Rory's delight for former team-mates
November 27, 2011
When Summerhill beat Dunshaughlin by 0-14 to 1-9 after extra time in the replayed 2011 Meath SFC final at Pairc Tailteann on Sunday, October 16th to capture the Keegan Cup for the first time in 25 years, nobody was happier than Clare footballer Rory Donnelly. Having been an integral part of Summerhill's bid for glory for four seasons - captaining the team in 2009 - Rory appreciates exactly what this win means to the Blue & Yellows.
The 2011 senior county final replay victory prompted a huge outburst of emotion. For quarter of a century, the 'Hill had been straining to claim their sixth Meath SFC. An unbelievable amount of work was invested at juvenile level and no stone was left unturned in the bid to bring SFC glory back to Summerhill. They had been close on a number of occasions but the 25th anniversary of their fifth county title success would coincide with the club's long-awaited return to the top of the Royal County pile.
Clare footballer Rory Donnelly was a key component of the Summerhill senior team for four seasons from 2006 until 2009. In '09, he captained the team that reached the semi-final stage only to be edged out by Seneschalstown for the second time in three years. In between, in 2008, Summerhill reached the county final, beating Wolfe Tones in a semi-final thriller but lost to Navan O'Mahonys on the big stage.
Cooraclare clubman Donnelly - a nephew of well-known Banner County hurling and Poc Fada patron Martin Donnelly - had hooked up with Summerhill in '06 when work commitments brought him to the area and he enjoyed four wonderful years in the club colours, doing his utmost to help them land the Keegan Cup. Alas, it wasn't to be during his days with Summerhill, but Rory could tell that the breakthrough was imminent and the Coffey Construction engineer was confident when work took him away from the progressive Meath club two years ago that it would only be a matter of time before the villagers were celebrating their sixth SFC heist:
"I joined Summerhill in 2006 and 2009 was my last season there. You could tell that they were going to do it and I'm delighted that they went all the way this year. I know how much they wanted that title. When I started out with them in '06, they had a very young team with a lot of 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds - talented players who matured quickly. In '07, we got to a quarter-final; in '08, we contested the final; and in '09 we lost a semi-final by one point. Many of those players had enjoyed success at underage level. Even in '06/'07, they were going for a third MFC and you had the U21 successes too, all of which goes a long way. It doesn't guarantee success at adult level but it's a big help."
Sometimes, it's just meant to be. In 2011, Summerhill's time had come. Though the players themselves will have been oblivious to it, there was a growing feeling all year amongst neutral observers that the Keegan Cup was destined for a return to the 'Hill. "I was at the semi-final and I was at both drawn games and I felt that they were lucky enough in both. It seemed like their name was on the Cup," Rory notes.
That's not to take away in any way from the enormity of what Summerhill achieved. To the contrary, the Clare man was thrilled to see his former colleagues - a bunch of lads with whom he had been through so much - reach the promised land: "It's well deserved and I'm absolutely delighted for them," he enthuses. "I genuinely felt that it was only a matter of time for this Summerhill team; they were always going to do it.
"Unfortunately for me, work commitments - and commitments to my home club in Cooraclare - took me away from Summerhill. But I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. I made a lot friends, players and supporters. I was always made to feel very welcome in Summerhill and that's one of the many things that make it such a great club."
Why exactly did Rory have to leave? "My work took me over to Galway. The way things are with the economy now, you have to go where the work is. Once I was back in Galway, it was only natural that I return to play with my native club in Clare. I never really intended to stay with Summerhill for four years, I suppose I just enjoyed playing with the lads and in the end I needed something to make the decision for me. I also wanted to re-establish myself in the Clare set-up and the best way to do that was by playing my club football in the county."
That aspect of the plan has worked a treat and Rory was part of the Banner County team that enjoyed a memorable qualifier campaign in 2011, pushing the previous season's beaten All-Ireland finalists Down to the pin of their collective collars in a closely-contested SFC backdoor contest that could honestly have gone either way.
"I was back with Clare in 2010 and there's the makings of a good team there at the minute," the former Summerhill forward continues. "While we were a good bit off the mark against Cork in the first round of the Munster championship, we put in a huge performance against Down and we were within one kick of a ball of winning that game. We're hoping to build on that performance in 2012. There are a lot of good footballers in Clare and we are good enough to put a few decent results together…"
Rory had sustained a nasty back injury in 2009, which kept him out of football for five months. Even though he continued to play through the pain barrier with Summerhill, he wasn't available for intercounty selection. Prior to then, he had continued to line out for the Banner County regularly, despite playing his club football in the Royal County.
Having missed out on collecting a county SFC medal with Summerhill, Rory Donnelly now finds himself involved with a club that's similarly knocking on the door down in Clare: "When I left Cooraclare, the performances simply weren't there. But while I was gone they started to make serious progress and they won a league title in 2009 and got to a championship quarter-final. We got to the semi-final stage in 2010 and were only beaten by a point this year by the eventual champions, Kilmurry-Ibrickane, who of course are one of the strongest club teams in Munster.
"Kilmurry-Ibrickane are still the team to beat but Cooraclare are not too far away. We are improving all the time and were only a point away this year. You just have to keep working hard as a team and eventually things will go your way"
On the work front, Rory explains: "I was moved to Galway in the blink of an eye. Coffey Construction is headquartered in Athenry but I was based in the Dublin / Wicklow region for five years, during which time I lived in Clonee. But when they asked me to go to Galway I had to go. The company has been good to me and you have to put your job first. Hopefully we will be able to see out the recession. We're holding our own at the moment and the company is very highly regarded in the industry, having been in business for the guts of 40 years."
And finally, I just have to ask … was Rory ever close to pulling on a Meath jersey? "It was mentioned a couple of times alright but that would be a massive move. It's one thing to transfer your club allegiances but it's another thing entirely to declare for a different county. I have always maintained my links with Clare and I kept going down home to play with them. I had no problem with that. I wanted to play for Clare and I didn't mind the travelling at all. Clare is my county but I'll always have very fond memories of playing football in Meath."
And the current Meath champions no doubt have fond memories of the days when Rory Donnelly pulled on the blue and yellow!
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