Tullamore's Hogan relishing another final but wary of Ferbane threat
By Kevin Egan
It’s not unusual for older players to be the ones who appreciate the chance to play in county finals that bit more, but in Declan Hogan’s case, the spring in his step is evident as he bounces into the committee room at O’Brien Park to talk to local media about this Sunday’s Offaly senior football final.
The former county captain was forced to withdraw from the Offaly panel this year and while his timeline always indicated that he would be back in action for Tullamore’s bid to complete three-in-a-row, a setback in the lead up to their first round tie against Bracknagh threatened to derail all that.
A quick trip to London cleared up his concerns, however, and since then however it’s been business as usual for Hogan, most recently against Rhode where Aaron Kellaghan started brilliantly, before the veteran defender was switched over to curtail his influence, helping to send the Blues back to the county showpiece fixture.
“A week before we played Bracknagh I was doing a bit of training and it was quite sore. I was able to get a quick flight over to London and, going over, I wondered will I even get back for a semi-final in any capacity.
“Thankfully it was only a small fix that needed to be done and I went from writing off the group stages to actually playing a couple of minutes against Bracknagh, a few more minutes against Shamrocks then played the whole game then against Clonbullogue. I could get what every player wants, that consistency between training and matches.”
With his form and health back, his enthusiasm is palpable. “We’re playing Ferbane for the third year in a row in a county final, which I’m definitely not complaining about,” he says.
“The best two weeks of the year is to build up to the county final. I’m really looking forward to it, it’s great to be back there, hard to believe a year has gone by since the last one.”
In the championship, Tullamore have been more or less untouched, a contrast to Ferbane who lost to Rhode, conceded a lead to Edenderry before finishing level, and then scraped over the line in an enjoyable but controversial win over Shamrocks. In Hogan’s mind, however, Ferbane put all that behind them with their comprehensive semi-final win over Edenderry.
“We lost the league final and we didn’t play well. That was a good Edenderry side and Ferbane just put that Edenderry side to the sword,” says Hogan.
“It was very impressive. They scored 3-19 which is impressive, but to hold Edenderry to three points in the second half is probably a bigger feat in itself. They’re even improved on last year and the year before, I think, and they’re definitely enjoying the new rules.”
Football has changed all round, but in Tullamore there was a changing of the guard. Long-serving manager Niall Stack stepped away after an incredibly successful five years at the helm of his native club. The executive didn’t look too far for a replacement, handing the bainisteoir bib to stalwart defender Paul McConway. It has been a seamless transition and Hogan reckons that the change of voice has been welcome.
“With new management you get new voices, new expertise, new ways of looking at football. Training sessions are different. That’s sport, we’re well used to that, especially guys that have played inter-county,” he says.
“To be honest, it’s no harm every now and then. The guys we had, obviously Niall and his backroom team over the last couple of years, really, really top guys. And we went on a really good journey with those lads as well. They did their stint with Tullamore and they were happy enough to leave it there.
“And look, no better man than Paul to take the reins there. I think he’s a natural fit for the job. He was always a leader on the pitch and he’s transitioned seamlessly into management, he was more or less our manager on the pitch to be honest about it,” Hogan adds.