County senior hurling championship

[leinsterman]

64 and Kemo Sabe, Ye are conspicuous by yer absence since last year, (glad to see ye are back with chips on shoulders intact!) Enough of this anti town nonsense, on all form since the Leinster final last year, ye had shown nothing so Birr were again rightly seen as favourites.
First of all well done to Tullamore, an excellent and well deseved win against a Birr team who looked a pale shadow of the outfit from 2/3 years ago.
Tullamore out fought and outplayed Birr especially in the last 20 minutes. Tullamore backs were great, midfield for the last 15 mins, and up front Dooley got some great scores, Francie hit 2 good points but elsewhere tey struggled for scores.
However looking at the other quarter final (KKv Clareen),it appears one or 2 scoring forwards is now the norm in Offaly hurling.
Where to now? A battle against KK who despite being limited themselves, have every motivation after last years defeat to the Blues. But I think Tullamore wil be too strong for them, especially with Daniel Currms coming off injured at half time after offering nothing in the first half. Healion tried hard and won some great ball, but couldnt hit a barn door. In defence and midfield KK were very impressive. Clareen will be very disappointed, they struggled in the forwards, and Joe Bergin played in fits and starts, (his 2 attempts at goals from frees were brutal).
All in all the standard to me was poor, (albeit, the weather was difficult) and for Joe Dooley looking on, the few highlights was his son's performance,Stephen Egan (and young Carroll from Clareen, and Conor Mahon) ,Slevin was also good from the frees. Nothing in Birr at all.

However I have a limited knowledge of hurling so feel free to tear my ltd analysis assunder!!

to say theres nothing in Birr shows how much you know about hurling

[kinnittyman]

I wentm to all four quarter finals this weekend and the fare on offer was fairly mediocre.

K/K and Clareen in my opinion was the worst of the four games. While conditions were terrible it didn't excuse all the poor striking and fumbling that was prevalent through the game. Conor Mahon's return is a huge positive for K/K and his ability to
break the tackle is top class. Scored a great point too. That game came a year too soon for Clareen but on that performance K/K would have to step it up to win the championship. Their ability in the air really stood to them but at this stage Trevor Fletcher is a one trick pony.

The second game was a much better contest and Tullamore after fortunately weathering the early storm thoroughly deserved their victory. Obviously Birr made a huge error hurling Rory Hanniffy centre back but Tullamore could only beat the team that was set out in front of them. Six excellent backs, a good midifeld and one fantastic forward-will it be eonough to make it two in a row?? It just could be!!

Coolderry were undoubtedly the weekends stand out performers and the game against Shinrone was realistically over after 5 minutes when they led 2-03 to 0-00. Damien Murray had a blinding opening 20 minutes but was nowhere to be seen after that as Darren Crean(??) nullified him. Shinrone got the placing of their team terribly wrong and only when they moved Del Morkam to 5 and his brother Mark to 6 did they improve. Coolderry fouled constantly in the second half and in a tighter game that might come back to haunt them. Michaael Cordial scored 0-12, 0-04 from play and gave Brian Carroll the run around for the 50 minutes Coolderry left him on Cordial. Having said that, with a half back line of Kevin Brady, Joe Brady, and Alan Corcoran it's still Coolderry's championship to lose.

[1964]

was at the kk vs clareen match too was expecting alot more out of clareen the wet sod prob did not suit them. kk outmuscled them. joe bergin should have tapped the last free he had over the bar cause the ref played at least another 2 mins they could have got another point but kk deserved it in fairness. wont be much in it in the semi final wit the blues they will be out for revenge i obviously think and hope tullamore will win especially with a few more lads back from suspension too but it wont be easy at all would be happy to grind out another result. coolderry should win the other one but ya never know kinnity could turn them over. think its wide open again no real clear favourite.

