Family links and community spirit behind Grange's push for glory

It’s been 20 years since Grangenolvin have had days like this.

Back in 2005, they were and up coming team who got past Milltown in a county semi-final before beating Robertstown in the final. There was a run to a Leinster final that year too before losing narrowly to Ballinagore of Westmeath. That’s an itch they might get to scratch again but before they can think of that, standing in their way is a formidable in Rathcoffey outfit in Saturday’s Tom Cross Junior Transport Football Championship final.

After that success in 2005, they were relegated back to Junior in 2009 when they lost a relegation final to an Eadestown who lost every game that year up to that point.

And they’ve been there ever since, languishing in the mid to lower reaches of the Junior Championship.

In three seasons in less than the last decade – 2017, 2019 and 2020 – they lost all their Championship games and finished stuck to their bottom of their but group but hope was far from lost.

Grangenolvin is a club rooted to their community and they knew the only way to change their fortunes was to put the hours in on the training field with their youngsters.

There were signs of potential. Each of the four talented Bergin brothers – Oran, Cillian, Fionn and Conall, all had their own skillsets. Same as the Cullens, Brian and Tomás. Same as the Dooleys, Ross and Wayne.

The only remaining player in the squad from the 2005 winning team, Timmy Doyle is an uncle to corner forward Nathan.

There's others as well, the Lambes, Mark and Odhran, the Bowens, Graham and Nicky. The cousins, James and Lewis Gannon, Keith Holligan and Callum Mannion. 

Everywhere you look you see a club who live and breath the ethos of GAA.

They may be small on numbers but there is a collective spirit within their community that has spilled over on to the pitch. The results improved but then came the frustration.

They reached a semi-final in 2022 but lost after extra time to Kill, lost by a point at the same stage the following year to a Milltown side who would go on win a Leinster title.

Last year, they won all their group games before losing to a Kill side who had only won two of their five group games.

That one hurt but when the time came around again this year, they showed in Division 2 that are capable of matching some very good sides.

“We were probably more disappointed with our performance in that semi-final,” said one of those Bergin brothers, Cillian.

“That’s a game that you have to show up in and we probably didn’t do ourselves justice that day. It was nice to have something to look forward to in Division 2 of the league this year, playing different teams and playing in different venues that a lot of us hadn’t played in before. We carried a bit of that momentum from the League into the Championship and that has got us this far but still a lot to do yet,” he added.

They are managed now by former Laois star David Conway, who is still playing himself but lost an intermediate final last weekend with his club Arles Kilcruise. 

He wants a free flowing attacking style, but a team that works hard out of possession and that has aligned nicely with what the players want, said wing back Brian Cullen. Cullen himself sums up that style, always willing to push forward and capable of kicking a score but never compromised defensively.

“That’s the kind of football we like to play, always try to support the man on the ball and try to get up and down the field as much we can, and try to give the forwards a dig out when I can. Equally then, the forwards give us a dig out when we don’t have the ball. I do like to get forward whenever I can to chip over a few scores,” said Cullen.

As this group of young players came through the ranks, there started to be the belief that they could be the ones to bring some glory back to the club.

“When we were coming up through the underage we knew we had some good players and it was something that we always had our sights on, being able to represent the club in a Junior Final. A lot of us can barely remember 2005 so it’s nice to create a few new memories for the club and the keep the club moving in a forward direction,” said Bergin.

“It’s great to have Timmy on the team and he does remind us of that year. We have Eamon Farrell and Martin Leahy on our management team as well. They can give those few words of wisdom from what they went through playing knockout football back in 2005 and that definitely helps. It’s nice to have those lads involved and helping to continue things on," he added.

And yet, the disappointments of the recent years mean that nobody within the club in getting carried away and they know how strong Rathcoffey are. They lost a final two years ago so have that experience of the big day and Grange know they will have to be at their best if they are the ones to be celebrating at the final whistle.

“Rathcoffey are an excellent team. To top that group, three teams in the semi-finals came from that group, so they are flying it. In pre-season, they bet us well. They are a top tier team, a big task for us but one that we are looking forward to,” said Cullen.

That said, it’s been a long wait for the club to be back on the county final stage so it is only right that they are enjoying these moments too.

“I’m enjoying the buzz that is around but there probably are a few nerves as well to be honest. I’m sure that will all settle down closer to the time, we’ll get that reassurance from the lads during the week and by the time it comes around we’ll all be looking forward to it,” said Cullen.

He’ll enjoy it all the more if Grangenolvin can bring the Noel Moran Cup back to Murphy Memorial Park.