By Kieran Lynch

AT Saul GAC there is hurling being played for the first time in 30 years, as training has begun for children aged six to 14.

The two men responsible for ‘resurrecting’ the sport in the Downpatrick area, are Daniel Bohill, a coach for the club’s underage football teams, and Shay Deegan, ex-O’Donovan Rossa hurler, who originally hails from Enniscorthy in Wexford.

In order for the two men to get their idea off the ground, they had to be prepared to answer any questions which may have come their way, in order to prove that a hurling team in Saul was a realistic prospect.

Deegan explained: “We put together a document for what we wanted, which was a solid plan to bring to the club, so we could answer all of the questions that we were going to be asked. We said that if we can answer all of these positively, then we’re doing it.”

The five questions which they had prepared answers for, were as follows: Would a hurlingcamogie team in Saul GAC bring the game to more children in the catchment area? Would starting Saul Hurling club detract and damage Saul GAC football andor hurlingcamogie in the catchment area? How can starting a hurlingcamogie club in Saul compliment Saul GAC club and hurlingcamogie in the local area? What would Saul GAC offer that other clubs in the catchment area can’t or won’t? What’s the five-year objective?

Deegan summed up the perspective of both men saying, “The question they had for us was, ‘Will this actually detract from the development of the football in the club?’ Our answer was, we just want people to try it, and enjoy it.”

“We think both games complement each other. We think the GAA is not there for just football, or hurling, or handball. It’s there for all of it. As a club, we should be able to provide that for kids.”

Satisfied that they could answer all of these questions, the plans for a new hurling club began. But, Bohill stressed that they would not ‘step on the toes’ of other clubs in the area.

He said: “One of the big things at any club is resources, and we didn’t want to be taking resources away from other areas where it was needed. We were very clear from the start that we weren’t going to do it.”

Two men from different walks of life, they were brought together in the task of bringing hurling to Saul, after a chance meeting at the local soccer club last December. This set the wheels in motion and lead them to where they are now.

Deegan said: “My son was being brought up with no hurling. He’s playing soccer and that’s where I met Danny, and the idea for a hurling team kicked off.”

Bohill said: “I have zero hurling experience, but meeting Shay was a chance encounter. He sent a message into the WhatsApp group, asking could someone open the changing rooms, so he could collect the gear. I went down to let him in, and myself and Shay just started chatting about why there’s no hurling in Saul and that planted the seed there and then.”

With the large catchment area Saul has, the underage numbers are rapidly increasing each year, and both men realised this, feeling that it presented an opportunity for the birth of a new hurling club.

Deegan said: “I had been going up to the field for the football, and there was probably around 100 children between the age of six and 14, and I thought it was a missed opportunity not to have a hurling team. Myself and Danny got chatting and we thought ‘Why not?’ Not only would it benefit the kids; it would benefit the club and the area.”

With the population of Downpatrick playing in their favour, Deegan felt it a shame to see such a lack of a hurling presence and saw it as an ‘obligation’ to bring hurling back to the area.

“When you look at some of the clubs in the Ards, and in North Antrim they’re struggling at underage because of the demographics and the distribution of housing. But we’re really fortunate in Saul, because we’ve got a big catchment area. We’ve got a lot of kids, we’ve got a lot of houses, and I felt it was an obligation for us, people who have benefitted from the GAA, to give back to those kids.”

So, the two men put their time and efforts into preparing a new club, but it didn’t come without any challenges.

Bohill said: “There had been countless coffee meets, Zoom calls and phone calls. Myself and Shay did the bulk of the work under the radar for the first eight or nine months, just chatting to people.

“Some people said, ‘You’re mad, it won’t work,’ or, ‘You’re wasting your time, it’ll last for six months, then it will all fall apart.’”

Deegan followed up on this saying: “We spoke to guys in Ballygalget, we spoke to guys across the Ards, I even spoke to some guys at home and a couple of things kept coming up. One was, ‘It’s a football club.’ One of the issues in the GAA, is this word: tradition. There are some traditions which are great and need to be respected, but there are others that should be ignored.”

However, despite some negativity, it was far exceeded by the support that the club has received. As with anything, the club needed funding, and the local community, along with the Shane Mulholland Foundation provided the club with tremendous support.

“We didn’t want parents being put off by having to buy a hurl or a helmet, and it was the Shane Mulholland Foundation who really gave us our first shot in the arm, because they sponsored 30 helmets for us and honestly, without that, we’d probably still be talking about it. Then we got more sponsorship from extremely generous local people so we could get hurls and balls, and from there it snowballed. At that point, we had the sponsorships, we had the gear – so we had to get started!”

Deegan and Bohill also weren’t short of volunteers when it came to getting coaches for the kids.

Bohill: “Once we started asking around, it was unbelievable. People have just come out of everywhere to help us.”

Deegan: “One of the by-products is just the enjoyment the coaches are getting from coming back to hurling. Some of the guys haven’t played hurling in 20 years, or other coaches, like Danny, have never played hurling, and it’s actually amazing how much they’re enjoying it.”

Help has come from all corners, including a visit from ex-Down manager Ronan Sheehan. So, with the support, training was able to start, and the numbers have been exceptional.

Bohill said, “At the first session, 60 kids turned up, so we actually didn’t have enough equipment! Across the first six sessions, we’ve consistently had 70 kids.”

Deegan continued: “We didn’t think that there was going to be as many as there was; I turned around at one point and all I could see was a queue of kids and parents coming to try hurling.”

Deegan, also highlighted the most important factor of the club: that the kids are getting enjoyment from playing hurling.

“It really is great to see the kids coming back, getting a bit better every week and enjoying it.”

All is well in Saul GAC right now, and Bohill believes that they may have introduced hurling at the perfect time.

“It coincides with the club itself having big plans for development. The club have plans in place to develop the pitch and upgrade the facilities, so it’s nearly been a perfect storm. We’re on a bit of a high: we won the intermediate championship last year, our numbers are through the roof and in comes this guy from Wexford, and next thing you know, we’re a hurling club!”

The success has both men now looking towards the future with optimism, as Deegan encapsulated the historical significance of what they’re doing.

“Now we’re planning to organise blitzes, for teams to come here, for us to go there. We’re hoping to organise a hurling match, as crazy as it sounds. I can go out and see a hurling match on five pitches at a blitz if I’m in Enniscorthy in Wexford, but there hasn’t been a hurling match in Saul in 30 years. There’s so many people in this area who’ve never actually seen a hurling match live.”

Bohill concluded by remarking that this may not be the last we hear of hurling in Saul, as the five-year plan that they set out at the beginning, has got more ambitious.

“I think you’ll be talking to us in five years, and we’ll still be plodding away, and fingers crossed, we’ll have a senior team.”

AT THE READY… Helmets at the ready at Saul hurling club

EXPERIENCE…ex-Down manager Ronan Sheehan taking the kids in training

VOLUNTEERS…Here are some of those who have volunteered to coach at Saul. Shay Deegan is second from the left at the back, and Daniel Bohill is fourth from the right at the back

LEARNING… Hurling has returned to Saul after 30 years