Mount Sion Stalwart Larry Guinan One of Waterford's Greatest With Limerick's first Munster Senior hurling title triumph in thirteen Championship seasons, 1994 say Waterford perched alone, set aside from the crème de la crème of Munster hurling in at least one respect. The White and Blues, the renowned Decies were labelled Munster's one and only sleeping giant upon Limerick's triumph over Clare in the year's provincial final. Clare apart, possibly, no other county carries with it on its back such a weighty expectation now, such unfulfilled promise as Waterford. God be with the days when a place in the All-Ireland decider was anticipated in the deepest parts of the sunny south-east rather than dreamt about. Waterford old boy Larry Guinan was a top notch player in the day's of dreams being realised in his native county. For sixteen years he played for Waterford Seniors against the best of the rest, playing his first game for his beloved county in 1957 against Limerick. Like a man fated to win things at the highest level, Larry's first season with the county Seniors proved to be a wholly successful one if not ultimately successful for Guinan and company lifted the Munster title but lost the All-Ireland final in the end to Leinster kingpins Kilkenny. The then defender 'cum livewire corner-forward from the Mount Sion club reflects back on the standard and style of hurling played during the fifties and sixties with more than a hint of nostalgia. "Unfortunately I don't think the standard of the game has improved to any extent. It may be a bit more exciting now because it's a faster game but there's been a decrease in the level of skills. There seems to be too much emphasis on speed and fitness to the detriment of the basics of striking and lifting", Larry offered. Five times a Railway Cup medallist, Larry Guinan much preferred playing in attack than being sited at the rear in pursuance of a destructive mission. The buzz he got from scoring was hardly ever exceeded, he admits. "I enjoyed every minute of it. I've no regrets apart from the fact that I possibly quit the game a bit early but I never received any major injuries so I can't have any complaints." Married to Waterford born Irene and proud father of Lawrence junior, Rosemary, Bernadette, Teresa and Miriam, Larry Guinan reflects back on a long and distinguished career and pinpoints Christy Ring of Cork as the best hurler he's had the privilege of seeing in his time - "the best ever, an out and out artist"- and rates Tipperary's iron-cast defender Jimmy Doyle as his most difficult to beat." A journalist's delight, the modest proprietor of Larry Guinan and Company Limited t/a Kingmeadow Filling Station reveals that his greatest disappointments concern the Waterford defeats to Kilkenny in 1957 and '63, both ironically to Kilkenny ("they had the hoodoo on us even though we beat them after a replay in the '59 All-Ireland final"). Two defeats which naturally still tear at his emotions. Rather interestingly, Larry expresses the view that he would love to play the modern type of game, if only he was young enough. As it stands, memories are all that he's left with but what memories they are though. Larry Guinan played at a time when Mount Sion were at their very, very best. In all he won twelve Senior Championship medals with his beloved club, nine of them in a row during a real purple patch when the city club were the untouchables of Waterford hurling. it wasn't a record breaking run though as Erins Own managed to outdo their archrivals on that score as Larry himself recalls. "We had a hell of a rivalry built up with Erins Own because the fifties and sixties was a vintage era for them too. We were the favourites to win the final that year in 1962 but they caught us on the hop on the day. Everything seemed to go wrong for us but we came back just as strong in the years that followed." Sizing out the quality and extent of his innings with club and county, the fifty-seven years young successful businessman has no trouble in pointing to the 1959 All-Ireland final as his most memorable games, something special he confirms while the Mount Sion teams of the 1956-63 era were the best he's ever been part of at club level. Born in Mount Sion territory, deep in the heart of the city, hurling at the top level was always a target that the young Guinan tried to aim for. A jump over the fence next to his home and he was in on Walsh Park green sward, acting out the heroic of his uncle Tom (Gough) during his time with Tipperary Seniors. Son of a Kilkenny father and Tipperary born mother, Larry Guinan was reared among a host of natural athletes in the Ard na Greine part of the city. Amazingly among Larry's neighbours, living on the self-same street, ten of them went on to make the Waterford Senior hurling team in the years that followed. From the same surroundings also emerged on Alfie Hale, the would-be Waterford and Republic of Ireland soccer star. Despite being best known as a hurler of great verve and skill, Larry Guinan was a little known committed dual star in Waterford too. For five years he played with Waterford Seniors, the highlight of which downed Kerry in the Munster Championship semi-final in 1957 in Walsh Park. A corner-forward on the team that started the final, things unfortunately didn't go to plan. "I'm afraid we were badly beaten by Cork. It was nearly embarrassing but playing the football final just one week after playing in the hurling final didn't help us." A firm admirer of Kerry midfielder Mick O'Connell, Larry Guinan enjoyed his part-time football career but in truth hurling was his number one game and still is. He's delighted with the way things are going on the home front too. "Mount Sion were virtually written off as a force in Waterford hurling four or five years ago but the club has come back stronger than ever this year and won the Minor and Under Sixteen title as well as the County Senior title in 1994. As well as that the club is still involved in the County Under 21 Championship which all adds up to a good sign for the future. "I've no fear for the future of hurling. The breeding is there within the club and there's good coaching going on within the club which will leave it in good stead for the years ahead." Because of his hands-on approach to running his filling station business and Lube Oil delivery service, Larry doesn't have the sort of time available to him that he would like to these days to give something back to the club that nurtured his adolescent hurling skills. The former car salesman is confident though that the future of hurling at his own club and throughout the county is well secure. "The last year may have been one of unfulfilled promise for Waterford but there's better times ahead. There's great interest here again among all the clubs of the county because they can see the promise being shown by the various county teams. We won the All-Ireland Under 21 title two years ago and these lads are going to come through at Senior level and really make an impression. Then there's the Minor team of two years ago which did very well in reaching the All-Ireland final. There's plenty of room for optimism," the former club selector added. Emphasising the quality of hurling talent that is annually emerging from Waterford Regional Technical College vis-à-vis Fitzgibbon Cup talent Larry is positively gung-ho about Waterford's chances of major glory this coming Championship season. "Waterford were unlucky against Limerick this year in the Championship. It was a game they could and should have won with a bit more self- belief and a little more effort. They could have went on to reach the All-Ireland final but it's difficult to know whether they would have won it out or not. There's no doubt but that to realise their potential sooner rather the later and with the sort of progress the county has been making at underage level, there's no reason why an All-Ireland couldn't be ours in the next few years." Written by the Hogan Stand Magazine 11 Nov 1994 Tweet

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