The ESB man who's the power behind Shannon RFC's success

Success at any level of sport is always the goal for individuals or teams. It's the constant barrier that ensures sportsmen and women continue in their personal drive and ambition. What ensures success for these people is determination, commitment and an unstinting desire to consistently push themselves beyond their perceived limits. Apart from individual aspirations, perhaps the single biggest constituent in success is the support and encouragement from those around you.

The coaches, the managers, the back-up of a committed team and of course family and friends are as intricate to success as individual goals. Shannon RFC has each of those qualities in abundance. The recently crowned AIB All-Ireland league champions have constantly strived for further success, despite continuing to be the foremost rugby club in Ireland.

A huge contributing factor to Shannon's success in recent years has been their senior team manager and ESB Ardnacrusha employee Niall Cowhey. From a family steeped in the history and ethos of Shannon, Niall has been involved as a player and then in team management from a very young age.

Numerous underage achievements preceded his adult playing career, where he regularly lined out with the senior XV. Upon his retirement from active participation, he was never going to be a passive spectator and threw himself wholeheartedly into the backroom of many teams.

He quickly established himself as an integral part of Shannon's senior team backroom staff in the late 90s. His initial role as Team Secretary was a very much a hands-on role and his first taste of success as part of that set up came in the season 1999/2000 when Shannon won the Munster senior cup for the 12th occasion. It was the first of a phenomenal and unprecedented seven successive Munster Senior Cup titles, but that was only a taste of things to come. Niall slotted into the position of Assistant Manager and his liaison with the players was a vital component in the wellbeing of the squad.

The AIB league is the ultimate goal for Shannon and with Niall's heavy influence, Shannon regained the trophy they had won on four previous occasions in 2002 and in 2004. After the 2004 triumph, Niall took up the arduous role of Team Manager and with it the enormous responsibility that goes with coordinating various facets of a successful club side.

Attention to detail is perhaps one of Niall's strongest attributes and an apparent inconsequential aspect of Shannon's match preparation is meticulously attended to. The benefits to Shannon's aspirations for further success were tangible as they went on to record a further two successive AIB league titles under the stewardship of Niall and of course, coach Mick Galwey.

Niall has been a member of staff at ESB at Ardnacrusha for the last 18 years and his achievements for Shannon RFC are celebrated widely amongst his work colleagues.

Married to Catherine, with one son, Paul (13), Niall is the embodiment of the philosophy that Shannon RFC and indeed the ESB strive for. Few can match his loyalty, drive and selfless commitment to others. Shannon RFC and the ESB are fortunate to have him.