​

PARK/RATHENISKA, UNITED WE STAND

This year was always going to be a make or break year for the members of Park/Ratheniska GAA Club. After years of near misses, the most recent being beaten finalists in the 2004 JHC Final, beaten semi-finalists in the 2004 JFC, beaten finalists in the 2005 JFC and JHC finals, the players themselves were convinced of it – this year, something had to give.

Talk went on long over the close season, as it does in every Club in the Country when the winter creeps in and the days get shorter. Older players were becoming disillusioned, could they keep it going or was that final victory just too far in the distance? Younger players were becoming disenchanted as heartbreaking defeat followed heartbreaking defeat. The Club had made so many strides off the field in recent years with its beautiful new football field, grounds and Clubhouse, giving Park/Ratheniska one of the finest amenities in the County, but what was needed, what was vital to any forward-thinking Club, was silverware. The talent was there; it was just the final push across the finish line that was needed.

The year began for the Club in the customary darkness of February; the sins of the off season being cleansed by cold winter nights spent slogging it out under unforgiving gaze of management and floodlights. The punishment of the cold wet sod being aided and abetted by weekly weights sessions as some new methods were introduced to find that elusive extra edge. Training continued under coach Seán O Sullivan, a fantastic physical trainer man with the mean sadistic streak that seems to be inherent in all coach’s.

Manager Brendan Delaney believed that this year a different approach was required. "We’d had a great crack at it last year, and that probably marked us out as the team to watch perhaps, but this year we emphasised keeping a lower profile and to play to our potential more so than this ‘having to win’ attitude which had previously been evident".

A boost to the Club this year came in some returning players, Ger Ramsbottom was back available following a few years abroad, veteran goalkeeper Brian Ramsbottom had fully recovered from his ACL injury and former County footballer Tom Bowe had returned to his home club Park/Ratheniska following his high profile transfer a number of years back. With a strong crop of underage footballers coming through, many of who had Laois experience the panel had strengthened greatly from previous years. This larger squad was to prove vital later in the year as the downsides of being a dual club became evident.

The football league got off to a good start and was to continue that way up until the knock out stages. Victory in Division three of the hurling league last year would prove to be a mixed blessing. Promotion was a wonderful and the side ran a number of senior clubs close, but ended the season pointless and relegated.

The footballers would have a better time of it, at least in the group stages. Absences due to County Commitments gave some of the newer squad members the opportunity to shine. The end of the group stages saw the footballers topping their section of Division 3 much to the satisfaction of the management team. Football manager Brendan Delaney outlined the main area, which concerned the selectors at the beginning of the year. "We felt we’d fallen down in previous years in regards to injuries. Our commitment to being a dual Club means that at the height of the Summer our players can be playing up to two, maybe even three championship matches in any 10 day period. Something is inevitably going to give in such a situation."

"Our history in both hurling and football is something we are very proud of in the Club but its getting very difficult to maintain this. The fixtures list is becoming more and more congested, once the hurling and football championships get into full swing, continuity of training is something that can be very difficult to achieve what with players being in demand for both codes. This year we lost some important players, key players, at different times of the year and while in other years this has been our downfall come quarter and semi final time, I felt that we coped better this year due to our extended squad."

The Club was to face a number of pitfalls throughout the year, none greater than the loss of one of its shining lights, Joe Ramsbottom. Chairman Har Ramsbottom summed up the effect the passing of his younger brother had on the Club and the surrounding area.

"Joe was a big part of this club, and I suppose you could say this Club was a big part of Joe. He was such a well known figure around the area and very well respected in the wider GAA Community in Laois. His sudden loss was a great shock to us all, he was a father, a brother, an Uncle and most of all a friend to so many people involved in our Club and his loss is something that took us all by surprise. He’s been sadly missed these past few months".

The year inevitably moves on though and by now the hurling and football Championships were in full swing. The footballers had done exactly what they’d set out to do, qualify for the knock out stages whilst maintaining the low profile the management had spoken of. Wins over Graiguecullen, Portarlington and Ballyfin meant that Park/Ratheniska topped their group and were faced by Spink in the ¼ final.

The Junior A hurlers had also been making steady progress through their campaign and had succeeded in making it out of their group. Hurling was to suffer somewhat in the year-the downside of being a dual club means that sometimes a good run in one code can be to the detriment of the other. However following their emergence from the group stages they were to face a side who would surely focus the minds, local rivals Timahoe.

You would have thought so anyway, however it didn’t seem that way for the majority of the game. Lacklustre would be the best way to describe the performance and with five minutes to go it seemed the game was up for hurlers of Park/Ratheniska for 2006. The introduction of Seán Tynan was to change all that and when the referee blew his whistle at the death two goals had turned the match on its head and Timahoe were out. It was a sheepish Park/Ratheniska side that shook hands with their defeated neighbours. The match was to prove one thing though; there was a definite fight in this side this year.

However lady luck can be a fickle mistress as the hurlers were to find out in their next outing against Camross. Despite being the vastly superior outfit for the majority of the game, the scores just wouldn’t fall on this occasion. The sides were seperated by three points at the death, and hopes of a double were gone out the window.

