A family affair for the Quinns

GERRY Quinn readily admits that playing in the All-Ireland Hurling Club Championship semi-final was a long way from his thoughts when Gort set out on their Galway Hurling Championship campaign in 2011.
“In 2010, we were knocked out in the middle of the summer so we weren’t thinking about being champions. We were basically down at the bottom when we didn’t make the play-offs,” Gerry told The Clare Champion.
He was speaking at his fruit and veg store in Ennis (Green Acres) where he works with his father Pat and other family members. They also have a store (Four Seasons) on the Tulla Road. The Quinns have been running their business in Ennis for the past 26 years, having opened in the Clare capital in 1985.
“Not alone is there a great buzz in Gort but it’s also great at the shops here in Ennis. People from the different hurling clubs come in and we talk about the games. There is great banter when members of Kilmaley, Éire Óg, Inagh-Kilnamona or Corofin visit our shop on the Mill Road or when people from St Joseph’s, Tulla or Crusheen visit our Tulla Road shop. People are now turning up to watch us in training,” according to Gerry, who is expected to be at wing-forward when the Galway champions line out at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick on Saturday.
“Winning has certainly shortened the winter for us and we are really looking forward to the game. We have a good mixture of youth and experience in the team and also in management. That said, we know it won’t be easy, as Offaly teams don’t give up and it will take a huge effort from us if we are to succeed,” Gerry added.
He is one of four brothers in the Gort panel this year. Noel and Brian, who is the youngest of the four, also work in the family business, while Brendan, the sub-goalie, is in college in Cork.
Noel hurled with Éire Óg in Ennis for one season and was part of their Clare Senior B Championship winning team before returning to his home club. In that year, he also trained the Banner junior side to win the Clare Junior C Championship.
The Quinn home is next to the GAA grounds in Gort. “It used to be the golf club and many is the time that we, as children, had to duck to avoid been hit by stray golf balls when we were working in the garden,” Noel recalled.
Back to hurling and father Pat, a keen judge of the game, believes there will be little between the teams in Saturday’s All-Ireland semi-final.
“I went to see Coolderry play the Leinster final and they looked good. It will be a tight game, I expect, but I believe Gort can win.”
According to Gerry, “A lot of the lads in this team have come through together and have been part of successful minor and U-21 teams. We have a very good mix, with the young lads being joined by some experienced players. Manager Mattie Murphy has been involved at every level and his experience is also a huge asset.”
He added, “We are just concentrating on our game. Coolderry have a great history and we know that they beat a good Oulart the Ballagh team, who had 13 players with inter-county experience in their panel. However, we must concentrate on our own game and get the best out of ourselves on the day if we are to progress.”
In the lead-up to Saturday’s match, Gort have played a number of challenge games and two of these have been against Clare and Dublin selections.
“The fact that Davy Fitzgerald and Anthony Daly agreed to play us is very much appreciated by all in our team in Gort. The matches have been a great help to our preparations,” Gerry said.
When Fr Jerry Carey, parish priest of Doora-Barefield and a native of Coolderry, visited the Quinn shop, it led to quite a bit of banter. Fr Jerry will have cousins Eoin and Michael Ryan in the Offaly club’s squad on Saturday, with Eoin expected to be in the starting line-up.
The Quinn family’s fruit and vegetable stores will be open for business as usual on Saturday but, according to proprietor Pat, “we will have to make arrangements that will allow us get off for a few hours to travel to Limerick for the game”.
“It’s a huge day for Gort GAA and I believe that they can win and go on to contest the All-Ireland final,” he concluded.