whole structure of it.
“I think this year was the first year in a long time that we were fully Lahardane from under-12 right up so we're going in the right direction.”
Christmas time has been busy for Derek. Given the near non-stop rain over this period, it has meant getting other pitches besides their own.
“It's football fever here since Christmas time. Unfortunately, with the pitch, we just have the one and we're trying to mind it. We were training in Bekan in the Dome and we're very grateful to the local club here beside us, Kilfian. They offered their pitch and you know, we've alternated between Bekan, Kilfian and here in Lahardane.”
That ‘football fever’ was on show at the club’s annual St Stephen’s Day match and the feel-good factor about the community was evident to manager Eddie Conroy.
“The team, they're buzzing at the minute just to get going. And the community, Jesus, it's unbelievable. We had a Stephen’s Day charity match and it was a good crowd out and the support we got off them, it's unbelievable. Anywhere you go they're talking about it, it's a great buzz around the place,” says Conroy, which is probably no surprise given how Lahardane’s run so far has gone. With a tough win over Shrule/Glencorrib and provincial victories against Menlough, on penalties, and Owenmore Gaels, in dense fog, in the final.
“We were probably lucky that we got two very tough games in Connacht. The final was a tough game, even though we had an eight-point lead, it came back to three points. Everything that’s been thrown at us so far, we've dealt with it.”
With those battles, every member of their squad has been called upon, which for Eddie it what is all about. Bar long-term absentees, he should have a full panel of 27 to choose from.
“As I keep saying, it's not just about I, it's about the team. You can see the younger lads now are looking up to the older lads, and the older lads are giving the younger lads confidence. There now, we put a couple of under-17 lads with us this morning and they were taking on board. It's all about, we're just one big unit. I think there's 28 lads togged out of 30. We're just all there together in one big group.”
All will be needed for what is a massive challenge in the shape of Munster champions Listowel Emmets. Even by standards in the Kingdom, they are a club rich in tradition.
Tim Kennelly was a star in helping the club win its first junior title in 1972 before he went on to win five All-Ireland senior titles during a dominant period with Kerry under Mick O’Dwyer.
His sons, Noel and Tadhg, also enjoyed great success. Noel won a Kerry junior title with the club in 1999 and an All-Ireland with Kerry in 2000 while Tadhg is one of Ireland’s greatest exports to the AFL, enjoying a distinguished career while also winning an All-Ireland with Kerry in 2009. Other men to represent the club include Stephen Stack and Brendan Guiney, who both won two All-Ireland championships with the Kingdom.
In recent years, the club has had a lull but like Lahardane, have had a strong underage crop make an impact. Bryan Sweeney, club joint-captain Niall Collins and Eddie Browne won All-Ireland minor titles with Kerry in the 2010s while the panel also includes former Cork footballer Joe Joe Grimes. They swept aside Kilmurry in the Munster final and under the tutelage of Enda Murphy and Kerry legend Marc O’Sé they are big favourites going into this one, as much as 1/6 with the bookmakers.
The Kerry championship structure means their clubs in the All-Ireland junior series are very strong (Kerry clubs have won it eleven times since 2002 and appeared in another three finals) so needless to say, Eddie Conroy is expecting Lahardane to have their ‘hardest game’ yet.
“This is going to be the hardest game I'd say we're going to play all year. I keep saying that, I said that the last game, I knew it was going to be hard, but this is going to be even harder.
“Their structure down there is more like an intermediate team than a junior team. We're intermediate in Mayo now, so that's where we have to focus. We focus on ourselves now, can we compete against Mayo teams at intermediate level and this is probably the challenge that we're looking for, to know where we are for this time next year.”
Should they pull it off and reach Croke Park, it will be a proud moment for the chairman, Derek Sheridan.
“We're a very small club and we have a limited catchment area. But this year the amount of people that have come on board, between the executives, people looking after the pitch for us, it's a real community thing here. So for Lahardane to get all the way to Croke Park, it's going to be a dream come true and home will be the mecca for us.”