Being a dual Club can have its upsides though, none greater than the opportunity to right the wrongs of one code, immediately in another. And so it was that attention was switched solely to football for the remainder of the year. There would be difficulties to be overcome on this front too though. The goals at the start of the year had been simply laid out, gain promotion from Division 3 and rise to the Intermediate ranks. The league had seen the team remain unbeaten and top their group. Up next was Killeshin in the league semi-final, a game that was to prove pivotal in the sides season.

Scores had come easy throughout the year, but this was to be the one game where Park/Ratheniska’s free scoring forwards were quietened. The absence of Tom Bowe from the edge of the square may have been a factor, but a measly return of six points and a exhibition of latent physicality from the more determined Killeshin men taught the management and players alike, a lesson. Anything less that 100% just wouldn’t be acceptable from here on in.

And so it was back to the drawing board in training, with some serious thinking to be done. Manager Brendan Delaney believed the defeat laid down a marker for the rest of the season. "We all realised how quickly the train could be derailed and that we’d have to ready for it if it happened again." Training became more physically orientated in an effort to combat complacency. Rigorous tackling drills were introduced and the players threw themselves into the work wholeheartedly. The challenges would get tougher from here on in; the players were determined to be ready for them both physically and mentally.

Up next in the quarter finals was Spink, always a tough encounter throughout the years and following the league defeat it was to really prove a test of the team’s mettle. The change in the side was evident to anyone watching as challenges were met, and laid down in equal measure and the forwards began to click. None more so than Kieran Delaney who had begun to hit top form. Delaney was again at his sublime best when Ballinakill were put to the sword in the semi-finals, but even he was outshone on this occasion by Pat McEvoy in the backs. McEvoy would prove even further the increased strength in depth by giving a man of the match performance when called upon as a late replacement for the injured Tommy White.

The year, for the most part, had so far gone to plan for management and players. Team captain Cathal Óg Green explained the determination, which fired the campaign. "Last year had hurt us a lot. It’s always difficult facing back into a hard slog after losing a final. But we felt we’d learnt a lot form that campaign, things we could take with us this year. Also there were aspects of our play last year which we weren’t happy with and we tried to learn from them this year. In that respect the management were fantastic and the players did all that was asked of them. But it would all mean nothing unless we could go that one step further this year".

Having come through the year with relatively few casualties, the week leading up the final was to prove a nightmare for the squad. Things had looked bad for John Kelly a long way out when the fixtures had been released at the beginning of the year. The final was due to fall smack bang in the middle of his honeymoon. However with a fixture list rarely if ever set in stone, hopes were high that, were they to reach the final the dates may have changed. For once though, all went to plan on the fixture front, almost a first as any club player would tell you, and Kelly was out, a blow for the team and the man himself.

The next blow was to be even more heart breaking however. Ned Flanagan, a survivor from the last Park/Ratheniska side to win a football title back in 1986 was to dislocate his shoulder in a freak training ground accident and there would be no way back for him. A stalwart figure of so many campaigns, everybody felt the loss according to Greene, "Ned would have been a huge influence on all of us over the years, and to see him missing out on this day after he’d worked so hard, well it was a body blow for us all. But if anything, it probably strengthened our resolve even more to make sure we wouldn’t leave it behind us this year."

There would be one final blow to the side. Centre back Mark Delaney had been at his stylish best on the half back line all year, dominating games and rallying all those round him. It was to be more of the same in the opening 10 minutes of the final as he quietly prompted and probed in his inimitable manner from the centre back position. However a reckless high tackle would smash his jaw and cut short his afternoon, ending his involvement in the game and causing a reshuffle within the backline.

While one Delaney was exiting the game, the other, Mark’s twin Kieran, was in the process of making the game his own. If Mark had been left groggy from the blow to the face, those watching the remainder of the game were to be treated to an array of point taking right out of the top drawer. "The perfect Ten" the headlines would scream as Delaney bagged himself ten points, each one more dazzling than the rest. The Park men dominated their rivals for the hour and Delaney was to be the compass around which each wave of green and gold crashed upon the Barrowhouse defences.

And so it was that Cathal Óg Greene lifted the Bill Phelan trophy on the steps of O Moore Park to rapturous applause from the supporters, bringing football silverware back to Dunamaise for the first time since 1986. Brendan Delaney feels there’s more to come from his side yet, "hopefully we can take this on further, we’re Intermediate next year, and that will quickly give us a good idea of where we are and what steps we need to take to improve. We realise where we are now, but it’s very important to know where you want to go and we’ll be doing all we can to get there."

That determination to move on another step was very much in evidence when just ten days after that glorious afternoon in on the steps of the podium in O Moore Park the players were back to work, slogging it out in their beautifully picturesque football grounds. Next up for this ambitious club is a tilt at the Leinster Junior Football Championship, something which they’re very determined to take advantage of. "We see it as another way of testing ourselves and the appetite is definitely there to see how far we can go." Says Delaney.

Some seasons you just don’t want it to end….

(Park/Ratheniska are due to play the Longford representatives in the Leinster JFC 1st round on the weekend of November 5th, please see fixture list for details.)