Still hooked on hurling
April 30, 2011Oliver Plunketts have made remarkable progress in the past decade or so, establishing themselves as genuine contenders for the Westmeath Examiner Cup. However, the ultimate prize continues to elude the young town club and it was a familiar story in 2010 as they once more threatened to go all the way only to under-perform when the heat was on. It's quite amazing that the town combination are still awaiting their maiden senior county championship final appearance, but former county star Noel Gavin is confident they can bridge the gap in the coming months.
Having enjoyed arguably his best season ever at club level in 2010 - when he once more served as Plunketts captain - he's looking forward to the new season with trademark exuberance: "Absolutely, I can't wait. I always look forward to the next campaign. We obviously have senior championship credentials and that will be our aim again in 2011.
"We got to the semi-final with Eddie Casey back in charge last year and I genuinely think we're good enough to win it out this time. With Eddie and Seanie Hynes on the line, we can do it. It just comes down to belief. Both Eddie and Seanie are former county dual players, which is quite unique in Westmeath. They have a lot of respect on the training ground. Most of us played alongside Eddie Casey - he's very passionate and is the heartbeat of the club."
Despite the disappointment of losing yet another semi-final, was 2010 a step in the right direction? "I think it was. We had played five semi-finals in three years - including two replays against Castletown and Raharney - without making the breakthrough, and then Eddie stepped aside and we suffered a huge dip in form. However, we're really back on track now and we're back in the top four in Westmeath, where we belong.
"It was disappointing to lose to Clonkill in the semi-final, especially as we had beaten them in a previous round of the championship but couldn't reproduce that form. We're teetering on the edge, close to the breakthrough, but there's a mental block preventing us from getting there. That's what it comes down to. We have no shortage of quality but there's no history of winning SHCs behind us. We've never been there before. We're writing our own history now and the players have to find the inner belief to take that final step."
It would be remiss to overlook the fact that the club has made extraordinary progress, even to become regular semi-finalists. Remember, until recently, they had never even reached that stage. "When we were youngsters, the club had an average intermediate team and our goal would have been to win an IHC one day, so it's a big jump in expectations," says Noel. "The lads have put in tremendous work and we have improved exponentially since I joined the first team in 1995.
"We'd incurred a number of hammerings in the IHC but then we won it in 1998 and yo-yoed up and down for a while. During this period, we won three intermediate titles and also a Leinster junior club title, beating Urlingford from Kilkenny in the final, with All Stars Derek Lyng and Aiden Fogarty playing. I don't think other clubs ever looked upon us as a senior team even when we played senior, but we are now an established senior team in Westmeath. That is certainly progress, but we want to take it further."
Noel's brothers Terry, Greg and Tony have also been instrumental in St Oliver Plunketts' emergence as a force, with Terry in particular putting in tremendous work not just on the pitch but behind the scenes as a coach.
One of the remarkable things about the current team is its' longevity, but - encouragingly - there are a few fresh faces starting to break through as well: "When we won the IHC in '98, I was the third-oldest member of the team and we still have the core of that same team today. It's the same group. Ciaran Curley was pretty much the only younger lad to come through in the past five or six years, but then last year Aaron Craig, Paddy Laide and Davy Gavin all broke into the team. Mullingar may be a large town but the hurling population is small and it's great to have those younger lads knocking on the door."
At intercounty level, Noel Gavin was involved with Westmeath between 1997 and 2008. He represented the county at all underage grades and captained the minors in 1996, also playing minor football that year. As he never actually retired from county fare and is still playing great stuff, it's a bit of a mystery why he's no longer involved at that level. Would he like to pull on the maroon jersey again? "I never retired from intercounty and am still available for selection. It's a mystery to a lot of hurling people in the county why I am not involved."
Interestingly, despite having a couple of Christy Ring Cup medals in his collection, Noel selects two other performances as the highlights of his intercounty career: "Both came in 2006. We beat Dublin in the Leinster championship and that really stood out because to win the Christy Ring Cups we never beat anybody we hadn't beaten before. We had always been able to defeat the likes of Kildare, Carlow and Antrim … but beating Dublin in a championship match was special. It was massive from a personal point of view, too, as I work in Dublin. Incidentally, former Dublin football All Star Eamon Heery is my boss and he appreciates the intensity of an amateur GAA player's schedule. He's very supportive.
"From there, we got to play against a full-strength Kilkenny in the Leinster semi-final and we only lost by 13 points. That was probably as close as anyone got to Kilkenny that year. In my mind, that was a far better achievement than winning the two Christy Rings."
As well as Plunketts and Westmeath, Noel has represented UCD and Trinity College respectively while studying for his Degree (mechanical engineering) and Masters Degree (biomedical engineering). He received the Player of the Year award in Trinity in 2003. Noel was also voted Westmeath intermediate Player of the Year in 2001 after winning the county intermediate title and Leinster junior club title.
Away from hurling, Noel is project manager for Lynskey Engineering. He has been with the Dublin-based mechanical engineering services contractors since November 2004 and has worked on an array of shopping centres, apartment blocks, hotels etc. in Ireland and Europe. "Last year, for the first half I was doing eight-hour round trips to Killarney. In the second half, I was flying home midweek and weekends from Holland. Sacrifice is good to have; it reminds you how important your goal is. I just love hurling. I have no intention of hanging up the boots for a long time," he concludes. Tweet
