Circumstances won’t take shine off success - Dunphy
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Upperchurch/Drombane manager Liam Dunphy. Photos: Bridget Delaney BRIDGET DELANEYImage 2 of 2
Upperchurch/Drombane - Munster Intermediate Club Hurling champions. Back row: Sean Ryan, Ailbe O’Donoghue, Jim O’Dwyer, Aaron Ryan, Padraig Griffin, Riain Treacy, Michael Quinlan, Paudie Greene, Dean Carew, Paul Shanahan, Ciaran Shortt, Tomas Ryan, Luke Shanahan, Paul Ryan, Ger Grant, AJ Shanahan. Front row: Sean Shanahan, Gavin Ryan, David Griffin, Mikey Griffin, Diarmuid Grant, Conor Fahey, Niall Grant, Pat Ryan, Keith Ryan (captain), Toby Corbett, Mikey Lavery, Paddy Phelan, Loughlin Ryan, Eoin Shortt, Colm Ryan. PicasaBy Stephen Barry
It was a Munster Championship won in unusual circumstances, but that won’t take away from Upperchurch/Drombane’s achievement.
Manager Liam Dunphy hailed his troops for pressing home their numerical advantage when O’Callaghan’s Mills were reduced to 13, and later 12, men.
“The reality is, and this will sound absolutely nuts, but if we came out of here winning by a point, 15 on 15, maybe you'd be that bit happier. But look, it is what it is,” said the Roscrea native.
“You have to adapt to the circumstances in front of you. We adapted. We won the game. We closed it out. We won a Munster final. We move on.”
When asked if the red cards detracted from the victory, Dunphy replied: “In generations' time, Upperchurch/Drombane will be recorded as Munster intermediate champions of 2025. Nobody will ever remember how many were on the field.”
The ’Church cleverly used their numerical advantage, freeing up Gavin Ryan as a sweeper and pushing the second spare man up the field to “attack the game” and target puck-outs.
“The big thing for me was, I found myself on the sideline thinking, Tipp and Kilkenny, minor, Nowlan Park, 13 v 15. Please don't make mistakes. Work the ball through the lines. Carry the ball. Use the spare man. Hit the ball to the right man. And do not allow the opposition to take short puck-outs,” Dunphy said.
“It took us five or six minutes to actually get our bearings on that. But when we got our bearings, we really got to grips with it. I'm very proud that the lads were able to make that happen on the pitch.
“We’re able to play the game long. We can work it through the lines. We can play with a sweeper. We can do it any way we want. These guys just adapted to what developed in front of them, and that's a sign of a good team.”
An All-Ireland semi-final against the Leinster champions awaits on the weekend before Christmas.
“It's the stuff of absolute dreams,” said Dunphy.
“It's not over for us yet. We're not stopping here. We are now in an All-Ireland series.
“These things may only be once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. We're going to have a cut off this again. This is our plan. We're not stopping.”
On their potential opponents, Dunphy added: “Danesfort actually took out James Stephens, who were probably favourites to win the All-Ireland, so they're going to be a very good team.
“Ratoath are Meath county champions at senior level, so I would say it's no done deal that the Kilkenny champions will beat Ratoath. That's next weekend, and we'll see where we go after that.”