Rynagh's and Offaly star Aidan Fogarty has enjoyed an honours filled career If a hurling commentator or journalist had predicted in 1960 that a Shannonside team called St Rynagh's of Banagher would take an incredible 16 Offaly senior hurling titles over the next three decades or so, he would probably have lost his job. If that same person were then to say in 1979 that Offaly senior hurlers would dominate Leinster hurling in the 80's and take two All-Ireland titles, you would have consigned him to the asylum and told him to try his hand at writing fantasy novels. But, as Aidan Fogarty will tell you, fact is often stranger than fiction and he himself has played a significant part in helping these two courses of events come to pass. The versatile hurler has won everything he could ever have dreamed of, in the childhood days when he pucked a ball around with his brother Declan, who was also to star for St. Rynagh's and Offaly himself. In Aidan's collection of honours there resides two senior All-Ireland medals, seven Leinster souvenirs, All-Star awards and eight Offaly senior county championship medals, the last of which was earned just last Sunday week when St. Rynagh's defeated Birr to take their second senior county crown in as many years. On that day, Aidan lined out in what could be viewed as a non-customary position for him, centre-forward, and scored a point as his team fought their way to a 1-16 to 1-14 victory. "It was a bit tight at the end", comments the veteran hurler, "but we got through it. It was a hard game because ourselves and Birr are very evenly balanced." To earn their victory, the men from Banagher had to rely on two late points from midfielder and free- taker Michael Conneely, and substitute Mark Kenny. Following their success against Lismagh in the decider of last year, the St. Rynagh's were the team to beat in '93 but despite the best efforts of all the opposition, they got through a tough championship campaign. "I suppose in any county when a club are the champions the other teams are out to put them down but when the ball is thrown in we just have to forget about that." During the last number of years, Birr and St. Rynagh's have been the keenest of rivals in the annual bid to be crowned kingpins of Faithful County hurling. In 1990, the Banagher side reigned supreme after a final in which Brian Whelehan took his place at centre-back for Birr while his father, Pat Joe, coached the St. Rynagh's having acted as manager to both Birr and Offaly previously in his career. "Any games between ourselves and Birr in the last few years have been very, very, tight. We were confident enough before the match but I'd say both teams were reasonably confident of winning it." Since the foundation of the St. Rynagh's of Banagher club in 1961, their story has been one of pretty continuous success. It didn't take them long to make their mark on the county scene, sweeping to the junior title in '63 and the senior equivalent just two years later. Between the years of 1965 and '76, the crown of Offaly senior hurling champions was only wrested from their glue-like grasp twice and they also created history by becoming the first team to win five titles in a row. Aidan Fogarty himself has eight senior medals in the proverbial trophy cabinet, the first of which was garnered in 1975 and he also won various county championship medals at underage level. He initially came to the attention of the inter-county selectors in '75 when he played with the minors and retained his place the following year. The year of 1978 could, with hindsight, be looked on a sign of things to come for hurling in the small midland county as, with Aidan's help, the Offaly Under 21 team became the first from the Faithful to take a Leinster title. A couple of years earlier, the St. Rynagh's man had pulled on a Senior intercounty jersey for the first time, for a challenge match between Offaly and Tipperary. "It was a big thrill because there was a new set up in Offaly and it was around that time that things started to change here". Aidan recalls that it was Offaly's performance in the 1976 / '77 National League which led them to believe that they were capable of going places. They won promotion to the ton flight and then defeated Wexford in the League quarter final before falling to the future champion hurlers of Clare at the penultimate hurdle. In subsequent League campaigns, they found themselves coming up against the big guns on a regular basis and were more than capable of holding their own. "Our first priority once we got up was to stay up. Then we started to beat these teams now and again and the confidence grew from there". Come the eighties and the Faithful county's Senior hurlers had continued to grow in stature and their first ever Leinster Championship came in 1980 when they defied the odds to shock All-Ireland champions Kilkenny in the final, with Aidan playing at right half back. But it was the following year which could arguably be described as the most important ever for Offaly hurling as the Senior team overcame Galway by three points in the All-Ireland final to unleash celebrations the like of which hadn't been seen anywhere for a long time. 12 years on Aidan can still remember the impact it made on morale in the county. "it was unbelievable. I suppose any young person who plays hurling has ambitions about winning an All-Ireland final and it's the same for me as anyone else. The celebrations were very memorable and we hadn't really anticipated how much it would mean to people". Those early years marked the beginning of a spell of provincial dominance which was unprecedented for Offaly. They reached 11 Leinster finals in a row from 1980 to 1990 and were top dogs in seven of them. "Priorities changed in the county after 1981. If we won a Leinster final it was great but people started to expect a bit more". And more did come along as the county took home the Liam McCarthy cup again in '85 when they again proved too good for Galway". In 1984 we went down to Thurles and were beaten by Cork in the final. A lot of people had us as favourites but we didn't perform and that left us with a point to prove in '85. the critics were saying that 1981 win was a flash in the pan but then we won it again and it proved that we were a good team to come back". Aidan wasn't the only member of the Fogarty family to win a medal that year as his brother, Declan, came on as sub in the final. Aidan hung up his intercounty boots in 1991, shortly after a resurgent Dublin side toppled them in the Leinster Championship semi final. He's the first to admit that he had a good innings at the top, winning two All-Star awards, in 1982 and '89 to add to his many other achievements. "I'd no regrets at all about quitting. Every player knows when his day is done, or should know anyway. I suppose that once you go over 30 you're counting the years after that. I knew myself I was starting to struggle and it was time to get out". Although there's some of the Offaly old guard still togging out for the county, like veteran custodian Jim Troy, the bulk of the great team of the 80's has gone and the present representative have a hard act to follow. The Banagher star points out that the lack of major success of Offaly Senior teams in the last few years had a certain air of inevitability about it. "I suppose that once the old team broke up there was bound to be a lull. Everyone was hoping that the younger players would come along and make an impact straightaway but it's not as easy as that". These days, Fogarty concentrates his playing career to helping St. Rynagh's claiming Senior hurling Championships frequently, although now the Leinster club scene is the team's priority. Their first game in this competition sees them pitted against the Kildare standard-bearers later in the month and Aidan insists that they are only starting to think about it now, that caution has marked their progress as of yet. "Any team that would start thinking about the club Championship before winning the county would be very foolish. When you win that you can start talking about other things". Despite their virtual lording of the Offaly scene in the last 30 years, St. Rynagh's of Banagher have never won an All-Ireland club Championship losing the decider to Roscrea in '71 and Loughgiel Shamrocks in 1983. Now that they have retained their 'domestic' crown, the Banagher stickmen will be aiming to at least go one better than last year when Buffer's Alley of Wexford overcame them in the Leinster final. One person who is sure to be at St. Rynagh's up-coming games is Naomi Fogarty, five years old daughter of Aidan who was team mascot last year and walked in the pre-county final parade this September. This young hurling supporter frequently travels with her father to training sessions involving juvenile teams in Kilkenny who Aidan organises. Now with 35 years under his belt. Aidan Fogarty intends to go on hurling for another while anyway. It is a measure of his commitment to the game that he keeps it up as a night of club training for him means a 120 mile round trip from his home in Kilkenny where he works as a sales rep. with Irish Distillers. Further involvement arrived lately with his appointment as a Railway Cup hurling selector. But he has no complaints about his lot. "It's a big commitment alright - it's worth it though". Written by the Hogan Stand Magazine 15th Oct 1993. Tweet

Most Read Stories