Raharney rule the roost
April 30, 2011Raharney put Westmeath club hurling on the map last October when they sprung a huge surprise by ousting a much-fancied Coolderry from the Leinster club championship.
The 0-17 to 0-14 victory over the Offaly champions was arguably the highlight of a magnificent year for Johnny Greville's side, who regained the county title following an epic final against Clonkill and also pushed a crack Oulart-the-Ballagh outfit all the way for a place in the Leinster final. The thrilling county final victory gave the Deelsiders their third title since 2006 and saw them join Clonkill on 11 titles on the Westmeath SHC roll of honour.
Raharney's exploits in Leinster made national headlines, as did the involvement of Waterford manager and former Clare All-Ireland winning goalkeeper Davy Fitzgerald with the Joristown-based club. Following a chance meeting with Raharney native Gerry Reilly on a New York golf course, 'Fitzy' agreed to help out with preparations before the games against Coolderry and Oulart-the-Ballagh. And there was no one happier than the Sixmilebridge legend when word came through of Raharney's defeat of Coolderry.
He said at the time: " I wasn't able to make the match, but within two seconds of the final whistle, I got a text off Gerry in New York. To see the Westmeath champions beating the Offaly champions was brilliant - it's one of the things I love about hurling."
Having achieved much success during his time in charge of the Raharney camogie team, Johnny Greville was appointed manager of the senior hurlers at the start of 2010. And while his tenure didn't get off to the best of starts with Raharney losing their championship opener to Castlepollard, he quickly turned things around.
A member of the famous Raharney hurling dynasty, Greville actually sacrificed his playing career to take up the manager's reins.
"We were finding it hard to get a manager last year so I put my hand up. A lot of the lads wanted me to operate as a player-manager, but I strongly feel that system doesn't work. I had trained our camogie team for five years and I get nearly more enjoyment out of training than playing. They're a great bunch of lads to work with," he explained.
The Deelsiders' 1-11 to 2-10 first round loss to 'Pollard was far from a disaster as their involvement in a losers' group comprising Ringtown, Brownstown and St. Brigid's provided them with an easier path to the semi-final than what might have been the case had they qualified for the winners' group.
In what their only defeat of the campaign, an under strength Raharney had it all to do at half-time when they trailed by 0-6 to 2-6 with Stephen Bardon (penalty) and Kevin Brazil scoring the goals for Castlepollard. 'The Town' remained in control of proceedings until the closing stages when Padraig Connaughton netted a John Shaw rebound to leave just two points in it. But 'Pollard held on for a deserved victory.
As expected, Raharney had little difficulty emerging from the losers' group, inflicting heavy defeats on each of their three opponents. A 0-21 to 0-4 mauling of Brownstown at The Downs got them up and running. Brownstown were competitive in the early stages, but a run of eight unanswered points helped Raharney to a 0-11 to 0-4 interval lead. It was all one-way traffic in the second half with points from Alan Doyle, Brendan McKeogh, Brian Connaughton, John Shaw and Alan Giles easing the Deelsiders to victory.
Raharney followed up that 18-point win with a 17-point drubbing of Ringtown. The Whitehall-based club remained in contention until just before half-time when John Shaw and Brendan McKeogh pounced for goals to give Raharney a 2-7 to 1-3 lead at the break. A third goal from county dual star Paul Greville three minutes after the restart ended the game as a contest, and with team captain Shaw helping himself to a personal tally of 1-10, Raharney eventually ran out emphatic 3-21 to 1-10 winners.
Johnny Greville's charges sealed top spot in the group and their place in the semi-finals courtesy of another all-too-easy win over St. Brigid's (2-21 to 0-10). An eighth-minute Jimmy Greville goal helped Raharney to a 1-13 to 0-6 half-time lead, and it was exhibition stuff when they added a further 1-4 within reply midway through the second half through points from Brian Connaughton, Christopher Flanagan (two), Paul Greville and a goal from Cormac Boyle.
Raharney avenged their first round defeat to 'Pollard when they powered to a 1-19 to 1-10 victory in a semi-final that petered out in the second half. There was little to separate the sides in the first half with Barry Kennedy's 10th minute goal for the blue and golds being cancelled out by a Christopher Flanagan effort as Raharney took a 1-9 to 1-7 lead into the break.
The Deelsiders took complete control on the restart with a series of points from Cormac Boyle, Paul Greville, Brendan McKeogh, John Shaw and Flanagan seeing them through to another final against Clonkill on October 17.
When Raharney defeated Clonkill in the 2008 final, it was considered by many to be a shock result. Having regained the Examiner Cup in 2009 at the expense of Raharney's semi-final conquerors Lough Lene Gaels, Clonkill were once again installed as favourites, but once again the men in blue upset the odds in one of the best county finals seen in years. Brian Connaughton was the toast of Raharney after his goal deep into injury-time gave Johnny Greville's side a dramatic 2-14 to 1-16 victory.
The holders looked to have done enough when they led by 1-15 to 0-12 with seven minutes remaining, but a brilliant Paul Greville goal brought Raharney back into contention before Connaughton blasted the winner to the net from a 25-metre free in the third minute of stoppage-time.
