by Cliona Foley

When you run a pub in a small village obsessed with hurling you hear all sorts.

A woman came into the Oulart Hill bar recently and, not recognising wing-back Paul Roche behind the counter, unloaded both barrels about the local club's chances in next Sunday's AIB Leinster club SHC final.

"She said 'if we beat Cuala I'll ate my hand! We haven't a hope!'" he recalls.

"I said 'thanks for the vote of confidence!'

"She said 'why, do you play?'

"I said 'a small bit yeah!'" he chuckles.

His mouthy customer still insisted that the Cuala forwards "'are too fast, ye haven't a hope!'" he grins. "Look you'd be hearing that all the time, you just pass it off,"

Having lost four Leinster finals in-a-row (2010-2013) and then following that by not even getting past the county quarter-finals last year, the Oulart the Ballagh lads are well used to the constant criticism and 'bridesmaid' references.

"A few years ago lads used to class us as 'soft and small, a fast-ball team that, when it gets to winter, we don't want to know about it,' " Roche acknowledges.

"But I think our team is experienced enough now," he insists. "There's plenty of lads that can get hit and keep going back again. It's changed a lot.

"That criticism came before we ever got to a Leinster final, and to get there at all shows a lot of courage. Now we're in five of (the last) six of them so I don't agree with that (tag) anymore."

He believes that losing in the county quarter-finals last year has finally got the monkey off their back.

Having lost two more Leinster finals in the 1990s the Wexford champions are now hoping it will be seventh time lucky in Netwatch Cullen Park in Carlow on Sunday.They suffered unbearable expectations in those four consecutive finals and losing to the Carlow champions in the 2013 Leinster final was, he admits, the worst experience of all.

"As players we knew we were up against a good team in Mt Leinster Rangers but everyone around us, even from other parishes, was saying 'you're going to win by 10 points!

"After losing the fourth final you're sure you're never going to get back here again. That was the hardest. That year Ferns were coming on strong, we were getting more competition in Wexford every year and you were thinking 'Jesus, it's a long road back.'

"We were after hurling until December for four years, lads had just a few days off and were then back straight hurling with Wexford. It was more mentally than physically draining.

"The writing was on the cards. If we'd won the Wexford championship last year I don't think we'd be back here this year," he says.

"What's different this year is that we're big underdogs. Our aim was just to to get to the county quarter-finals so we're in bonus territory as far as we're concerned.

"Cuala are the favourites, they've got serious players on their teams so it's easier thinking for us. Rather than worrying about losing we can think about trying to perform and hope we can do that well and finally get over the line."

Roche (33) is in bonus territory himself, having been riddled with groin problems before quitting the inter-county scene in 2012. He had surgery on both Gilmore Groins and adductors at the same time and was advised to quit hurling completely, even with the club.

But he's still going with Oulart's tightly-knit band of hurling brothers.

He was one of the many kids in the local primary school who saw Tom Neville come in and change the club's fortunes around and now believe that Frank Flannery can do the same thing.

"Keith Rossiter, Des Mythen, Steven Doyle, myself, Rory Jacob, Darren Stamp, we were all in the same class in school," Roche explains.

"Out of 20 there was probably only two girls and all we wanted to do at lunchtime was hurl and play soccer, we were always together.

"It's a great thing to have, we've been friends the whole way up along. There's only less than 100 in the club and all we ever wanted to do is hurl.

"Darren and Des played U14 and U16 soccer for Ireland but they gave up the soccer to go back and hurl for a small place.

"David Redmond went away for 4-5 months, he was meant to go away for a year but he came back to hurl! We need everyone we can get and thankfully the underage is starting to go well again."

Most of them are playing in their fifth AIB Leinster SHC final in six years on Sunday, still desperately hoping to get over the line, and Roche acknowledges that "it probably is the last chance that this team is going to get.

"At the same time all the talk in the village is 'if we win it we win it.' There's no pressure. Every other year we were favourites going in to it but that's gone now."

*For exclusive content throughout the AIB club championship follow @AIB_GAA and facebook.com/AIB and use #thetoughest

(Wexford's champions Oulart the Ballagh play Dublin champions Cuala in the AIB Leinster Club SHC final in Netwatch Dr Cullen Park, Carlow on Sunday (2.0).

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