All-Ireland hurling winning captains look forward with optimism to future

THE recent successes by Offaly minor and U-20 hurling teams have given hope to some of the county's favourite sons that the glory days can return.

Offaly won the All-Ireland U-20 Hurling Championship final this year while they lost the All-Ireland minor and U-20 hurling finals in 2022 and 2023.

Those successes have helped to bring the county to life, coming after Offaly came from nowhere to win the 2021 All-Ireland U20 Football Championship.

The four All-Ireland senior hurling winning captains were special guests along with the three football ones at a special Offaly GAA fundraising banquet last Friday evening.

Padraig Horan, 1981, Pat Fluery, 1985, Martin Hanamy, 1994 and Hubert Rigney, 1998, all spoke with great optimism about the future in the wake of those recent successes while remembering the golden past.

Padraig Horan (St Rynagh's)

“Offaly won the Leinster U21 in 1978 and that gave us great confidence. We had played Galway several times before the 1981 All-Ireland and we were very confident of beating them. It was no surprise to us that we beat Galway, though it was a big surprise to Galway. They didn't give us much respect after we won that All-Ireland, they were talking about throwing it away. That is why I always liked Galway, they gave us two All-Ireland's.

“It was something we had only dreamed about for a long time until then. They were special. Offaly supporters had a great time at the time. The footballers and hurlers were going well and we were off to Dublin every Sunday.

“I was very proud in Thurles and Nowlan Park the last couple of years with the young lads. The future is looking good for Offaly hurling, as long as we can keep our feet on the ground and keep at it.”

Pat Fleury (Drumcullen)

“1984 (All-Ireland final loss to Cork) was very disappointing, it had been a great year up to that. We won Leinster again after losing two finals in a row to Kilkenny in '82 and ;'83. They were tight enough, especially '82 and it was great to get back and win again in '84. We found ourselves installed as favourites for the All-Ireland final which was never the thing we liked best. I think if we had the day back again, we would do the thing differently but every team that loses an All-Ireland final says those things and we didn't begrudge Cork their win, they played very well.

“What we didn't realise was a lot of Offaly fans met us in the days after the final and they told us they could see a lot of Cork flags flying in the windows of houses in North Tipperary. That didn't go down very well when we heard that and we were assured it was true but when you are looking for motivation, you will grasp any straw and that was the best straw we could grab but '85 worked out very well.

“After 1984, we were down there in O'Brien Park and facing the crowd that night was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. It is very easy make a speech when you have a cup in your hand but when you have nothing in your hand except a microphone and the night after an All-Ireland final, that is not where you want to be. We made promises that night and thank God, they worked out.

“We had wonderful people associated with us and I would like to mention in particular Mick Spain (Drumcullen) who is here tonight.

“The current group are a wonderful group of players and it is very uplifting to us to see them. Not alone their skill factor but the fact they are so committed. Leo (O'Connor) is a wonderful manager. I had the pleasure of teaching Leo in Limerick forty odd years ago. He has settled in very well into Offaly and he has a lot of good people with him in the background. A lot of great people got together in the last few years, the likes of Martin Cashin and they did great work putting in the foundations. This man beside me (Michael Duignan) has done unbelievable work for the last five years. Our thoughts are with the young people right now and we would love to see them reach their potential because we know it's there. We know they have it. They have provided us with such excitement the last few years. That night in Kilkenny is something you couldn't describe to people who weren't there. You could literally put our your hand and grab a handful of excitement and tension.

“The skill level of these lads and their commitment is extraordinary and we would like to think the future is in good hands. I saw comments from Johnny Pilkington during the week and he is predicting great things for Offaly and let's hope he is right because that is what we all want. Above all else, we want to see another name or two on that jersey (a jersey signed by the seven captains) very shortly, there is plenty of room.”

Martin Hanamy (St Rynagh's)

“I started in 1987 and was beaten in three All-Ireland semi-finals, I thought it was never going to happen. When Eamon (Cregan) and Derry (Donovan) came in during 1992, it started to turn. In 1992 and 1993, Kilkenny pipped us and we were getting good. I knew we had the stuff to win an All-Ireland and in 1994, it was a roller coaster year. We beat Laois in the first round and Wexford in the semi-final. We did the business against Kilkenny and probably did our best hurling against Galway in the semi-final that year. Everyone hurled well.

“The final against Limerick, in the last few minutes, I was looking at the tunnel and saying I am going to have to wait another year for this All-Ireland. I was reading Johnny Dooley's article last Saturday and he was saying he ignored the management and went for the goal (from the game turning free five minutes from the end). He done right because even if he missed it, it wouldn't make a bit of difference. We needed a goal to win that game and a point would have been no good.

“The Dooley's scored 2-11 out of 3-16 and brothers know where to be and where to pass the ball. We would have won nothing without them. I didn't know what happened after it. It was a couple of days, the celebrations were nearly over before we nearly realised what happened.”

Hubert Rigney (St Rynagh's)

“1998 was a strange year. Babs Keating came in with Johnny Murray and was with us for a good part of the year. In fairness to them, we were fit, the training Johnny did with us was A 1. He really couldn't have done any more with us. Things didn't go right early on in that campaign. Words were said and Babs parted ways is the easiest way of putting it. He was coming in from Tipperary and Munster hurling. As everyone knows, there is no real comparison between Munster and Leinster hurling. We knew ourselves that if we could come anywhere near Kilkenny, we were there or there abouts and could compete with anyone, no matter where they were if we could do that.

“Michael Bond arrived in one evening and he did a lot more ball work. I know they talk about ground hurling being gone but ground hurling wasn't just about ground hurling, it was about wrists and improving your wrist work. Maybe we need to go back to that a bit, it is not only ground hurling, it is about you address the ball and move it quickly. It probably suited us a bit better. I didn't know Michael and where it ended was a fairytale, you couldn't write it.

“The three games with Clare were unreal. If supporters hadn't went onto the pitch the second day, maybe the refixture would never have happened and that day in Thurles was unreal. To beat a Munster team in what they call the home of hurling was great. Kilkenny had beaten us in the Leinster and the fact that it was Kilkenny, they had been the nemesis for us, we knew if we could beat them, we were there and to beat them in an All-Ireland final was amazing.”