[Georgio1]

I suppose Leinsterman I meant to say that Birr have nothing new to offer, (Mullins, Cleary, Rory, Sean Ryan aside). Even Verney, cant see how he is picked for the county. Dylan Hayden as usual went missing when the heat was turned up and hit a couple of brutal wides at vital stages. I am shocked at how far back Birr have gone, and I say that with the utmost respect as a man who travelled to many's a club game in Offaly to watch them and all over the Country from Ennis to Cushendall.

The point from the quarter finals is this, we need every club working hard to ensure we can progress as a county, and looking at the standard of hurling, I cant see forward play being developed at all. I have my own reservations about Dooley as a manager, but given what I saw so far this year, he is working with very limited material.

[leinsterman]

Heres some of the reasons why Birr have gone back Gary Cahill, Joe Erritty, Niall Claffey,Donal Franks, Johnny and Declan Pilkington,
Daithi Regan, Liam Power, Paul o' mera, have never been replaced since they left add in the three Whelahans that their best days
are behind them would be some off the reasons Birr have slipped back.

Club is not like the county you only picked whats in the club Birr have been knocking around the club scene since 1988 or 89
so its unfair to think they should be there for ever they went from 1971 to 1991 without a title before .

as Pa joe said a few years ago after beating Shamrock's in nowlan park that the day will come when Birr will go for a while again
and that seems like it will happen after tullamore beat us for the second year in a row and fair play to tullamore they were well
worth their wins in the last two year's.

But that shows you how far Birr have gone back no disrespect to tullamore but the Birr team of 7 or 8 year's ago would have that tullamore
team beaten after 20 minutes as i said well done to tullamore its there time now and enjoy it.

maybe their is a change in offaly hurling its hard to beleave that its 17 year's since the Banagher won the title in 1993 and what great hurlers
came out of that club and they haven't came back yet, as for Birr i hope it doesn't take us 20 years again to win one as 71to 91 before.

I remember coming out of tullamore last year when tullamore beat us and a lot of people were saying sure its better for offaly hurling
that Birr were beat and gone, the same people came out last saturday with worried faces saying its not good to see tullamore beating
Birr in hurling for the second year, well as i said ye got yer wish .

As a Birrman i think offaly hurling will be the poorer without a strong Birr team well i would say that been a Birrman lets hope we come back again
i know theres a lot of people glad to see Birr gone as i have heard them say they were bad for offaly hurling the funny thing about theses same
people they were at leinster and club all irelands with their offaly tops on them when Birr was it them funny that.

it will be a while before they see another one now that Birr have gone ???

[Lone Shark]

Obviously to say that it's good or bad for Offaly hurling for Birr to be beaten is a huge oversimplification of the situation. Birr dominating the scene and crushing everyone meaning that every other hurler comes in with an inferiority complex is not good, but what you're hoping for is other clubs coming up to meet them, not Birr dropping down the order. Of course some deterioration was likely in that you can't lose players of the calibre that Birr have shed in recent years without consequences, but it's unfair to compare their situation with that of most clubs.

Birr have a very good size pick, and for all the talk of losing players, this is still a team that provided the bulk of three under-21 championship winning teams in the last eight years. That's not the same as a club like Clareen or Lusmagh when they lose three or four top class players in one short spell. It's understandable that Birr should fall away in an All Ireland context, but if that club now goes twenty years without a Sean Robbins Cup with the talent at their disposal, then a lot of blame will fall on the club. I really can't see it coming to that though.

[Georgio1]

Fair point by Lone Shark. I understand Birr have lost talented players, but on paper that Birr team still looks quite strong.
What I was disappointed with was their level of ability. Birr have dropped back as opposed to others moving up to that level.
Can understand how people thought it was good for hurling, and it was last year , to see Tullamore win. The crowd, the buzz around county final day was really special. What we need to see now is an apprieciation of how the standard is dropping back, and an increased focus to ensure that the likes of Tullamore build on that Senior success at underage level. As a neutral you always like to see new names competing , and in fairness the hurling championship is wide open now.

