By Tom Hunt

When Blackpool winger CJ Hamilton stepped onto the Aviva Stadium pitch to earn his first international cap against Ukraine last night, he was the third player after brothers Noel and Stephen Hunt who has played hurling for Clonea and Gaelic football for Rathgormack to have been capped for the Republic of Ireland since February 2007 when Stephen won the first of his 39 caps against San Marino.

It's an unique record and what makes it more unusual is that there is no soccer team in Clonea and there never was one. The nearest the men from under the shadow of the Comeragh Mountains got to having a soccer team was about 50 years ago when a team from Clonea played in the Pubs League in Carrick-on-Suir! 

Clonea is hurling country, while Rathgormack takes care of the football. In that period, just one player from Clonea has played senior championship hurling for Waterford!

Noel Hunt, appropriately for someone with a good GAA record, made his debut in Croke Park against Poland in 2008, played in the famous World Cup qualifier v Italy in Bari and was capped for the third time v Montenegro in Croke Park before injury brought a premature end to his international career.

Stephen, Noel and CJ have played on title winning teams in Clonea and Rathgormack. Stephen and Noel won Waterford Minor Hurling 'B' championship medals on different teams with Clonea. Noel captained the team. Noel was just five days overage the following year when Clonea won the 'A' title for the first and only time in the club's history. Noel also played adult hurling for Clonea.

CJ played on a Clonea team that beat Mount Sion in an Under-15 League final played in Walsh Park., a Mount Sion team that started Austin Gleeson in goal. That was the night that Tommy 'Tucker' Power told Mount Sion they had won at the final whistle but when he recounted Clonea were two points ahead. Mount Sion weren't happy!

CJ won Waterford Under-14 and Under-16 football medals with Rathgormack in 2009 and scored two goals in each of the finals. Stephen Hunt won Under-16 East Waterford and county football medals in 1996 and an East Waterford minor medal in 1997 (he did jump ship for a soccer trial on the day of the county final!) and Noel won an East Waterford under-21 medal in 2000. 

Maybe all those soccer teams that 'advise'/prevent young players from playing GAA should have a rethink? Instead of telling children that you can't play hurling or football if you want to make the big league maybe they should advise them to keep playing the hurling and Gaelic football.

It's one pathway to the Premier League and the Championship and full international caps.

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