*Conor Rynne. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
THESE ARE busy times for teenager Conor Rynne from Inagh.
Busy studying for his leaving certificate exam in June, he is a key member of a number of hurling and football panels which are chasing success in 2025.
First opportunity for championship success comes on this Friday when he, along with Alex Leyden, will jointly captain Ennistymon Community school in the Munster senior C fooball final.
“Since the transition, (the amalgamation of a number of schools in Ennistymon to form Ennistymon Community School), this is our first time reaching a provincial final in either hurling or football and that makes it all the more special and important”, the joint team captain said this week shortly after completing an exam.
It’s an indication of his busy schedule that following the exam he went home, collected his hurling gear and then travelled to Clare GAA’s training centre at Caherlohan to train with the county under 20 hurlers.
“Playing with the school team is a great opportunity for all of us. We are drawing from six or seven different clubs and we probably won’t get an opportunity to play together on the same team again after this as it’s unlikely all will end up at the same third level college”, Conor said.
Asked if is difficult to manage study and play both hurling and football with school club and county he said “it is hard but there is great support from all sides. There is a great understanding with the teachers while the club scene at senior level hasn’t really kicked off yet”, he outlined.
Conor was a member of Clare’s All-Ireland winning minor hurling team from 2023, the only one from that Clare team that was attending the Ennistymon school at the time.
According to Conor “all the teachers in the school are very dedicated and there are great opportunities for all students to play a variety of sports, hurling, football, basketball and soccer to mention some”.
As they look ahead to Friday’s final Conor says, “there is a great buzz around the school at the moment. It would be great to bring a first ever Munster senior title to Ennistymon Community School”.
