*Wolfe Tones captain, Dean Devanney. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
REIGNING intermediate champions Wolfe Tones are keen to show they can hold their own in the top tier.
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Wolfe Tones Fact File
Management: Kieran Ryan (manager), Barry Murphy (selector), Craig Riordan (selector), Rachel Dinan (S&C)
Captain: Dean Devanney
Key player: Jayme O’Sullivan
One to watch: Tan Greene
Fresh blood: Daithí Lohan, Darragh Lohan, Shay Waller, Damien Lyne, Tan Greene, Liam Divilly
Departures Gate: Craig Riordan (injured)
Treatment table: Craig Riordan (ACL)
Titles won: None
Last year’s run: Crowed intermediate champions to secure promotion.
Schedule of games:
Round 1 vs St Breckans on Saturday July 19th in Cusack Park at 17:00
Round 2 vs St Joseph’s Miltown on Saturday August 2nd in Lissycasey at 13:30
Round 3 vs Kilmurry Ibrickane on Sunday August 17th in Lissycasey at 14:00
Championship power ranking (1=weak/unlikely winners, 10=strong contenders): 2
Returning to the senior ranks is “a big step up” for Wolfe Tones but they won’t lack confidence and will feel they have nothing to lose, starting off with their first round against St Breckan’s in Cusack Park this Saturday.
Johnny Bridges guided their return to the top tier, he was a member of the 2014 side to win the intermediate championship and backed that up as manager in 2024, lining out for the club at senior level throughout his career. Work commitments led to him stepping down as manager of the Tones in the past month with coach Kieran Ryan taking charge since.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Kieran explained, “Johnny stepped away about a month ago, Johnny had work commitments, he got a new job last year and was struggling with work and training, he felt it best for squad to take a break for time being. Barry Murphy was a selector but we felt and Johnny were very much of the same thinking, they played together all along, it seemed like the right thing to do for me to take over. Barry has been brilliant with the organisation, he’d still talk to Johnny every day, he has been brilliant, as I said to the boys you never miss something till it’s gone, I certainly miss him, he left me to do with what I love doing which is on the grass, he dealt with pitches, referees and administration, Barry has stepped up on that”.
An ACL injury to centre forward Craig Riordan has him sidelined for the season which has resulted in his addition to the management, he is to undergo surgery in the coming weeks. “He’s a big loss, he surprised a lot of people last year, I know it’s only the intermediate championship but he surprised a lot of people, he may look a little heavy but he was very fit and surprised most teams we played with his fitness, workrate added to his scoring threat. I was very sorry for him, I thought it would be a breakout year for him, he was one player I had very little fear for going into senior championship”.
It won’t be until Saturday evening that Wolfe Tones will fully grasp the heat of senior championship, Kieran predicted. “We won’t know until we’re in the middle of The Park on Saturday how we’re set for the challenge. We’ve prepared as well as we can, we can forewarn and help them but I’ll tell you after first round, it is a big step up for a very young side”.
Their Group contains the finalists of 2024 in Kilmurry Ibrickane, the beaten finalists of 2023 St Breckans and St Joseph’s Miltown who last reached the county final in 2019. “It won’t be the easiest, we’ll be learning by the half of every game, not to mind every game, every minute will be a learning and how we put them into practice will influence how we get on. We couldn’t get an easy group, it wouldn’t have mattered who we got we’d still be up against it,” Ryan stated.
A fortnight ago they suffered a 3-21 1-5 defeat to Miltown in the O’Gorman Cup final, an outing that was “an eye-opener” for all involved. “We fulfilled the fixture, we were struggling with numbers with lads on holidays and some guys only coming off flights, we’re expecting it to be as flat because not all the lads were on holidays but we’re hoping it was an eye-opener on what senior clubs can do to you when you don’t have the right attitude”.
Tasting success last season has given the Shannon club a big lift. “Every time you win a championship be it junior or intermediate, you feel like a champion until you realise it is a stepping stone to get to the big show, whether they can bring that freedom we won’t know. The experience that Daithí and Darragh Lohan have from playing senior hurling will be vital and having Gary Leahy such an experienced player around training is massive. We’d a very good U21 squad, we could have competed at A but again that was a B championship we won last year, they haven’t dined at the senior table yet”.
Placing a strong focus on their systems of play won’t change despite the jump in grade, he outlined. “We work on a lot of scenarios, our principles of play will never change, it’s whether we can keep them or get back to them under the pressure of the senior football championship, we’ve clear principles of play, we did very well with them last year, that won’t change which gives the team a comfort, it is consistent messaging”.
