No fairytale for Athy as hat-trick hero Byrne shines for Round Towers
The historic Athy team that have re-ignited hurling in the town. Photos: James Lawlor.
Round Towers and Athy forsook the Size 5 O’Neill’s ball for the camán and sliotar and in doing so served up an entertaining Round 1 game in the UPMC Kildare Junior Hurling Championship at a cooler than of late Manguard Park on Sunday afternoon.
It may have been a novelty fixture as Athy were making a return to adult hurling for the first time in twenty years while Round Towers were only back a few years previously, but each was demonstrating the great work being done for the small ball in their clubs. The traditional Athy hurling colours of maroon and white were a welcome site in Hawkfield.
Was Kildare turning into a hurling county or was the work of the Hurling Action Plan under the likes of John Doran, Colm Nolan and John Burke and others bearing fruit in abundance?
For those of us of a certain vintage who remember Hughie Green on Opportunity Knocks and his Clapometer, well if the late Hughie had his gadget in Manguard Park on Sunday afternoon then it would have shown that Athy were the winners on the cheering and applause stakes.
The noise that greeted Seán Ronan’s opening point for Athy from a ’65 in the 23rd minute would challenge the roar when Mayo lifted the Sam Maguire recently. There was even a shout of “C’mon Dada” from one young supporter when Athy went on one of their attacks.
Alas, the Clapometer was not in use in the Kildare GAA Centre of Excellence on Sunday afternoon, rather it was green and white flags and in those stakes the more experienced Round Towers were clear winners on the day.
Towers, who were a little longer in the adult hurling game compared to Athy, were 3-6 to the good before that Seán Ronan ’65 for Athy. Tormentor in chief for Round Towers was 17-year-old full forward, Robbie Byrne, who had a personal tally of 3-4 on the day himself, and had a few assists in a few more of the Towers’ scores.
From a turnover in the fifth minute, Byrne fired in the first of his first half hattrick of goals after a 50-meter run. He took a pass from Oisin Rowan to fire in goal number two in the 20th minute and completed the hattrick a minute before half time.
Jamie Lenehan, Cillian McCormack, Oisin Rowan and Warren Downey all picked off points as Towers took control of the game from the start.
Conor and Seán Rowan, Conor Germaine and player manager, Paul Whelan, who started off in goals before moving outfield in the second half, battled manfully for the championship newcomers. Whelan made a great save from Sean McCormack in the 16th minute, Athy went in with cheers ringing in their ears as midfielder, David Considine pointed for them on the stroke of half time.
Warren Downey had two early second half Tower’s points before Byrne and Sean McCormack combined to put through Cillian McCormack for another goal in the 33rd minute.
Athy managed to shore up their defence and no further goals were conceded. Jamie Lenehan added to his tally with another two fine points as did Robbie Byrne.
The Athy cheers were heard again when Paul Whelan, now playing outfield, pointed from a free in the 46th minute and when Seán Ronan became their top scorer with a second point on the stroke of full time. Footballer, Liam McGovern, added a bit of momentum when introduced in the 38th minute.
Round Towers will have a say in this year’s Junior Championship and no team will fancy playing them but as a newcomer to the championship it will take Athy a little longer to get to the pace of the game. They won’t give up though and their vocal supporters will get a lot more enjoyment before the season is out.
Domhnall O’Riordan; James Power, James Carroll, Diarmaid McLoughlin; Cathal Thompson, Alex Downey, Killian McCormack 0-1; Tadhg Carroll, Jamie Lenehan 0-5; Oisin Rowan 0-1, Warren Downey 0-3, Cillian McCormack 1-1; Sean McCormack, Robbie Byrne 3-4, Kevin Murray 0-1.
Cathal Kealy 0-1 (f) for S McCormack (36), Ger Kennedy 0-2 for Rowan (42), Dominic Madden for C McCormack (55), Alan Sheridan for Downey (57).
Paul Whelan 0-1 (f); Shane Coffey, Conor Ronan, Will Fenin; Robbie Burns, Seán Ronan 0-2 (1’65), James Keegan; Conor Germaine, David Considine 0-1; Caolán Fennel, Ross Bannon, Rory Walsh; Niall Coffey, Eoin Wall, Peter Berry.
Liam Callan for Berry (H/T), Liam McGovern for N Coffey (38), Finn Kane for Walsh (41), Conor Cuddy Bannon (43), Senan Coffey for Shane Coffey (47).
Owen Murphy.
“I told the boys there I’m so proud of them all for coming up to training over the last few weeks and coming here today,” he told The Kildare Nationalist immediately following the game.
“This is our first time together playing as an actual team in a competitive game.
“There were times there when maybe you could see that our basic skills were not sharp but that will come over the next few games and the next few weeks in training,” he promised.
He was pleased with the overall performance, however.
“There were parts of that game when we had the ball and we looked to keep it; we looked to play the ball. It wasn’t always a ‘hit and hope.’ The foundation is laid now.”
Despite the scoreline against them, no Athy player dropped his head and they fought right to the end, something which pleased Whelan. “We kept plugging away and talking to Towers there they said they were in a similar position four years ago when they were starting. The teams that have been at it for a few years are going to be the sharpest. We were jut not on the mark, that’s all,” he said.
Describing his squad, the goalkeeper turned outfield player on the day said, “We have a squad of 27, three boys were not with us today but they’ll be coming in over the next week.
“They’ll be there for the Cappagh game and the Kilcock one so we have a bit of depth there now. We’ll go through this Group Phase and probably go through the Junior A then and we’ll sit down and plan for next year again.”
“It was a great win,” Round Towers’s 17-year-old dual full forward, Robbie Byrne exclaimed after his side’s comfortable victory over Athy, a victory in which he contributed 3-4 to the scoreline.
He was modest about his scores though. “It was all the balls coming in and I was the lucky one on the end of them. It was all the hard work out the pitch but I’m happy enough,” he said.
Towers were starting off like Athy four years ago. “It’s been steady progress,” the sharpshooting full forward said.
“We have a few younger lads like myself, Cillian, Sean and then you have the mix with the older lads.
“It’s a great balance we have. The work rate at training every night is super, it’s exactly what we need.”
