Tierney leads the way as Oughterard men put seal on great campaign

Oughterard 2-16

Magheracloone 0-12

Pádraic Ó Ciardha at Croke Park

IN years to come, those who weren’t there might look back and think it was won easily enough. A ten point winning margin, how hard could it have been? For those who were there to be a part of the most historic day in Oughterard’s history, they can afford to laugh and smile. They’ll know.

The final score in Croke Park last weekend only tells a part of this team’s journey. To cover the All-Ireland final itself, you could probably fill a book. To tell the story of the season, you’d need volumes.

That story would probably start less than 18 months ago when a talented and well-fancied side had to win a relegation play-off to secure their status in the intermediate championship in Galway. Oughterard were within a whisker of crashing out at the group stage again in 2019 but instead of ending before it really began, this season kept going and going before finally ending in triumph on the steps of the Hogan Stand.

Club finals don’t often mean much for those outside of the two parishes involved but for those lucky few who are a part of it, it means everything. The scenes in Croke Park on Saturday as family, friends and supporters all basked in the glory of Oughterard’s achievement will never be forgotten.

This Oughterard side have so many of the elements which make these victories so special. A passionate manager who was raised smack-bang in the middle of the town. A veteran captain whose work takes him far and wide but who never misses a training session. And not to mention a raft of brothers, seven sets in fact, bringing the whole thing together.

Over the course of the season, everyone of them had their part to play but probably none more so than the Tierneys. Matthew was the star of the two epic county finals against Mícheál Breathnach last October, but last weekend was Enda’s turn to lead the team to victory.

The midfielder was absolutely immense for Oughterard over the course of the evening. Tierney kicked three points of his own, directly assisted four more and dominated the middle of the field. The 24-year-old had a hand in almost every key moment in the match.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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