who will be offaly senior hurling winner's 2010

[leinsterman]

Well lad's the championship is just around corner will tullamore hold on to their title this year or will my own club
birr come back. coolderry are still a good side, then you have kk will they come back after another county final lost.
you also have seir kieran's who are a year older some good young hurler's coming up.

as for st.rynaghs they have won alot in underage the last few year's but seem to get in hard to come back to the top again.
as for my club birr we are at a crossroad this year, still have a very good team even doe we have alot of hurling done over
the last ten year's. i think paul murphy will freshen things up this year paul has prove himself bye winning two titles in laois
with rathdowney-errill.

with the five county men and young player's like barry harding, darragh molloy, plus the likes of claffey and jp omera stephen browne
sean ryan, birr still have one of the best sides not only in offaly but leinster. i think if birr put in a effort and under paul murphy they
could come out of offaly handy enough. anyone else from other club's would like to have their say on this.

[backofthenet]

I think this year could be one of the more competitive championships in the last decade.

Birr are always going to be a threat with the experience they have. Im not sure if some of the players are just a bit too long in the tooth. Brian Whelan legend that he is just doesnt have the legs anymore. Gary Hanniffy is traveling from Cork i believe? So it will get tougher and tougher to travel the two hours home twice a week. I think if they make it to the final id fancy them.

Coolderry i think are certainly capable of winning the championship, but they have been capable for the last 5-6 years since they won their last one in '04, if talent alone won championships theyd surely have one or two more in the cabinet. But their capitulation against KK last year and other teams like Kinnitty in previous years proves that they lack the belief to dig out results when they are up against it. They still need a free scoring forward or two but their my second favourites.

Kilcoramac are my third favourites, they have never won a senior championship, and if they can keep this side together for the next few years ive no doubt they will, They like Coolderry need to rise for the big occasion and will feel they left one behind them last year.

Tullamore, I really dont fancy them to retain their crown, they are a decent side but a little too over reliant on shane dooley and kevin martin in my opinion. They were beaten by Coolderry by 11 points last year but went on to win the championship, i feel they caught Birr and KK on the hop last year, this year all teams will be ready for them.

Lastly Clareen, Ive been really impressed with them in the last year or two, they are young, possibly too young, but they are gutsy and never give up. I can see championships heading sier kierans way in the near future, they are a small club in terms of pick, but they utilise every able body they have, they have a great team spirit, and if they get to a semi final or a final they will fight for 70 minutes for every ball.

My favourites are birr followed by Coolderry & KK, I think Tullamore and Clareen are just shy of the pace for a final but will give a good account of themselves in a semi final.

[kinnittyman]

Have to agree with back of the net regarding the competitive nature of this years championship where at a stretch 7 teams could really fancy their chances. Those being Birr, Coolderry, St Rynaghs, Kinnitty, K/K, Seir Keiran and on the basis of last years championship Tullamore.

However if we narrow it down on the following basis we may be left with 4:

Tullamore however much we dress it up are hugely unlikely to retain championship simply because every team will be seriously gunning for them. A good man marker on Shane Dooley and the scores will dry up.

St Rynaghs have no form line at Senior level in the last few years to show that they are ready to make a sustained challenge.

Seir Kieran are just too young at the moment. While no club will utilise underage success better, I feel at the moment they are just too young and light to overcome all the more seasoned teams in the one year. Guaranteed Quarter Finalists though.

So that leaves us with Birr, Coolderry, K/K and Kinnitty.

All these teams don't really needed to be elaborated on as the dog on the street knows their strenghts and weaknessess but at this early stage if I had to pick one I would go for K/K to make amends for the one they made a mess of last year.

[Bord na Mona man]

Other teams shouldn't fear Birr as much, having seen Tullamore dispose of them last year.
For the last few years teams were probably already beaten in their own minds before they took the field against Birr.

Tullamore pulled the rug from under a few clubs last year when they snatched the title. As in they were down the pecking order of challengers in waiting.
I'd expect the likes of Kinnitty, Coolderry, K/K etc to now be fired up with a bit more belief and also a bit peeved that they were jumped by a club they would have felt they had the edge on.

[leinsterman]

Other teams shouldn't fear Birr as much, having seen Tullamore dispose of them last year.
For the last few years teams were probably already beaten in their own minds before they took the field against Birr.

