Clare legend Tony Griffin back in hurling action in Wicklow

Irish Examiner

4 days ago

Former Clare star Tony Griffin has found a new home to play his club hurling after a five-year absence from the game he loves, and it is a somewhat surprising destination for the 2006 All-Star.
The Ballyhea legend made his debut in the Wicklow Intermediate hurling championship last weekend, firing home 1-3 from play for his adopted club Western Gaels in a fine victory over Arklow Rock Parnells in Echelon Centre of Excellence in Ballinakill on Saturday evening, his goal an absolute peach.
"I married a girl from Ballymore Eustace whose father is from Hollywood. I was playing at home about five or six years ago, I was still travelling up and down to play with Ballyhea," said Griffin, before explaining why he had finished up playing with Ballyhea.
'I had an injury when I was 19, I had a collapsed lung from a tackle. And around five years ago, I was playing in a game and (the lung) spontaneously collapsed – which does happen – and so I ended up in hospital.
"And then with small kids, I just got out of the habit of playing. I didn't think there was any hurling (around the area he lives in), and I didn't particularly want to play in Naas.
"But then last summer, I heard about Western Gaels, and I went up one evening for a puck, and I saw the lads and how eager they were, and I thought it was good craic. So, over the winter I did some training and tried to get the body woken back up again, and it's very enjoyable."
It's the underdog status of his new club that really appeals to the Clare legend, which reminds him of that place that gave him the tools that helped him create a wonderful legacy in the game of hurling.
Tony Griffin with his children, Jerome and Jess, after the former All-Star helped his new club Western Gaels to victory in the Wicklow IHC in Ballinakill.
"That's where I come from. Ballyhea is the last hurling club before west Clare, and that's football. So, we were always a junior club, then intermediate and then senior. We've won four of the last eight county senior championships, so I know what it's like to be an underdog club.
"And that's partly what I enjoy about it. The lads that are here are here because they really enjoy playing the game. No matter what age you are, I think if you're half fit, hurling is a game where it's about positioning and decision making and knowing when to run and stuff.
"I think it's a great game. One of the other reasons (why he hadn't played for five years) was that I was involved with the Kerry footballers doing their psychology, so I didn't have time. But this summer, I have a bit of time.
"I'm glad to be a part of that. I've always loved the underdog. These are great lads. They're improving all the time. We'll probably run into a team that is bigger and better than us, but I don't think these lads will give in too easily,"
During this hard hitting and hotly contested match last weekend, the Clare native took no prisoners on the field, including engaging in a war of words with one particular Rocks player.
"He was telling me that I was 50 and to go back to the retirement home. But the great thing about hurling is we all get hot-headed and get into it, but we all walk off the field and shake hands.
"My thing is to try and play for as long as you can. I retired from the intercounty when I was 29. I was young. The cycle (charity cycle across Canada in memory of his late father, Jerome) kind of ruined me in a way. It changed my ability to play the game at the top level.
"If I had had the conditioning that the guys have now, I'd probably have played until I was 35. So, in a way, I kind of feel like I have unfinished business with hurling, and I suppose that's why I'm here."
A battle against Wicklow hurling kingpins Glenealy awaits in the next round but Griffin is confident that his new hurling family at Western Gaels will continue to improve with each game.
"Who knows (how things will go). There are some very good teams out there from what I've heard. For these lads, this is a young club. And it's just to start to play the game in a certain way where we are looking up, and we are linking, and we are tackling well, hooking well, blocking well, enjoying your game and getting better every day. And that's what it's all about. I still get nervous before games. I woke up this morning and I was nervous. And that's a good thing.
"It's great to be playing; the lads are brilliant. And they slag me something terrible," he said.
And what about that goal? A high ball, attacker against defender, one on one, man on man, warrior against warrior. A battle made for a hurler like Tony Griffin.
"The goal was just lucky. The ball was sitting in the air, and the man I was on went to bat it. I kind of said to myself, I can't miss this if I get it in my hand, so when I got it, I turned and, in fairness, I just had to not hit the goalkeeper.
"The ball was amazing. It fizzed in the air. I was actually delighted with it. Because as I turned away, I said, 'Jaysus, I haven't scored a goal in a championship game in around 10 years'"