Their bid for All-Ireland glory may have unravelled at the semi-final stage but relatively-young north Galway hurling club Sylane have every chance of winning a first-ever county JHC in 2008. The vagaries of modern-day competition mean they enter the race as reigning Connacht junior club champions! Sunday January 27 2007 was a landmark date in the history of Sylane, who competed in an All-Ireland junior hurling championship semi-final at O'Moore Park. Unfortunately, the north Galway club were well beaten by a strong Moyle Rovers outfit on the day - but the experience of winning a Connacht club championship should stand to them as they bid for a historic breakthrough Galway JHC crown. It was the biggest day in the history of a brave young hurling club that has emerged from the considerable shadow of a Corofin football powerhouse, in an area where traditionally the big ball game has been king. Shane Brady fired a nice goal at the start of the final quarter but the Galway and Connacht standard bearers were already out of contention at that stage, outclassed by the impressive champs of Tipp and Munster. Though defeat was obviously disappointing as every hurler dreams of playing in an All-Ireland final at Croke Park, Sylane can project the experience onto their learning curve and put it to good effect in the 2008 Galway JHC. They didn't quite manage to take the junior crown in '07 - gaining entry to the Connacht championship by default - but, as Connacht champions, they will surely rank amongst the favourites at the outset. Noel Tyrrell is in his third year as club chairman and admits that this has been by far and away the club's most successful season to date: "Any time you get to an All-Ireland semi-final it's going to be a very big deal. It was a great run and the preparations went well but we always feared that Moyle Rovers might be too strong." As Connacht champions, Sylane will be determined to add the Galway junior title in the coming months. The team has made steady progress recently and the club chairman is quietly confident. "We've been junior 'A' since 1991 and we struggled to compete for a few years," he continues. "However, we made real progress in '05 and '06 and reached the junior 'A' championship semi-final last year, losing by 5-6 to 2-14 to Meelick-Eyrecourt, which was a major disappointment." Castlegar went on to win the decider by a point but it was the beaten semi-finalists who qualified for the provincial club championship. "We were nominated to go forward and represent Galway as the highest-ranked non-senior or -intermediate club in the county," Noel explains. "The semi-final defeat took a lot out of the lads and they bounced back well to beat Athleague in the Connacht final. That was a great victory for Sylane. Athleague had lads who had played in the Nicky Rackard Cup as well as the Connacht senior club final the previous year, so to beat them on their own ground was a great achievement." The club had every reason to rue its ill fortune after last year's county semi-final defeat. Not only did the scoreline have a freakish look about it, but they were also understrength for that game, with former county footballer Jason Killeen (who sustained a fractured eye socket in the quarter-final) being the most notable absentee. Sylane is one of the youngest clubs in Galway, Formed in 1984 (hurling fever having gripped the entire county in the wake of Galway's stunning 1980 All-Ireland SHC success), they won the junior 'C' in '88 and the junior 'B' three years later. They've been knocking on the door of the junior 'A' championship ever since and will be strong contenders again in '08. "Corofin is at the opposite end of the parish and most of our lads also play football for them. But they also want to play hurling locally." Could the Connacht and All-Ireland participation prove a distraction to Sylane's 2008 domestic bid? "I don't think so. They'll take a break now and the junior 'A' doesn't start until June so it should be well out of the system by then. Kevin Brady made a huge impression when he came back as coach in late November and his input has been invaluable." What about finances? How is the club coping with the day-to-day demands of fielding, travelling, sustaining facilities etc.? Fortunately, Noel runs his own accountancy firm in Tuam and has been able to help stabilise the club's financial structures. "We have a lotto in place and the response from the players has been great. We also bring in some funds from sponsorship and held a successful race night last year. There's a great community spirit here and everybody is behind the club. Everybody contributes and what you see is what you get. "Even though we're a small club relatively speaking, we have floodlights in place and we have a decent pitch which can accommodate matches most of the year. So we're quite happy with our progress," notes the chairman. Another real bonus is that the relationship between the football and hurling clubs in the parish is strong, with many players representing both teams. "I'm actually from the Corofin end myself and the chairman of Corofin is from Sylane, so that gives you an idea of how close-knit the community is," Noel reveals. "There is a good relationship and we support each other. We like to see each other do well. "We enjoyed huge success at U14 level in the early '90s but there was a bit of a lull when Corofin became so successful. But we're back on course now and we're hoping to push hard for a junior 'A' title this year. "We really need to go out and win the junior 'A' in Galway. Anything else we've done since last year's semi-final defeat has been a bonus but the Galway championship is what it's all about now for Sylane." Tweet

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