Dermot Brislane says the Nenagh CBS school community is enjoying the Harty Cup journey

Dermot Brislane knows the halls and playing pitches well at St Joseph’s CBS, Nenagh. The Deputy Principal is a past pupil and a former Harty Cup hurler who has returned to a career at his alma mater and is now at the helm during a very exciting time in the school’s history. Hurling is in the air around Nenagh. There has been a whirl of anticipation across the corridors of the school and throughout the town since Christmas, as the flagship team in the school were still in the running for the Harty Cup.

“We are all on that journey too across the school,” says Dermot Brislane. “The community here in the school, the teaching staff, the businesses in the town, the parents and other GAA people from the broader hinterland are wishing us well. So many people from other sporting organisations are all wishing us well too. You meet people at the shops or downtown and they are wishing us well and talking of their own experience of Harty Cup and times back across the years so it is a great time at present,” says the former Toomevara hurler.

Dermot represented the school in the Harty Cup back in the 1990s and despite having some household names, they failed to land the cup called after after the former GAA patron Archbishop Dr John Mary Harty. “I was on a defeated Harty Cup team back in 1996,” says Dermot Brislane as he takes a trip down memory lane.

“We were beaten by St. Colemans and it was a massive performance from Timmy MacCarthy on the day that beat us. He was a player who went on to win All-Irelands with Cork afterwards. We had Mark O’Leary on our team that day and others who went on to Tipp panels too, so I know what it is like to be in the Harty Cup and please God the outcome will be different for this team now than it was for our team in those days!

“The Harty Cup is a great stepping stone onto the intercounty scene. It is representative of our community too with nine clubs represented on our panel. It is a very special time for the whole area,” the former defender says. When the big moments arrived during the last match, the team delivered much to the delight of the school community and the broader Nenagh community.

The sense of occasion in the school as the final approaches is palpable, according to Deputy Principal Dermot Brislane: “It is great to be involved in the Harty Cup final. It is every youngsters dream - that is into hurling - to make inroads into the Harty Cup. This group has worked very hard from the outset preparing themselves every way they can aided by the management and everybody in the school,” he said.

The hurling rollercoaster was at its height as the semi final neared the end, and Nenagh CBS found themselves behind on the scoreboard. Tension filled the sidelines. The ‘never-say-die attitude’ meant they hurled until the final ball and when Charleville scored what looked like the winning point, the spirit of the Nenagh lads kept them going long enough to strike a late goal to win it.

For Dermot Brislane, the finale of the game was one that won’t be forgotten in a hurry: “It was a very tense last three minutes. We looked disappointed, then we got a goal and two points and now have a final to look forward to which is absolutely super.”

The entire school community gets behind pupils in whatever endeavour they pursue and the school has a broad ranging syllabus. Student’s are encouraged to pursue their interests and aim high. The hurlers are doing that. Across this school year, hurling has been a major topic of conversation. Since Nenagh CBS defeated St. Flannans by 2-15 to 0-18 in the 2023/2024 TUS Munster GAA Dean Ryan Cup (Under 17 A Hurling) Final on Friday November 10th last at Kilmallock, the hurling talk has been ‘at fever pitch’.

It was a first ever ‘Dean Ryan’ for the school and the spirit shown that day proves that there is a sense that the hard work off the field is paying off this year. “That positivity is right across the school,” Dermot says. “Hurling is to the forefront at the moment while soccer, rugby and basketball are all very much to the fore in recent years. We won a basketball national title in Tallaght last year, contested a Munster soccer final and our rugby teams are competitive. That positivity runs through our entire school and it is portrayed through their workrate, their honesty and their effort.

“There is a huge voluntary effort made by a lot of people in our school by those who coach teams from first year up along. They contribute greatly, directly or indirectly, and they might not be seen to the fore but so many have made a huge effort over the years behind the scenes. “Thankfully that journey in hurling at the moment is taking us places we haven’t been before. The Under 17 victory before Christmas was wonderful. It gave us all a lift and gave the Harty Cup panel a lift too.

“It showed new ground can be broken. We are a school and the academics are very strong here too, so school is to the forefront as well. The hurling is to the forefront in parallel with that and the guys are working around that. It is an exciting time.”