AIB GAA Club Championship preview: Manchester to Croke Park is a familiar journey for Fullen Gaels

Not bloody Kilkenny again

When you are a GAA club from Manchester with just under 60 members between hurling and camogie, you face challenges that clubs on this side of the Irish Sea just don't understand. Players haven't grown up together, challenge games are not a matter of just ringing up your neighbouring club, and getting somewhere to train or play is not as simple as walking out onto your own field. Fullen Gaels however haven't left any of that distract them from their preparation for this Sunday's AIB GAA Club Championship All-Ireland junior club hurling final with Bennettsbridge of Kilkenny. Manager Stan Murray-Hession admits that the build-up hasn't been ideal, but that the club aren't making any excuses.

'We couldn't train for two weeks up to the final because pitches were frozen due to the weather. We got on to an astro turf pitch during the week. Beyond that consider our players are travelling a 70 mile round trip to training. Matches are so hard to come by. The closest team to us we could look to get a challenge game from is a team in London, and that's a round trip of nine hours . You'd be better off going to Ireland to get a practice game.'

Fullen Gaels have been in this situation before . They were previous All-Ireland finalists when they met Thomastown of Kilkenny in the All-Ireland junior decider of 2013, which they lost by three points. Unfortunately due to the transitional nature of an exiled club, there are only a handful of survivors from the experience in Croke Park two years ago:

'We've lost 10 of that team from the starting 15, not to mind the overall squad. We know what we're letting ourselves in for. This is a David and Goliath we're walking into. The most important thing is that we remember that we're a gang of lads coming over from Manchester that have the chance to play in front of their family's and friends in Croke Park in an All-Ireland final. These are the days you have to cherish because they may never ever come again. It's great we've made it for a second time in three years but its bloody typical that we're meeting another Kilkenny side again.'

The club is one of the smallest units of the GAA operating outside of the mainstream GAA community, but Murray-Hession has noticed an increasing amount of young men being attracted to Manchester over the last number of years. Fullen Gaels have developed links with various business and community groups to help new members in seeking employment. Murray-Hession reveals that every year despite losing six or seven playing members, they are always replaced by others coming over seeking work.

'The strength of our club is in the economy and our ability to get people work here. We have fantastic links with Irish based companies here and that helps hugely in engineering and construction. They are happy to help us out if a player is coming over. We're a transitional club and players wont be here forever. 'People aren't here by choice,its circumstances that bring them here but there's a great source of friendship and social outlet for the players.Every year we lose eight or nine players and we might get seven or eight new players in so the numbers are still coming, probably because of work and the opportunities in Manchester with its Irish heritage and history.'

They are five in a row champions of the British junior series and after their success over Cú Chulainns in November they faced Modeligo of Waterford in January in the All-Ireland quarter-Final.  The Manchester outfit held on for a famous win by 2-6 to 0-10 and then went on to defeat Castleblayney of Monaghan in the All-Ireland semi final last month, as Murray-Hession explains.

'The win over the Waterford champions, conditions were bad and the pitch cut up badly. Matches are invaluable but at the end of the day you're going into carpet in Croke park and it will fly around. We will have to punch way above our weight and the 'Bridge will have to have an off day for something strange to happen. Croker is a big lonely place is things aren't going well and we'll see how they cope with it.'

Naturally for a club that attracts emigrants from all across Ireland to play hurling, there is a diverse mix of players from across the country who will don the Fullen Gales jersey on Sunday afternoon. Murray-Hession admits that for some it will be strange to be in Croke Park with an adopted club rather than their own.

'Some of those Kilkenny lads were probably born or conceived in Croke Park whereas we'll nearly have to get directions to get there. I believe that Bennettsbridge have nearly 60 All-Ireland medal in the club. They're used to winning but for us it's an occasion, it's a great day. We have players from 10 or 12 counties. Lads from Kilkenny; Galway; Tipperary; Cork; Antrim; Wexford and Waterford. Everybody would love to get to Croke Park with the club they grew up with but this will be a very close second if you like and it makes it special when we have to travel from Manchester.'

Travelling from the north of England to Dublin for Sunday's game has also thrown up its own issues. There's the minor matter of a Six Nations clash between Ireland and France to consider, which means the club have to travel via Belfast to make it to Jones' Road. It's just another aspect to Sunday's game that the underdogs will have to overcome if they are to lift the AIB GAA Club Championship title around 4pm in the Hogan Stand. Murray-Hession knows his side are up against a massive challenge in the Kilkenny champions.

'Bennettsbridge are raging favourites. If you believe what you hear we should be whipped up Jones' road fairly quickly. There are an exceptionally good side, they are Kilkenny champions and Leinster champions. We don't know much about them but we don't need to know much. They're from Kilkenny, so what do you need to know more than that?'

Kilkenny sides have dominated this stage of the competition in recent years with wins for Conahy Shamrocks and Thomastown over the last five years. A victory for Fullen Gaels would be one of the most significant and shocking results in an All-Ireland club final history. However their manger isn't getting carried away with dreams of giant killing. He believes that if his side perform and fulfil their role as underdogs then there may be the chance of an upset.

'There's no place for second place in a final. It's a day for winners. We're in a fortunate position where we don't have expectation or pressure and as long as we turn up and put in a good performance we'll be happy with ourselves. Whatever happens after we're in bonus territory.'