Tullamore pulled the rug from under a few clubs last year when they snatched the title. As in they were down the pecking order of challengers in waiting.
I'd expect the likes of Kinnitty, Coolderry, K/K etc to now be fired up with a bit more belief and also a bit peeved that they were jumped by a club they would have felt they had the edge on.

thats abit unfair on birr bord na mona man birr have been great champions in offaly and in leinster for the last 20 year's.
fair enough tullamore beat them last year but they went on to win it as well, so it took the winners to beat them.

as for saying teams were beating before they took the field well coolderry didn't, beat us in 04, drew in 06 and rynaghs always gave us
a hard game only a point or two in it with us. you can write birr off at your pearl this year, but if paul murphy gets the hunger back in
birr and the birr team have something to prove( not that they have) the pick of offaly won't beat them well as a birrman thats my opinion on it.

[corner back]

So that leaves us with Birr, Coolderry, K/K and Kinnitty.

All these teams don't really needed to be elaborated on as the dog on the street knows their strenghts and weaknessess but at this early stage if I had to pick one I would go for K/K to make amends for the one they made a mess of last year.

I think you might be blinded by loyalty to Kinnitty there. They haven't done much recently to be rated aheaad of Tullamore and Clareen. I agree that the other three may be ahead of the rest. I'll be interested to see how K/K go this year. It'll be tough for them after losing last year but they have the artillery to win the title. Birr probably still the team to beat.

[offalyman123]

i agree with birr, tullamore and coolderry there but i wouldnt agree with clareen...they have to many young players and aren't experienced enough. apart from joe bergin who has his days they don't have any other too class players....i think young eanna murphy is overrated i haven't seen him play great any match i have been to see.

[Plain of the Herbs]

First round fixtures have been posted on the official site. All bar one of those are on working days (Thursday and Friday) but I suppose there's minimal interference with the county team's preparation. Lord knows they need every session they can get. There's a quick turnaround for the under 21 hurlers from Coolderry and Clareen, Coolderry moreso as they're out on the Thursday evening.

Birr v K/K looks to be the stand-out tie. I can’t figure out why they are bringing ’Rynagh’s and Clareen to Tullamore on a working evening. Now maybe either side have players who are Dublin-based and Tullamore is a more accessible venue for those, but if they’ve just stuck a finger in the air and thought of Tullamore then bad marks.

Group 1
Tullamore v Coolderry, Thursday 22nd at Kilcormac
St. Rynagh’s v Seir Kieran, Friday 23rd at Tullamore
Brosna Gaels v Lusmagh, Friday 23rd at Moystown

Group 2
Kinnitty v Shinrone, Thursday 22nd at Carrig
Kilcormac/Killoughey v Birr, Friday 23rd at Rath
Shamrocks v Belmont, Saturday 24th at Tullamore

The matches on Thursday and Friday throw in at 7pm; Rahan v Belmont is at 6pm.

[ballinamereman1]

First round fixtures have been posted on the official site. All bar one of those are on working days (Thursday and Friday) but I suppose there's minimal interference with the county team's preparation. Lord knows they need every session they can get. There's a quick turnaround for the under 21 hurlers from Coolderry and Clareen, Coolderry moreso as they're out on the Thursday evening.

Birr v K/K looks to be the stand-out tie. I can’t figure out why they are bringing ’Rynagh’s and Clareen to Tullamore on a working evening. Now maybe either side have players who are Dublin-based and Tullamore is a more accessible venue for those, but if they’ve just stuck a finger in the air and thought of Tullamore then bad marks.

Group 1
Tullamore v Coolderry, Thursday 22nd at Kilcormac
St. Rynagh’s v Seir Kieran, Friday 23rd at Tullamore
Brosna Gaels v Lusmagh, Friday 23rd at Moystown

Group 2
Kinnitty v Shinrone, Thursday 22nd at Carrig
Kilcormac/Killoughey v Birr, Friday 23rd at Rath
Shamrocks v Belmont, Saturday 24th at Tullamore

The matches on Thursday and Friday throw in at 7pm; Rahan v Belmont is at 6pm.

nice few fixtures there.. tullamore v coolderry, rynaghs v clareen, and kk v birr will be real hum dingers..
then you would have brosna v lusmagh that will be good.. two evenly matched teams.. shamrocks and belmont usually throw up tight games could another one be on the cards.. havent really heard too much about the small ball around the ferbane area this year.. how are ye getting on themanfromferbane or lone shark..???

pity now some games are fixed for the thursday.. il be working and unfortunately wont make them.. whats the idea of this fixing games on week nights...??

[leinsterman]

Looking forward to the Birr and KK Match, its a pity it is on a week night but it was the same last year.
It will be interesting to see how birr will get on this year. The report from the camp is good the whelehan's are all back for
another year, Gary Hanniffy is back training already he is going to give it another year so we will have to see how it goe's.

