Pauric Mahony: Waterford SHC is certainly alive and healthyThe Déise kingpins earned their 13th title on the trot last weekend. Wed, 02 Sep, 2026 – 04:30Stephen Barry
Pauric Mahony says the victories keep getting sweeter for Ballygunner after overcoming their “most disjointed preparation ever” to win a 13th consecutive county title.
Thirty years ago, Mahony, then aged 4, was the team mascot as his father, Mick, scored a hat-trick in the Gunners’ fifth-ever county final triumph.
Three decades later, Mahony has collected his 15th county title. He has played a part in 60% of Ballygunner’s 25 titles.
“As the years go on, the sweeter they get,” he said after their four-point victory over Fourmilewater.
“Ultimately, the reality is every year teams are coming out to take Ballygunner down. There’s pressure with that as well. The one thing we do pride ourselves on is that we take nothing for granted.”
Their preparation gave them extra reason to be on guard. Mahony wasn’t fit to start the Waterford kingpins’ semi-final against De La Salle. Dessie Hutchinson and Patrick Fitzgerald missed out altogether.
“We probably had the most disjointed preparation we’ve ever had,” said Mahony. “The group has probably been tested more than ever in the last 4-6 weeks.
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“It was the first day we had bodies back, a full deck to pick from. Some lads had no preparation coming in. Some lads had very little preparation.
“Dessie had an unstructured preparation. Patrick Fitzgerald has been really unfortunate over the last seven or eight months with his hamstring injuries. A few others as well. Harry Ruddle has come back from injuries. There’s a few playing with injuries.
“Even if you look back at what was happening us 5-6 weeks ago with the two teams playing senior and all that, it was difficult to manage and there’s no point in saying it wasn’t.
“It was a credit to everyone that was involved in both set-ups where they gave up weekends after weekends. Trying to balance training nights around because one team could be playing on a Friday and one could be playing on a Sunday. It was difficult to manage and it makes it all the sweeter.”
The manner of Ballygunner’s victory, firing the last 1-4 to overhaul a three-point Fourmilewater lead, emphasised the health of the championship for Mahony.
“Sometimes you have to win ugly,” he said. “We’ve had to do it many different ways over the last number of years to get over the line here in Waterford.
“This is our bread and butter in terms of what we go after every year. It’s the county championship.
“There might be a perception out there that whatever it is in a row now, 13 in a row… for us, that means nothing. We are facing serious teams.
“It might be contrary to what the outside might think, but the Waterford Championship is certainly alive and healthy, and there’s plenty of good teams there.”
Mahony credited performance coach Shane O’Sullivan, himself a 14-time Waterford SHC winner, for ensuring that Ballygunner kept plugging away to the very end.
“Myself and (younger brother) Kevin both had two really bad wides there. Really bad now. I’m sure we’ll be paying the price for them the next few days with lads getting on to us.
“When those moments are going against you, you wonder, is today going to be one of those days?
“In fairness, Peter Hogan said it about Shane O’Sullivan; he’s been a stalwart on the pitch for a number of years. Now he’s helping out on the mindset side of things.
“We’ve seen it in the past. We’ve had many games that have gone right down the wire and a puck of the ball either way. Ultimately, you’re either out on top or you’re going home and you’re packing your bags. That’s what he’s been driving into us. You stick to the process, you have a game plan, you try and execute, and you do it from minute one to minute 65.”
Referencing the break until their Munster semi-final against the Limerick champions on November 15th, Mahony concluded: “Really, the next couple of weeks is about trying to get the bodies right and then back down to earth fairly lively to ramp it up again for the Munster Club.”
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