What About Chris Nolan? A lot about Chris Nolan!
Chris Nolan, with his brothers Kyle, Jon and Jamie, with the Willie O'Connor Cup. Photo: Pat Ahern
We’ll start off this week by giving regular readers a sense of Déjà vu?! That is we will paraphrase a couple of paragraphs from last week's column.
“Chris Nolan, what about Chris? Yes, yes, I can hear the Rangers readers demanding Chris Nolan’s figures. However, due to deadline demands and the slow nature of compiling such figures, Chris’ doubtless impressive returns will have to wait until next week.
What was carried last week was the citation penned on Chris’ elevation to ‘Hurler of the Year’ in 2025. “The sporting mantra ‘Big players perform on the big day’ could have been coined with Chris Nolan in mind. The last five times Mount Leinster Rangers won the SHC who was their scoring ace in the county final, who went home with the ‘man of the match’ award? Yes, Chris Nolan. In 2018, 2020. ’21, ’23 and ’25 Chris rifled over scores from impossible angles, made angles for himself with his sorcery and his locating of the net is a combination of power and panache. And the good news is there is plenty more to come from this wizard of the ash.” Plenty more to come from this wizard of the ash? Yes indeed, a high quality 3-6 in yet another county final winning man of the match display. Before we honour our above promise and furnish the Rangers sharpshooter’s stunning scoring returns, let’s first go on a little fact-finding train journey …
A Sunday morning in mid-April 2014, just a month after Mount Leinster Rangers St Patrick’s Day All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling final appearance in Croke Park and your scribe tipped up to Carlow Railway Station for the short trip to Kilkenny to watch the Rangers in action again. The last hurling trip to Kilkenny had taken place the previous December when the Ballymurphy/Rathanna/Borris brigade hurled up a storm to shock Wexford’s Oulart-The Ballagh in a memorable Leinster final in Nowlan Park, Nowlan Park, though, wasn’t the destination this April Sunday morning. Well not at first anyway. Ballyhale Shamrocks and Clara were playing in Kilkenny GAA headquarters in the opening round of the county senior hurling championship and the lure of seeing ace marksmen Henry Shefflin and TJ Reid in club action ensured my presence in the Marble City.
The ‘Kilkenny People’ in their fixtures section that week signposted the opening round of the county U-16 Hurling League and this was of particular interest because the word was out that Mount Leinster Rangers would not only be participating but the ambitious South Carlow club would be competing in Roinn A, the top tier in the most successful of top tier hurling counties. Their opening match was originally scheduled for Friday evening away to O’Loughlin Gaels – the Rangers had to play all their games away – but to my delight was switched to Sunday morning, a high noon start in St John’s Park, just across the road from Nowlan Park.
This particular group of Rangers juveniles had dominated Carlow U-12, U-14 and U-16 hurling championships, harvested all titles but taking on the Cats crème de la crème appeared a huge challenge. Yes Carlow adult hurling teams had been playing in Kilkenny leagues for a good few years and, yes, the Rangers themselves had benefitted greatly from their black and amber travels, enjoyed title successes too, but those successes were at Junior level, tier 3 behind intermediate and senior.
It was with a little trepidation then that I made my way from Kilkenny train station to St John’s Park but what unfolded was to write yet another memorable day into the hurling diary. No, the Rangers didn’t win. In fact they were beaten 4-15 to 0-12 on O’Loughlin Gaels second pitch situated in the far corner of the club grounds. The final score was not a fair reflection on the Rangers efforts, the goals giving the home side a bit of a cushion.
On the points front the red and black clad Rangers matched their highly rated opponents stroke for stroke. Or rather in the flag-raising department Chris Nolan did. Left-handed, right handed, on the run, narrow angles, long range Nolan sent the sliotar soaring over the bar. He scored all bar a point of the Rangers tally. Having had a brief chat with Rangers mentors Christy Kealy and John Coleman, I left John’s Park a happy man, happy in the knowledge Carlow had a future star and that nothing Henry or TJ would produce across the way in Nowlan Park could match Chris’ tour de force.
It wasn’t my first time comparing Chris and Henry?! Rewind four years to 2010, the Carlow U-12 Hurling Championship final, Mount Leinster Rangers beating Ballinkillen 1-10 to 1-5 and my match report read:
Sound familiar? Yes, sixteen years on, grown from child to man, Chris Nolan is still replicating the stickwork and footwork of his youth. Mind you, while in the 16 years since that U-12 final, the Rangers raider has netted many, many goals, would you believe that that goal from a free in that 2010 U-12 final was to remain his only goal from a placed ball in a county final until he netted that early penalty in last Saturday night’s floodlit senior final. And would you believe that that successful penalty conversion at the Deerpark end of Netwatch Cullen Park was his first green flag from a placed ball in the Carlow Senior Hurling Championship?!
Since making his Carlow SHC debut as a 49th minute sub for Eddie Coady in the 2015 SHC final defeat to St Mullins, Chris Nolan, who marked his debut with a trademark point from play, has played 52 games in Rangers red and black, his 3-6 last Saturday bringing his championship tally to a smashing 23-255, a points total, goals and points combined, of 324, a healthy match average of 6.23. A staggering 22-140 (206) of Chris tally has come from play, a massive match average of 3.96. His placed ball return comes in at 1-115, a match average of 2.26.
But for two wayward frees last weekend Chris Nolan would have leap-frogged Eamonn Long (5-1 in 1963) and Denis Murphy (1-13 in 2019) as the man with the highest individual tally in a county final. Chris, in 12 SHC final appearances has now accumulated 8-58 (82), 7-42 (63) from play, 1-16 from placed balls.
What you ask does this second Chris tally refer to? Well it’s his terrific return from 28 county hurling finals with Mount Leinster Rangers! Chris opened his account in the 2008 U-12 decider when as a 10 year-old against Ballinkillen we read of Chris’s Crackers: A poachers goal to start the day - catch on the hop, strike, net; a magician’s goal to end the day – lift, solo, catch, solo, catch, solo, strike off the stick, net.
Sound familiar?! In 3 U-12 finals Chris scored 3-10 (2-7 play, 1-3 frees), 3-10 was again his tally at U-14 level when in two finals he scored 3-8 from play, 0-2 from frees. In two U-16 finals Chris notched up 2-10 (2-4 from play, 0-6 placed balls) which brought his juvenile finals total to 8-30, 7-19 from play, 1-11 from frees. His medal haul was seven (3 U-12, 2 U-14, 2 U-16) At minor level 4 finals, 4 wins, a scoring return of 4-14 (4-10 from play), U-21 three finals, three wins, 1-17 scored (1-6 from play). He played one year intermediate with Rangers second team, contested the final, beating Naomh Eoin in a replay, Chris scoring 0-15 over the two days (0-2 from play, 0-13 frees). Add those figures to his senior final returns and in 28 finals Chris Nolan has scored 21-134, 19-79 (136) from play, 2-55 (61) from placed balls.
Lovely hurling!
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