BY KIERAN McCARTHY
TADHG Twomey has packed a lot into the last few weeks.
In early October he made his 150th championship appearance for Newcestown. On October 22nd he turned 40 and played in the drawn county senior A hurling final. One week later, Twomey and the Newcestown hurlers won the replay. And last weekend he played his role in the footballers’ Cork senior A triumph. There is a lot to unpack there.
‘This will take a while to sink in,’ he says – and there is also the small matter of his retirement, too.
So, was Newcestown’s brilliant win over Dohenys his last game?
Tadhg and Colleen Twomey with their children, Culann, Fíadh, Ailbhe and Étain.(Photo: George Hatchell)
‘It is. Go out on high,’ Twomey says. Whether his boots will stay hanging up in the new year remains to be seen with Newcestown back at premier senior level in both football and hurling, but for now he wants to enjoy the success of the last few weeks.
‘It’s not often that you win two counties in the one year. It’s not often that you win one county title. It can take time to get into a county final, the last time for us before this season was eight years ago so we need to celebrate this one,’ the Newcestown veteran explains – and reports suggest this latest triumph was celebrated in style.
They had to work hard for this one, especially after an opening quarter that saw Dohenys build a four-point gap, but this Newcestown machine is programmed to win. Just look at their trophy cabinet.
‘Our belief and our fitness stood to us,’ Twomey says.
‘Maybe Dohenys’ (five-week) lay-off since the semi-final affected them, they ran out of steam just after half time. The games we had the last few weeks kept us going. That winning feeling, it’s hard to lose that. Winning is a great habit to have.
‘We have done well this year after a bad year last year – and we spoke at the start of this season about the need to get things right.’
Newcestown certainly turned their fortunes around, to the extent that those two cups will now winter in the parish. Twomey admits the outlook didn’t look promising early on against Dohenys, but the Newcestown team that has grown as the season progressed knows how to win championship games.
‘We had a slow start, alright. It was a hairy start. We got going after a while, we got it back to five all, and then they went in a point up at half time,’ he explains.
‘In the dressing room at half time we said we needed to relax, we knew we’d have the wind in the second half and we knew that we had more in us, and that showed in the second half. David Buckley was outstanding. Everyone was outstanding, really, from number one right through to all the subs. Unreal.’
After the cup presentation on Saturday night his team-mates sang ‘there’s only one Tadhg Twomey’, as they paid tribute to a club legend. If this was his final game, what a way to bow out.
