Some days leave an indelible print and the 2002 Munster SHC final will always hold a special place in the heart and mind of John Mullane for more reasons than one.
ullane was just a rookie on the Waterford hurling scene as he prepared for his first provincial final – and if he needed something to take his thoughts away from the impending action against Tipperary at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Brazil’s Ronaldo certainly provided it.
Class recognises class and the De La Salle attacker, an avid sports fan who loves the occasional flutter, just couldn’t resist the inflated odds of the Brazilian sharpshooter firing the South American soccer giants to World Cup glory.
“It was just one of those days. I remember Ronaldo was injured in the build-up to that World Cup and he was ridiculous odds to be top goalscorer, he was 16/1 and Brazil were 8/1 to win it outright as well, huge odds,” Mullane recalls.
“He was one short heading into the final and then scored two. Lo and behold, we were sitting down to have the meal and he banged in the second one, that was 12 in the day and our match was in the afternoon.
“I was sitting down eating chicken and pasta and the ‘Bull’ (Brian) Phelan and myself were getting excited. We kind of had to regather our thoughts, and remember that we had to go out and play a match. We were up five grand before a ball was pucked.”
Mullane was “on cloud nine” after his bets came up trumps, but attention soon turned to Tipp as the Déise sought to end 39 years of Munster hurt – and skipper Fergal Hartley captured the occasion perfectly before they hit the field.
Having shared a dressing-room with inspirational captains like Tony Browne, Ken McGrath and Michael ‘Brick’ Walsh, Mullane has heard plenty of motivational speeches – but Hartley took his breath away, and left him in no doubt about what was about to unfold.
“I’ve never come across a speech like it since. It was just really passionate stuff, touching on everything that needed to be touched on that day, and the people that weren’t with us and how we were going to do it for them. He just touched on everything,” he says.
“You just knew from the speech, you know when you get the vibe or the tone in a dressing-room and you just sense that you’re going to win before you even take to the field. You can feel it and sense it. You knew by the volume in the dressing-room.”
Despite going on to win five All-Stars in attack, Mullane has no hesitation in admitting that he was a “lightweight” when he started out, with doubts about whether he could cut the mustard at county level.
“I was very light, but very fast and not many people around the county would have known much about me because I was a latecomer and wasn’t a stand-out at under-age, but thankfully I got an opportunity – and that Munster final performance was the kick-start that I needed to push on and have the career that I had.”
Working under Déise boss Justin McCarthy helped to shape his future, as he developed into one of the finest players his county has ever produced – and he can’t thank the late Waterford secretary Jim Dee enough for his guiding light in those early days.
Mullane formed an “incredible bond with an incredible man” as Dee went out of his way to ferry him to trainings and games, when needed, while also helping him to settle into a county set-up that he would soon consider family.
He fired 0-4 from play as an unstoppable Waterford side left Tipperary eating their dust, 2-23 to 3-12, before Mullane illustrated the charisma and emotion that makes him one of the most loved figures in the GAA.
The iconic image just after the final whistle of a jerseyless Mullane jumping up onto the fence alongside Eoin McGrath to acknowledge Waterford’s supporters was dripping in passion and pride – and it had a deep-rooted meaning to the jet-heeled forward.
“That was when no supporters were allowed onto the pitch. I was there in 1998 up on the terrace, ’98 was probably the kick-start for the relaunch of Waterford hurling, and that whole summer of ’98 was incredible,” Mullane recalls.
“I was up on the terrace when we beat Tipp in ’98. I was on the terrace in Thurles and in Croke Park, and I was able to relate to what the Waterford supporters were going through, you had the heartbreak in ’98, losing the Munster final replay to Clare.
“You had the heartbreak of getting so close to an All-Ireland final. When the final whistle went, you could see the emotion on people’s faces, grown men and women crying. I just saw two lads that I knew on top of the railings, Parish Power and Colin Morrissey, so myself and Eoin McGrath just went for it then.”
He would later relocate his jersey, but more pressing business was at hand, as McCarthy ordered their team bus driver Billy Costine to halt their journey home from Leeside on the border in Youghal to soak in what they had just achieved.
“Justin insisted that we were going to walk over the bridge with the cup and there was an awful lot of supporters that walked over the bridge with us. That was one of the highlights, bringing one of the first pieces of championship silverware into the county in 39 years,” he says.
“We didn’t know what was going to await us in Dungarvan. I was only a young lad at the time, but what awaited us in Dungarvan was mind-blowing stuff. I couldn’t get over the crowd and it was just something else.”
Waterford team-mate James Murray was living in a housing estate in Dungarvan at the time, so his place was the ideal location for the after-party that night, but Mullane found unusual lodgings when it came time to lay his head to rest in the early hours.
“Everyone descended on James Murray’s house, there must’ve been 50 to 100 people there – there were bodies everywhere. Murray the cute hoor, he was cute enough and he locked all the bedrooms,” he chuckles.
“So when it came to crashing-down time, there were people sleeping on floors and everywhere. I took my lodgings in his bath and I slept in the bath, I didn’t care where I slept.”
The aptly-named ‘Showboat’ pub in Waterford city was where celebrations resumed the next day, with Mullane having no hesitation in sharing his winnings with all and sundry before forking out for a hefty tab.
“The place was packed, I was living in the moment and I put a tab on so everyone and anyone in the place was getting a drink – and I think it came in around €1,000, so I told Leon Tracey (barman) to call off the tab,” he says.
“I told him to hold onto the rest of the money and that I’d be back to collect it Friday. I was young, I didn’t care. We were after winning Munster, the feel-good factor was there – it was the height of the Celtic Tiger, and I just went with it.”
Munster rivals Clare would turn Waterford’s cheers into tears in the All-Ireland semi-final six weeks later in Croke Park, with Mullane insisting that the they “just couldn’t get the logistics” right when playing in GAA HQ.
Lining out in Thurles was a different story, though, and he is adamant that the iconic Waterford side featuring other gifted hurlers like Paul Flynn and Dan Shanahan would have lifted Liam MacCarthy had the All-Ireland series been played in Semple Stadium.
“We just couldn’t get the logistics right and that was long before it became a motorway the whole way up like it is now, you’d do it in an hour and a half now. Waterford to Dublin back then, you were talking three hours and longer for the lads coming down from the west.
“We tried everything, we went up the night before but lads struggled with that, and didn’t get a proper night’s sleep. We tried flying up, the flight was cancelled one time from Waterford Airport (2004 All-Ireland semi-final), the weather was absolutely atrocious and it got cancelled.
“We ended up getting the train up, but we just couldn’t get the logistics right, in contrast to Thurles which was like a second home to us. Thurles to us was like Croke Park to Kilkenny, we were comfortable in our surroundings.
“The logistics were spot on when we were playing there. We had an incredible record in Thurles and we toppled some big teams there. I think if the All-Ireland series was in Thurles that we may have got over the line.”
Read John Mullane’s story and that of 29 other Déise legends in ‘Waterford: Game of my Life’ where the county’s greatest hurlers remember the game that will live with them forever. Written by Tomás McCarthy, published by Hero Books (www.herobooks.digital) and available to purchase for €20 online and at all good book stores.
