Josh Daniels in action for Ennistymon Community School. Photograph: John Sheridan
JOSH DANIELS may be more familiar to standing between the posts but he’s found a new lease of life out the field.
Whether it was hurling or gaelic football, Josh tended to get the number one jersey but on Saturday he’s expected to have two number ones on his geansaí but it will be the centre forward role that he is expected to occupy for Ennistymon Community School in their quest for All-Ireland honours.
Eighteen year old Josh plays his hurling with Kilmaley and his football with Lissycasey. “I only started playing football maybe four or five years ago. I started off in goals as well so this is actually my first year playing outfield. Hurling was my number one sport for quite a while, and then I picked up football and just loved football,” he outlined.
Moving from the goals to further out the field has been “difficult in a way,” he admitted. “You wouldn’t be as skilful as the rest of the players but as a goalkeeper, you’re good with your hands, and I suppose that’s what I’m recognised for, I’m like a playmaker, I suppose you could say”.
Getting away from the goals has been refreshing and he noted that outfield players tend to receive a lot more plaudits than the custodians. “You don’t get enough recognition in goals as you do outfield, it’s nice to get out there and even fitness wise it is good to get out,” the former Clare minor football panellist commented.
There is more freedom and less pressure for outfield players, the Kilmaley teenager believed. “In goals all it takes is to drop a high ball or to give away a kickout or a puckout and they’re straight through on goal, when you’re up the other end of the field you could get turned over and they have to work through the entire defence after that. I suppose it’s a relief in a sense to be out the field”. He is having no difficulties following instructions from netminder Jack Kelleher, a goalkeeper he holds in high regard.
Reaching the All-Ireland has not been plane sailing, he reflected. “It started off a bit rocky earlier this year but once we got a bit of a level playing field we were grand after that. We thought maybe at the start it might not be our year but then the lads came together and we’ve played really well so we’ve done well to get here”.
Beating St Joseph’s Spanish Point in Munster having lost to them in the county final was a big moment for Josh. “We were gauging where we were, then we played Spanish Point and we knew they were good having won an All-Ireland last year, we beat them by four points so from there we thought we had a chance”.
Although they are all under nineteen, Josh maintained this could be the biggest game he or any of his teammates could play in their entire sporting career. “Especially for someone who might only play club level and never go back to playing county, it could be the furthest we’d ever go in a competition and for some of us it could be the biggest game of our lives”.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Josh noted there had been “a great buzz around the school” since they qualified for the All-Ireland C final. “There is a lot of promotion going around with nice support from Ennistymon Credit Union and The Falls Hotel, they’ve been very kind with sponsorship towards us for gear, it brings a buzz to the community”.
Panellists are using their studies to keep their minds off the football, he said. His plans for next year and life after the Leaving Certificate are not set in stone, “I wish I could say yeah (I know what I want to do) but I don’t have much notions yet, I have the CAO filled in but that is just about it”.
A past pupil of Kilmaley NS, he started his second-level education at Ennistymon CBS before the amalgamation to Ennistytmon Community School. He said of the transition, “It’s strange to go from an all-boys school to a mixed-school with women and girls, it is strange because the school was a lot smaller with a lot less people inside, it is strange but it is not too bad, it could be a lot worse”.
As the sole representative of the Lissycasey club on the panel, he is enjoying lining out with players from different clubs. “There’s no one else from Lissycasey or down that direction even, it is different to play with lads from other clubs but at the same time you go to school with them for six years so it is nice to be playing with them, I’ve played with some of them at county level too”.
Standards are high within the Ennistymon Community School set-up, he said. “With the county you could have eight or nine in the management whereas it’s just the two of them here, we know Lawrence (Healy) and Tara (Rynne) quite well, they were teachers in the CBS with us, we’ve known them up along so we have a good strong bond with them. It is different but at the same time, it is quite good”.
