​Happy to Rushe up the steps of the Hogan again!

After two particularly memorable seasons with his club Na Fianna, I caught up with centre back Liam Rushe to talk about All-Ireland glory and the Dublin club and county hurling scene. 

I put it to him that the Na Fianna team learned the hard way and had to suffer a fair degree of heartache before finally landing the big prizes.

“Getting to the first final was huge but we didn’t have the maturity to get over the line. The second was nip and tuck and could have gone either way but that’s how it’s been with ourselves and Crokes for the last few years. 

"When we’re both on our game there’s nothing in it. We took lessons from the defeats, just to maintain focus from the first whistle to the last. Finally getting over the line and lifting the Dublin trophy was such an achievement for us.”

“We have become hard to beat and I suppose we had no choice. We changed approach in the last couple of years. We weren’t as explosive as we could be and threw caution to the wind a bit and got success from it.”

A strong Leinster campaign followed their maiden win with the Mobhi Road men reaching the provincial final in 2023 but coming up just short.

“We did well in Leinster in 2023 all things considered for a team who won their first county title, winning the provincial quarter and semi. We performed pretty well in the final and there wasn’t much in it but O’Loughlin Gaels were very strong defensively. 

"They had a couple of All Stars in their ranks and that matched up well with our very strong forward line. It became an incredibly physical battle and we just lost out.”

But this Na Fianna outfit have made a habit of learning from adversity and there is no doubt that the lessons taken from this defeat and the experience gained stood to them in the 2024 campaign.

“Hurling has become incredibly tactical. This year teams went very defensive against us and you’re often playing teams with twelve players in their own half or maybe with no half forward line. Sometimes I even found myself on the opposition’s half back line! In tough conditions it is hard to overcome that and it makes those matches much closer, wars of attrition really.”

“When you do counter attack in those conditions it’s tougher. It’s hard to take your touch, the ground is heavy, there’s an unpredictable bounce and you can’t kick off for pace when you do get ball in hand.”

But Na Fianna developed a real knack of getting vital scores at crucial junctures in the big games, regularly raising a green flag when most needed.

“The campaign was a bit stop start and we went large periods where we weren’t happy with our play but when it came to crunch time we tightened everything up at the back and midfield and when the chances came on the counter attack we took them. A couple of crucial scores seem to get us over the line in each game.” 

So can Na Fianna’s exploits inspire the Dublin team and act as a catalyst for the county team to challenge the top counties at inter-county level?

“I think it gives a lift to hurling in the county. There are young lads in the area watching and maybe picking up hurls rather than footballs. The Ballyboden team of the late noughties was incredibly strong, probably a good step above anything that came before. Cuala followed it on and were even better, winning two All Ireland titles.”

“Each time a Dublin club team raises the standard the rest are rushing to catch up. For example you’ve got Lucan and Vincents who we lost to and drew with last year. The competition at club level and the confidence the club players are gaining, hopefully they will bring that in to the Dublin set-up and realise we can compete with the best teams in the country. If we can perform consistently to the level that we know we can there is no reason we can’t mix it at inter-county level.”

I suggested to Liam that the Dublin club scene is particularly vibrant at the moment, with standards improving all the time and a much wider spread of clubs competing for honours.

“I think what we are seeing in Dublin hurling is testament to the plan laid down by the county board a long time ago. As well as the GPOs going in to schools there is the fact that you have so many people now who have experienced and been exposed to high level coaching and know what it entails. And this expertise is spreading across the county, they know what a good set-up and good coaching looks like.”

“I suppose they are spreading the hurling gospel is one way to put it and in different areas that are not traditional hurling strongholds. Hurling is taking root in a lot of clubs and a lot of great work and effort has gone in. You need former players and coaches to be consistently coached-up so that you have a constant core of expertise to keep passing things on.”

In finishing, Liam spoke about the demands of inter-county activity nowadays and the toll it can take. From torn quads and hip flexors to torn hamstrings and shoulder tears, he has certainly had his fill of injuries and now it’s all about managing the load.

“Inter-county involvement is incredibly demanding at this stage and I don’t have that capacity to recover between games and between sessions from week to week. With the club it is more manageable especially as I’m not playing football now. The inter-county load now is so demanding and I think even if I got to the starting line I’d probably be injured soon after the gun is fired!”

“Getting to four county finals in four years and winning two makes all the effort worthwhile. It’s been a long career, playing in Croke Park since 2009 and I’ve probably been on the losing end in Championship matches far more than the winning one. So it was just fantastic to go up the steps of the Hogan Stand again this year and lift silverware, and especially on All Ireland final day.”