It is an oft quoted phrase but one that has been proven to be very accurate over the years as encouraging the youth is the only way forward. This applies to all underage activity but more so to underage hurling in Monaghan.

The game is based on small numbers and limited resources so it is essential that everyone is kept on board. Its not that long ago that Monaghan were in the winners enclosure with U16 and minor titles at provincial and All-Ireland level but that impetus was down to a small number of people and when they ceased to be involved the slippery slope was a steep one and it wasn't long until Monaghan were competing at U16 and minor level at all.
There is a lot of activity at club level and the work that has been done there over the last number of years has brought the game back to a certain level and to an extent bore fruit this year as Monaghan fielded a very accomplished team in the Ulster minor hurling league where they reached the final only to lose out narrowly to Tyrone.
Under the guiding hand of Brendan Murphy Monaghan got off to the best possible start to their Ulster Minor hurling league Division 2 campaign with a nine points victory over Fermanagh in Clones after the weather had caused the cancellation of their opening game against Tyrone. Brendan Murphy was very happy with not only the outcome but with the performance against what he described as a strong, physical Fermanagh team.
"Our lads were a little nervous at the start as this was their first game but once we settled to the task the boys put in a great performance. Fergal Rafter got through a lot of work in midfield but our halfbacks and half forwards too worked very hard," said Brendan.
"What pleased me most was the work rate that the boys put in and the tackling was very, very good."
The following Sunday Monaghan were back in Clones against Donegal which Brendan Murphy rated as probably a couple of steps up from their first game.
"We had 25 to 30 lads out training every night but we needed games. The final score against Fermanagh of 2-11 to 0-8 probably flattered a little as Fermanagh had one of their better players sent off in the early stages of the second-half but a win was a win. This year was to turn out to be a very good one for young Rafter who went on to win Monaghan senior hurling championship and senior hurling league medals with Castleblayney and played in the Ulster intermediate hurling championship where Castleblayney reached the final."
Monaghan's winning form continued when they picked up their second brace of points in the Ulster Minor hurling league when they held out in a tight finish against a resurgent Donegal. Brendan Murphy was delighted with the win and the manner in which the boys stood up to the challenge.
"We worked very hard for it and we had to because Donegal came on very strong in the second-half and it was a real physical contest. We were the better team in the first half and I suppose maybe we were hanging on a bit towards the end but I think overall we deserved to win it."
The victory was all the more rewarding in that Donegal won the Ulster Minor hurling league in 2010 and had quite a number of those players this year so the victory was all the more rewarding as it put Monaghan into the final.
"We were in the final but we still had to play Tyrone because that was the game that was postponed because of the snow at the start of the competition and that meant that we were playing Tyrone on successive Saturdays as irrespective of the outcome of the first match we were playing them in the league final the following week."
The whole thing though could very well have had a disastrous effect as a sharper, well drilled, more incisive Tyrone proved far too strong for Monaghan in what was a very one-sided game in Dungannon that finished with Tyrone winning by seventeen points, 3-16 to 0-5. Monaghan though were short a number of regulars with Fergal Rafter and Michael Murtagh out with injuries and to their credit they stuck to the task manfully although they sorely missed the accuracy of Fergal Rafter from frees.
Brendan Murphy though was satisfied that his side did well and that they would learn from it: "The boys tried hard but they (Tyrone) got off to such a lightening start that we were out of it almost at that stage."
Murphy claimed they would learn from it and the truth of that was seen the following Saturday when they ran Tyrone to two points in a thrilling final that was in the balance right to the final whistle.
It was all so different a week later as a resurgent and a resilient Monaghan came oh so close to causing an upset in the final in Omagh in a game that built to an exhilarating finish. Tyrone had been beaten in the final in 2010 and had all but five of that team on duty in Omagh but they were pushed all the way by a very determined Monaghan who were actually leading by two points going into the final five minutes of normal time. Tyrone might have expected a slightly easier passage than they got as Monaghan rose to the occasion and produced a display of scintillating hurling that matched the best that the home side could produce and showed the progress that was being made.
"That was a serious performance by those young lads and this was a great game of hurling, great application by both sets of players and some great skills on display. Fergal Rafter was a real driving force for us and kept us moving. We changed things around a little bit from the previous week and we had a couple more players missing but the lads that we took in really rose to the occasion and when we carried the game to Tyrone they were not all that comfortable."

Next up it was the Ulster Minor hurling championship where Monaghan were supposed to be playing Armagh which was: "another big call but having done as well as we did in the league we were looking forward to it."
However it turned out to be Cavan who provided the opposition as they came in late and dashed an under strength Monaghan's hopes in Breffni Park. Team manager, Murphy was a very angry man as a number of factors had conspired against him. "Our prospects were not helped by a number of factors on the day. First of all we were short a number of players who were out through injury notably Damien Moorehead and Conor Cahill. Secondly quite a number of our boys were playing their fourth game inside a week and eight of the team were playing their second game inside 18 hours as they were forced to play a previously postponed minor football league game the previous evening.
"That is probably the one that gave most cause for concern as it was not in keeping with player welfare regulations or competition regulations within the county and it did little credit to the system that put those players in such an invidious position. As a result we were a jaded team and a fresher Cavan became increasingly dominant as the game wore on with very few of our players holding their position with effect and dominating their opposite number."
It was a disappointing end to what had been a good season up to then but on the positive side a lot of those lads are eligible again for minor grade next year and they acquitted themselves very well in an U17 Blitz in Woodlands in Belfast to show that the talent is there and that it is just a matter of keeping them hurling.
On the club front progress is definitely being made with Castleblayney probably the leading light although there is a lot of good work going on in Clontibret, Truagh, Carrickmacross, Monaghan Harps and Inniskeen. Castleblayney's work was acknowledged at the Monaghan County board awards last year with a special Juvenile Achievement Award in hurling. The club has structures in place catering for the training of players from under 6 all the way up through the juvenile ranks. The club also invests a lot of resources in getting experience for these young lads outside the county and preparation for competition at under 12 level is enhanced when the club U12 team travels to Mullinahone, Co. Tipperary every year to an annual U12 blitz that is attended by teams from Tipperary, Kilkenny, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Galway, Derry and Antrim.
That experience has helped Castleblayney to win titles at U14 level thereby going on to represent Monaghan at Feile. Castleblayney reached the final of the minor hurling league this year but lost out to a combination of Inniskeen and Carrickmacross under the Emmet Grattans banner after a replay.
Clontibret too had their moment in the sun when they won the Silver Hill Foods minor hurling championship, defeating C'Blayney in a very exciting final. Progress too has been made in Truagh with the U12's reaching the semi-final of the league where they lost to Inniskeen but the U16's acquitted themselves extremely well at their level, winning the U16 league outright, defeating Clontibret in the semi final and Cootehill in a thrilling final in Gavan Duffy Park.
There is also coaching for U8's and U10's every Monday and Wednesday in the club where one of the driving forces in hurling is Prionsias McKenna who believes that the success at U16 level this year will see Truagh with some very accomplished players at senior level in a few years time.
All that work is augmented by the county development squads at U14 and U16 level. Both squads took part in a national blitz back in August and the hurling fraternity was very pleased with the news that the appointment of Alan Ryan as a games promotion officer would see him specifically charged with the promotion and developing a hurling at under age level in the county.
He took charge of the U14 squad at the blitz and Kevin Moloney did some excellent work with the U16 squad all of which will pay dividends in the years to come. Tweet

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