ON THE OUTSKIRTS of Ennis, a five-minute drive from the town heading West, lies the village of Ballyea.<\/p>\n
Well-known faces such as 2013 Hurler of the Year Tony Kelly and former All-Star Tony Griffin come from here but it\u2019s a club with a football twist.<\/p>\n
Club chairman Paddy Moylan rattles through the team-sheet and the list contains some familiar names, Kelly and Gary Brennan chief among them.<\/p>\n
In 2016, Kelly was joint-captain of Davy Fitzgerald\u2019s Clare senior hurlers, while Brennan captained the footballers to an All-Ireland quarter-final appearance.<\/p>\n
You can drive to neighbouring Clondegad in a matter of minutes from Ballyea.<\/p>\n
Clondegad is football country but many of their players are also proficient with stick and small ball.<\/p>\n
Brian Carraig\u2019s corner back for Ballyea, James Murphy plays at wing-back and Eoin Donnellan\u2019s at full-forward.<\/p>\n
\n Former Clare star Tony Griffin lined out in the 2003 county SHC final for Ballyea.<\/p>\n
Source: James Crombie\/INPHO<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s Brennan, the All-Star football nominee who\u2019s expected to line out at centre forward in the county SHC final against Clonlara.<\/p>\n
A couple of years ago, the talk in Clare was that Fitzgerald had set his sights on Brennan for the hurlers, on the back of some barnstorming displays at full-forward for Ballyea.<\/p>\n
So that\u2019s four Clondegad men on the Ballyea hurling team, while Kilmihil, 20 minutes from Ballyea, are represented by Stan Lineen, Ballyea\u2019s captain incidentally, and corner forward Pat Joe Connolly.<\/p>\n
In the other corner, Cathal Doohan is a club footballer with Lissycasey and you have Pearse Lillis at wing-forward, a Clare senior footballer who lines out for Cooraclare at club level in the big ball code.<\/p>\n
Goalkeeper Kevin Sheehan, corner back Joe Neylon, full-back Jack Browne, wing-back\u00a0Gear\u00f3id \u2018Gudgy\u2019 O\u2019Connell, centre back Paul Flanagan, flying midfielder Kelly and wing-forward Niall Deasy are Ballyea born and bred.<\/p>\n
\n Pearse Lillis shoots for goal in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final defeat to Kerry.<\/p>\n
Source: Donall Farmer\/INPHO<\/p>\n
Kelly, Browne, O\u2019Connell and Flanagan have all worn the Clare senior shirt with distinction in recent times, and are All-Ireland U21 medallists.<\/p>\n
But the reason why players from football clubs are lining out for Ballyea, a hurling club, is quite simple, as Moylan explains.<\/p>\n
\u201cBallyea is a hurling club only, we don\u2019t have football.<\/p>\n
\u201cGary (Brennan) lives in Ballyea but he\u2019s predominantly a footballer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re on the western periphery of hurling in Clare. To the west of us is football only, there are no hurling clubs.<\/p>\n
\n Ballyea’s Jack Browne in action for Clare.<\/p>\n
Source: Ryan Byrne\/INPHO<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why we would have some footballers coming into Ballyea. It\u2019s either don\u2019t play hurling or come to us.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut these guys love their hurling, and have played hurling with Ballyea since they were kids. They would have started with the U8s and U10s.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so while Clondegad is right beside us, three or four minutes between us, rather than a dual club, you have two clubs (one hurling, one football).<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThere have been attempts to start hurling clubs in West Clare but there\u2019s isn\u2019t enough of a demand.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\nBallyea have never won the Canon Hamilton Cup and today\u2019s final marks their first time on the big stage since 2003, when Griffin was in his pomp.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt that stage, we were senior B,\u201d Moylan recalls.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe got a good run in the senior B and that got us into the quarter-finals of the senior A.\u00a0We got a run to the final, lost to Clarecastle, and lost the senior B final that year as well.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\u201cIn 2004, we won the senior B final and went senior A. We\u2019ve been senior A, senior B ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n
In recent years, Ballyea have been knocking hard at the door, contesting county quarter-finals and a semi-final but struggling to make that final step.<\/p>\n
Now they\u2019re here, thanks a county quarter-final victory over Crusheen and a last four success against Feakle.<\/p>\n
\n Clonlara celebrate county SHC glory in 2008.<\/p>\n
Source: Dan Sheridan\/INPHO<\/p>\n
Clonlara are 8-15 favourites, flip the numbers and you can have a punt on Ballyea, and while Moylan acknowledges the scale of the task at hand, he\u2019s quietly confident.<\/p>\n
\u201cClonlara last won the Canon Hamilton in 2008 but they\u2019d been knocking on the door before that, and were beaten finalists last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery line on their team has serious county players. We\u2019re up against it but it\u2019s good to be there and it\u2019s still 15 on 15 come Sunday. We\u2019ll do our best.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe local school are really behind this, and the entire parish. The kids are really enjoying it \u2013 it\u2019s an All-Ireland for the kids from the parish. They would know all the lads, which makes it that bit more special for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
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