There was little to choose between the sides in the first half with Alan Dowdall's point giving Clonkill a slender 0-9 to 0-8 lead at the break. It remained close until the 49th minute when Niall Dowdall goaled to put Clonkill six clear. However, the switching of Paul Greville from wing back to full forward proved to be the final's turning point as Raharney staged a dramatic comeback that will live long in the memory.
If the Joristown outfit had been underdogs against Clonkill, they were dismissed as no-hopers for the visit of Coolderry to Cusack Park for the first round of the Leinster club championship. Managed by former Tipperary goalkeeper Ken Hogan, Coolderry had cruised to Sean Robbins Cup glory in Offaly and were considered strong contenders for Leinster honours. But an inspired performance by Raharney saw them leave Mullingar with their provincial ambitions in ruins.
The Westmeath champions came from two points down at half-time to outscore their Offaly counterparts by 0-9 to 0-4 in the second half to earn a semi-final date with Oulart-the-Ballagh. The game looked to be going to script when the visitors opened up an early 0-4 to 0-1 lead thanks to two points each from Kevin Connolly and Brian Carroll. But Raharney refused to panic and with John Shaw, Brendan McKeogh and Brian Smyth finding the target, had edged into a 0-8 to 0-7 lead by the 25th minute. However, Coolderry claimed the last three points of the half to take a 0-10 to 0-8 lead into the break.
Early second points from Shaw and Cormac Boyle brought Raharney level, only for Coolderry to restore their two-point advantage through Brian Carroll and Damien Murray.
Raharney levelled once again through Brian Connuaghton and Shaw before a turbo-charged finish produced scores from Boyle, Connaughton, Shaw and Smyth to ensure a famous 0-17 to 0-14 victory for Johnny Greville's side.
Raharney looked to cause another giant-killing act against Oulart-the-Ballagh and become the first Westmeath club to reach a Leinster senior final, but it wasn't to be as the Wexford champions withstood a late rally to leave Cusack Park with a three-point win.
The fog was so dense in the second half that many of the 1,900 spectators weren't sure whether points or goals had been scored at different stages. Referee Anthony Stapleton insisted afterwards that Oulart's margin of victory was just two points, 4-11 to 4-9, but thankfully it did not affect the outcome and no controversy ensued.
After an evenly contested opening period which saw the sides deadlocked on 0-2 apiece after 13 minutes, David Redmond slipped through a number of challenges to score the visitors' first goal. Raharney replied with points from John Shaw and Paul Greville, but a second Oulart goal by Nicky Kirwan on the stroke of half-time left them trailing by six points, 0-6 to 2-6, at the break.
The Wexford champions looked to be cruising when Kirwan added his second goal 10 minutes after the restart to extend their advantage. A John Shaw major revived Raharney hopes, but they continued to trail by 1-8 to 3-10 with three minutes of normal time remaining.
Another Shaw goal brought the home side to within five, only for substitute Des Mythen to immediately reply with a similar score for Oulart. But Raharney weren't going to go down without a fight and a brace of injury-time goals from Paul Greville left the visitors hanging on for a 4-11 to 4-8 win.
Raharney's 2010 Westmeath SHC winning team was: Andrew Doyle; Tony Doyle, Conor Jordan, David Carey; Alan Giles (0-1), Brian Connaughton (1-4), Paul Greville (1-1); Niall Flanagan (0-1), Stephen Morley; Cormac Boyle, John Shaw (0-4), Francis Boyle (0-1); Brendan McKeogh, Christopher Flanagan (0-1), Brian Smyth (0-1). Subs used: Joey Boyle, Robert McKeogh and Padraig Connaughton.
Junior and under 16
silverware as well
Not to be undone by their senior counterparts, Raharney's junior and under 16 teams also claimed championship honours in 2010.
These successes, combined with the under 14 side's All-Ireland Feile triumph (see full report elsewhere), show that the club is in fine fettle at present. The junior title was annexed on July 23 following a 1-16 to 0-12 victory over holders Lough Lene Gaels at Robinstown.
The final was evenly contested up until half-time, but the Deelsiders found an extra gear in the second half to run out comfortable winners and relieve the Gaels of their crown. The only goal was scored by Niall Flynn seven minutes before half-time.
On the same weekend as Raharney defeated Clonkill in the senior final, their under 16s also got the better of the Loughegar-based club in a one-sided championship decider at Lakepoint Park.
Raharney recovered from a shaky start to lead by 1-5 to 1-2 at the break and they went on to win by 3-9 to 1-4 thanks to second half goals from Dan Fox and Ciaran Doyle.
Raharney's junior championship winning team was: Gordon Greville; Liam O'Connor, Stephen Mullen, Brendan Kenny; Cillian Duggan, Johnny Greville, Mark Glennon; Stephen Morley, Mikey Boyle; Joey Boyle, Barry Aughey, Niall Flynn; Eoin O'Sullivan, John Shields, Alan Corr. Subs used: Brian Digan and Padraig Leavy.
The under 16 team which defeated Clonkill in the championship final was: Stephen Lynam; Matt Shannon, Pierce Byrne-Colgan, Darragh Duggan; Conor Raleigh, Jason Gorman, Aaron Glynn; Gary Greville, Niall Grainger; Shane Farrelly, Robbie Greville, Dylan Raleigh; Sean Scally, Frank McHugh, Dan Fox. Subs used: Ciaran Doyle, Shane Gorman, Darren Giles, Killian Doyle and Shane Conroy. Tweet
