ST JOSEPH’S TULLA competing in the Dr Harty Cup final is the “stuff of dreams,” manager Terence Fahy admitted.
In what has been a season of firsts, St Joseph’s Tulla recorded their first ever win in the prestigious competition while also advancing to both the semi-final and final for the first time. All along the way, they have upset the odds beating fancied challengers such as St Colman’s of Fermoy, CBC Cork and De La Salle.
Thus it comes as no surprise that anyone following the panel has savoured the rollercoaster ride. “The team have character, they have grit, discipline, resilience, they don’t give up, people like that and to see that, they like to see an underdog that isn’t afraid to take on the bigger schools, people like that and respect that. It’s rare enough to get such traction for a small school in an elite competition to be taking it on at the different stages, people respect that, they like it and they admire it, our lads have lots of support, they’re in a final now and it’s very important that it continues,” Fahy outlined.
Having started his teaching career at Castlecomer Community School in 1999, Terence joined the teaching staff at St Joseph’s Tulla in 2008 where his subjects are English and history. The annals of the East Clare school will look favourably on the Harty Cup team of 2021/22 regardless of the final outcome. “The lads have already made history, they’ve won a few Harty matches, the school had never won Harty matches, there’s very special history on the table next weekend, that’s why they are training and that’s what they are striving to achieve, we’re hoping very much that we can do and put in a proud performance”.
To be preparing for the Harty Cup final is “very special,” the Whitegate man acknowledged. “It’s the stuff we could have only dreamed of over the years when we were struggling in different competitions of Munster colleges, there were many days when were a million miles away from a Harty Cup final, to be there now is really special and exciting”.
Hurling in East Clare will benefit from the memorable run to date of the Tulla outfit. “Harty Cup is elite, we’ve three schools in East Clare, Tulla, Scariff and Killaloe, this is the first time that has got to a Harty Cup final, Scariff won two Dean Ryans in the nineties, they did huge hurling at A level, this is the first time that the Tulla school is competing in an A-level final in any grade in Munster, it is a lift. Tulla is a hub for a number of clubs that filter in, all it’s going to do is improve the standard, we already see it on the field in school, the field is full in the mornings, everybody has a hurley, it was always full in the evenings and it has a domino effect across all the codes, there is a great energy, interest and excitement about it. It has to be good for East Clare hurling”.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Terence gave an indication of what makes this panel of players special in their own way. “They’re great friends, they’re a big group, the Leaving Certs are the leaders, they’re very tight and they are friends outside of hurling, it brings them together and it connects them, they’re friends and they are a collective on the field, in the corridors and the classroom, that is their great strength, they really back each other up”.
Saturday’s opponents, Ard Scoil Rís “are awful powerful, awful strong and organised, they know what they’re doing, they have a number of big game players,” he interpreted. The fact that Tulla were involved in a battle for their entirety of their semi-final compared to the Limerick school recording an emphatic 4-18 1-12 could be of benefit. “If the game is a contest and if we can make it a contest, it will stand to us absolutely. Ard Scoil Rís had the game over after fifteen minutes the last day, all of the talk is about the power they have, if we can go with them it will certainly stand to us”.
He added, “At high level sport you’re demanding and hoping for a performance in every quarter, very few teams are able to be on it in a sustained fashion, you will have your peak and valley period, in the games we have left ourselves open at times and with a lot of ground to make up but our boys are strong finishers, we are in great shape and they’re strong boys”.
On top of his family commitments and role with Tulla, Fahy is also the manager of the Clare U20 hurlers and Whitegate senior hurlers. The run to the final has been “a special time” and has seen their discipline improve, “at the start of the Harty Cup, our discipline was poor and it has improved, I think our hurling has become crisper with the more matches we’ve played and the better conditions we’ve come into. We’re getting more disciplined, the collective is getting stronger, we’re still not burning it up from play on the scoreboard but the team is beginning to work harder and harder all the time”.
Whether or not silverware returns to East Clare will not be confirmed until Saturday afternoon but there is a confidence that long-term success of the run will be felt within the school for years to come. “You’re always in the market for hearts and minds, that is real life, if we can get more traction in the clubs around us and become the go-to place for hurlers well that would really add further strength to our school down the line”.