What is painfully obvious though is that the club chmpionship as it exists is not providing players with the challenge they need to get into a quarter final, and I would think a lot of clubs have only been training hard since May?
Strangely enough a fella said to me that it was great for hurling to see Birr beaten, I asked why, and he could give no valid reason. Tullamore delivered a determined workmanlike performance, and this was enough to see them through, they had shown nothing in the group stages, ditto last year. Not sour grapes against the Blues, but just a question, what relevance have the group stages? IMO , its just to whittle out the relegation candidates, who have to scrap all the way. This will not improve hurling.

[corner back]

Fair point by Lone Shark. I understand Birr have lost talented players, but on paper that Birr team still looks quite strong.
What I was disappointed with was their level of ability. Birr have dropped back as opposed to others moving up to that level.
Can understand how people thought it was good for hurling, and it was last year , to see Tullamore win. The crowd, the buzz around county final day was really special. What we need to see now is an apprieciation of how the standard is dropping back, and an increased focus to ensure that the likes of Tullamore build on that Senior success at underage level. As a neutral you always like to see new names competing , and in fairness the hurling championship is wide open now.

What is painfully obvious though is that the club chmpionship as it exists is not providing players with the challenge they need to get into a quarter final, and I would think a lot of clubs have only been training hard since May?
Strangely enough a fella said to me that it was great for hurling to see Birr beaten, I asked why, and he could give no valid reason. Tullamore delivered a determined workmanlike performance, and this was enough to see them through, they had shown nothing in the group stages, ditto last year. Not sour grapes against the Blues, but just a question, what relevance have the group stages? IMO , its just to whittle out the relegation candidates, who have to scrap all the way. This will not improve hurling.

What would you do to improve the structure? I think they have it about as good as it can be. I'd hate to see the return to 4 team groups where hurlers might only get 3 proper club games per year.

[leinsterman]

I think a lot of the problems with Birr senior team over the last two year's is that theres a lot of player's with county and leinster club medals
and they won them as young player's when Birr were at there peak. But when the likes of johnny p and joe Eritty and Sid, gary cahill, Declan Pilkington
have went the lads that won county title's as young chaps Don't have the hurling to bring futher titles to the club as we have seen over the last two year's.

[corner back]

Niall Claffey,

Has Niall Claffey finished hurling

[leinsterman]

Niall Claffey,

Has Niall Claffey finished hurling

yes this is his second year gone claf was a great bit of stuff but he gave Birr great service since 1997 to 08

[kinnittyman]

Two groups of 6, top 3 go through as I advocated last year. Group winners into semis and 2nd play 3rd in quarters. 5th and 6th into relegation. 4th are out. Group games have a relevance then.

[Lone Shark]

Two groups of 6, top 3 go through as I advocated last year. Group winners into semis and 2nd play 3rd in quarters. 5th and 6th into relegation. 4th are out. Group games have a relevance then.

Agree completely. There's no sense in the farcical situation that we had this year where only one of the final round fixtures had any relevance whatsoever.

[leinsterman]

lads its not the way the championship has been played or group's the bottom line is the standard of hurling in the county is Brutal
i don't mind the way it is run at the moment most teams get 4 or 5 games which is not a bad thing.

people say that tullamore won last year and lost a few games the same this year seir kierans beat them bye 22 points and they are in the semil and clareen
are gone well thats the way it goes. the thing i would be asking is how a team like my club Birr go through the group winning all their games in the group
and then fail to turn up the semil final thats what i would be asking.

[Lone Shark]

lads its not the way the championship has been played or group's the bottom line is the standard of hurling in the county is Brutal
i don't mind the way it is run at the moment most teams get 4 or 5 games which is not a bad thing.

people say that tullamore won last year and lost a few games the same this year seir kierans beat them bye 22 points and they are in the semil and clareen
are gone well thats the way it goes. the thing i would be asking is how a team like my club Birr go through the group winning all their games in the group
and then fail to turn up the semil final thats what i would be asking.

Most teams get 4 or 5 games but they are games of a league standard due to there being so little at stake. There's no advantage to that.