Munster hockey boosted by Waterford and Galway’s return

Senior men’s club hockey is back in Waterford for the first time in seven years, while Galway have also returned to the fold in a welcome development for Munster hockey.

Waterford have entered the McLean Cup (Division 3) and Barber Cup (Division 4) with a view to entering a side in Munster league hockey next season. They made a stunning early impact in the McLean Cup quarter-final, defeating Ashton B 3-1. They’ll host C of I D in the semi-finals on March 3 but first up is a semi-final of the Barber Cup against Galway, another side who have re-emerged after a period of absence. The men from the west had a superb 5-2 win away to Midleton B in round one and the return of both sides is a real boon for Munster men’s hockey, given the sport had become exclusively focused on Cork city and county and Limerick, in terms of active senior clubs. Galway’s men’s section folded a couple of seasons ago as geography proved a taxing issue. Many teams from Cork in particular failed to fulfil their away fixtures in the west while Galway themselves would often attempt to squeeze three games into two days to minimise their visits to Leeside, with an inevitable fall-off in interest and results. Thus, their McLean Cup quarter-final tie, ostensibly a home game against C of I D, was instead played at a “halfway house” in Rosbrien in Limerick, the westerners pushing a talented Garryduff outfit all the way before going down 4-3. Behind Waterford’s resurgence are Stuart Greene and David Quinn, both of whom coach boys hockey in Newtown. The duo play their club hockey in Leinster’s Division 2 with Kilkenny but have been given special exemption by the Munster Branch to also play with Waterford this season to aid their development. Greene attempted to get the side going three seasons ago, with UCC’s third team travelling to Waterford to play a friendly which the locals won 4-0. That effort failed to fully get off the ground, but Greene has higher hopes this time around while retaining a realistic outlook. “David has started it this time, after my attempt a few years ago. He is a past pupil of Newtown and works with me in the school,” said Greene, who was also assistant coach to Munster  women at the recent U21 interpros.

“We both coach boys hockey in Newtown and are trying to improve the standard. We feel the lack of a club that the boys can train with and play matches for at the weekend is a major factor. That link needs to be there for their development, the way it is between Villiers and Limerick, for example.” The duo began holding men’s social hockey sessions at the school on Thursday nights, and now have 22 players involved. Half the members are Newtown pupils, with the majority of the remainder former hockey players complemented by a couple of new additions. One of those former players, Killian O’Reilly, scored two fine goals with Quinn getting the other in their 3-1 win over Ashton, with Keith Lemon and Matt Treacy also playing starring roles. Greene knows that one swallow doesn’t make a summer and is not getting ahead of himself. “As for future plans it’s hard to know,” he admits. “David and I are not sure where we will be from year to year and if we were to leave, at the moment there is no one to keep it going. We can only take it from year to year.”