Delaney hungry to revive juniors fortunes

CAMOGIE: Littlewoods Ireland National Camogie League Division 2 Preview

By Geraldine Kinane

KILKENNY v TIPPERARY

Freshford

Saturday 5th February

Throw-in @ 2.00pm

Referee: John Horgan

When Ray Delaney read that Tipperary Camogie were on the hunt for a new junior manager, he saw it as a golden opportunity to get involved with his native county.

As a Roscrea man, Ray grew up hurling for Roscrea before getting involved coaching under 16 and minor hurling teams in the club. For the past ten years though he has lived in Kilkenny with his partner Jacinta and their five kids.

He first got involved coaching camogie teams when his daughter began playing with O’Loughlin Gaels. Ray went on to coach their under 16, minor and junior teams. This then led to coaching the Offaly senior camogie team in 2018, alongside former Kilkenny hurler Richie Power with Mick Wall as manager.

Offaly went very well that year but a late Tipperary goal when they met in the group stages effectively knocked them out of the championship.

Ray then spent two years managing Barrow Rangers hurling team in Kilkenny which he thoroughly enjoyed. When he joined in 2019 the club had just won a relegation battle to stay intermediate and were working off a panel of sixteen players. Ray quickly got things going in the club, the players responded, and the numbers grew. That year they topped their group in the league and were beaten in the quarter final of the championship. In 2020 further progress was made but they were eventually beaten in the county semi-final.

Having felt he couldn’t bring them any further, Ray stepped down but was delighted to see the club go on and win the intermediate championship the following year.

“I got huge satisfaction in bringing the club from a poor state where they were struggling to stay up intermediate,” he began, adding “to having 28 players training, enjoying themselves and really competing.”

This idea of developing players and getting the most out of them forms the theme of most of our conversation and is a clear coaching philosophy of Tipperary newest camogie manager.

When he saw the advertisement for a new junior manager at the end of 2021 it really caught his eye. He was ready for a new challenge. He knew though as a busy father and a Business Development Manager in the Southeast for Mayo Health Care it was going to be a huge commitment and one in which he would need Jacinta’s blessing.

2021 had been an extremely difficult year for the couple with Jacinta suffering a brain aneurysm and needing four surgeries. Thankfully with youth on her side and after having a shunt inserted, she has made a full recovery.

When Ray discussed the Tipp job, her response was clear “tomorrow is promised to no-one, if it’s something you really want to do, have a crack at it,” he said.

And so, after a successful interview process Ray is excited and motivated to have a real good crack at it!

His first task was to get the right team around him, and his primary port of call was to a good friend and work colleague, Cian Tucker from Nenagh. Last year Cian was involved in coaching the Nenagh minor hurling team that won the North final. He also has previous camogie experience having coached St Bridget’s camogie club in Kilkenny.

“I’m delighted to have Cian on aboard as he’s an excellent coach but also is someone I have great trust in,” Ray said.

In 2018 when Ray was involved with the Offaly camogie team, Ann Hoctor of Shinrone was the liaison officer. Ray was so impressed with her that he always said if he was with a county team again, he wanted Ann with him. Ann, also originally from Roscrea, jumped at the chance to work with Tipperary.

Having been involved with Offaly camogie for years, Ann has built up huge experience working with different managers. Ray believes she will be “excellent as she’s so thorough and efficient’.

Added to the coaching team is former Tipperary minor and U21 goalkeeper James Logue from Ballingarry.

The management team began by having open trials. Lots of phone-calls were also made and at present there are 38 girls doing the strength & conditioning programme and training and playing a series of challenge games.

The commitment by all involved so far has been excellent with challenge matches already played against UL, Myshall, Oulart-the-Ballagh, Dublin and Knockavilla Kickhams; all before the third week of January.

Players are being given the time to get up to the level of what’s needed to represent Tipperary, but management have also stressed that they need a huge workrate from everyone, drive, and commitment and if you can’t give it then “don’t waste our time”. Chatting to Ray there is no doubting his passion.

“In 2018 with Offaly I got the taste for being involved with an inter-county set up and I’m really enjoying being back involved again especially this time when it’s my own county,” he added.

“Anything we have looked for so far we have gotten. The county board have been really excellent and very professional. They want us to be prepared the best we can be so we can deliver on the big stage.”

Ray has also had some “really good conversations” with senior manager Bill Mullaney whom he feels are very close to winning an All-Ireland title.

“The O’Duffy Cup needs to be won,” he said.

“This batch of players are good enough to win an All-Ireland so it must be won in the next year or two.”

He also feels that as a management team a key task for them is to develop girls good enough to represent Tipperary afterwards at senior level.

“Obviously, I would love to win a junior All-Ireland this year but any team I have ever worked with I can say with confidence I always improved and developed them, and I get greater pleasure out of that than winning,” he added.

Not every player from last year’s panel is available to them this year with some players choosing to go travelling while others have been called into the senior squad. However already Ray believes they have unearthed new talent and is confident that they will have a very strong panel come league and championship. Having survived relegation in the league last year the team will compete in the division 2 league starting with an away game against Kilkenny on Saturday, before competing in the Junior championship later in the summer.

The league will be a higher grade so Ray believes that come March when they face Waterford who were relegated from the division 1 league they will know where they are before heading into the championship.

Many people will see the fact that Tipperary’s second team are junior this year as a real opportunity to win silverware, but Ray and his management team know that is far from a foregone conclusion. There are plenty of talented teams in this year’s junior championship including 2021 beaten finalists Armagh and semi-finalists Clare and Roscommon. There are thirteen teams in total all with same goal to win that coveted silverware. For now, Ray Delaney and his management team are simply taking it one training session at a time and enjoying the journey.