By Alanna Cunnane
A Naomh Eoin stalwart since its
inception, Bill O'Kelly-Lynch has worked tirelessly in the underage set up of
the club over the years and now finds himself as club secretary watching four
of his five sons prepare for a senior final.
Having coached many of the team up through the underage
ranks they’ve come a long way since Saturday morning nursery training in Kent
Park.
“They would have started at five or six years old 20
years ago so it’s great to see them now showing the skill they have as opposed
to what they were like as young lads” he says. “That’s what coaching is
about.”
The early years
were often led by those who had “arrived into the town from elsewhere” and
although they formed a strong unit, the flourishing of the talents in the area
really came when the boys turned to men.
“At a point
before these young lads came through we were barely fielding, but the team now
is basically all our own home grown talent, which makes such a difference”
says O'Kelly-Lynch.
With four of
those locals coming from his own household - Gerard, Tony, Fergal and Liam (with
16-year-old Robert waiting in the wings), he has decided to take a step back
from the management and selection.
“It’s good
to see and one of the reasons I don’t get involved with management now is
there’s too many of them on the team, so to be fair to them and to everyone
else I haven’t.”
“I just do
the secretarial duties now, the team sheets and sub sheets!” he laughs.
No favouritism
on show though, what is evident is his love for the club as he aspires to see
everyone involved “equally put in a team performance.”
No easy task as
they bid for the second senior hurling title in their history this Sunday
against Easkey/St Farnan’s, O'Kelly-Lynch can’t see any team dominating but admits
it “would be nice to have a second one under our belts.”
“We weren’t particular successful when many of
the lads playing on Sunday were underage but they kept at it because they like
the game.”
“That’s the
enjoyment for me that these lads are still enjoying the game, playing at adult
level and with Easkey there has only been a puck of the ball between them in
the last two finals. Sunday will be the same.”
Naomh Eoin take
on Easkey in the Senior Hurling Championship Final this Sunday at 3pm in Markievicz
Park.