The pick of group 1 will be tullamore and coolderry and the St. Rynaghs seir kierans will be a tight enough game as well.
Brosna Gaels will dip their toe's into senior hurling again Lusmagh its a tricky one for both teams .

[Plain of the Herbs]

I don’t normally talk up my native club but I feel compelled to do so on this occasion.

People who are writing Lusmagh off should remember that Lusmagh will likely field a back-six of Kevin, Brian & Ciarán Birmingham, David Moran, John Kelly and Rory Quinlan. Most neutral assessments would agree that defence as a unit is above average. Also, Eoin Kelly is one of the top goalkeepers in the county, is a fine shot-stopper and can puck out short and long, as required.

True, there are question marks over the attack though freetaking won’t be a problem with Gary Kelly (or David Hogan) on freetaking duty.

I had thought they might be better off facing Brosna Gaels in a later round, but now I think this is the ideal start for them. They’ve a chance to get an early boost with a win and with some momentum behind them may well take a scalp in the group.


Finally, I hear Coolderry beat Tullamore 1-15 to 1-12, having led 0-12 to 0-6 at half time, while Kinnitty beat Shinrone 1-10 to 1-8. anyone at either match feel free to comment on the evening's proceedings?

[allstar2010]

fair play POTH, very quick with the results... pity the Offaly GAA website wasn't a bit more up to date!!!

[Slieve Bloom Man]

As a Kinnitty man I was at the Kinnitty-Shinrone match, I'll try to be non biased, but not really possible. The game started off slowly and were 2pts each at about 10 min stage when Kinnitty corner back, Cathal Kealey was sent off. We felt it was a harsh call, thought yellow card would have been enough, he went to pull on high ball but caught his man on the hand. Kinnitty were playing into the scoring goal in the first half and the sending off seemed to wake Kinnitty up. For the next fifteen minutes Kinnitty were on top, while Shinrone left their full back as their free man. Shane Kinsella scored the Kinnitty goal and went 5 pts up. However Shinrone came back into it for the last five minutes and Sean Cleary scored a good goal for them on the stroke of half time. So the sides were 1-05 a piece at the break. Things did not look good for Kinnitty at half-time. However Kinnitty battled much harder than Shinrone in the second half and they also made no use of their extra man. Both sides hit some terrible wides and overall the hurling was very rusty. In the end Kinnitty deserved the victory, but we were all very relieved at the full-time whistle as Kinnitty had got out of jail. Kinnitty had a good few positional changes from last year and 2 of our best forwards could not start due to injury while Andy McRedmond is living and working in England this year. Odhran Kealey is still out and will prob miss Birr game, Steven Molloy did come on for the last few minutes. So overall, Kinnitty will be pleased to come away with a victory and to have battled so well, however a huge improvement will be needed against Birr next week. Shinrone will have to be very disappointed to have lost this, esp their half-time position. Offaly's best hurler in the league Del Morkam was placed at centre forward and went to wing forward in the second half, one would imagine he'd be better placed further back. Diggy Cordial hit a few good balls but was a long way off the player of a few years ago.

[ballinamereman1]

great win for ballinamere tonight.. great effort from the lads.. fantastic result wont go in to much detail about the match... just waiting for the TLS report..

[backofthenet]

I was at the Tullamore Coolderry match last night.

There was some good hurling in the game but the intensity was only in it near the finish.

The teams started tit for tat with Coolderry gaining the lead only for Tullamore to peg them back again, But Coolderry gradually eeked out a 6 pt advantage as the half wore on and missed one or two goal chances with Kevin Teehan and Cathal Parlon that would have finished the game before the break.

After the break Tullamore moved Shane Dooley out to the wing where he consequently got 2 - 3 very nice scores from tight angles. It was down to 4 when Barry Teehan went out for a ball right on the end line, he was robbed of possesion and the ball was finished to the net by his opponent.

This seemed to spark the game into life and both sides traded points when a high ball fell in the tullamore square, again a defender was robbed of possesion by eoin ryan who crossed to Martin Corcoran who finished high into the top corner of the net.

Again the sides traded points, most memorable Egan who soloed 50 yards up field before pointing. It was all too little too late as Coolderry held on to clinch the championship points.

Coolderry were missing a few for this game, Ray Murray had a broken finger so U21 keeper Stephen Corcoran deputised in the goal, Brian Kelly came in at corner back for Brendan O'Meara, David King at wing back got his championship debut off with a win. Overall they will be happy to win against the champions but there are still weaknesses in the forward line with only Martin Corcoran being a potential high ball winner they badly need another target man.

Tullamore will probably be a little dissapointed, they played well in patches but were overall too reliant on shane dooley and badly need another scoring threat up front if they are to reclaim their crown