Hurling Championship

[kingscounty]

Has anyone managed to see any fixtures for next weekends hurling yet lads. From what I've heard, the Senior/Inter/Junior semi's are all going ahead but Offaly Co Board are obviously trying to keep it a secret for as long as possible!!

i think the junior hurling semi finals are on sunday week, dont know times and venues yet tho

[gunnerman]

Monday 10th September
Tullamore Court Hotel Junior B Football Championship Semi/Final
Tullamore v Durrow Walsh Island C Groome 8.00 pm Division 2 Hurling League
Ballyskenagh v Birr Ballyskenagh G Connors 6.45 pm
Division 3 Hurling League
Brosna Gaels v Ballinamere Doon S Fleming 6.45 pm
Seir Kieran v Raheen Clareen M Walsh 6.45 pm

Tuesday 11th September
Division 3 Football League
Daingean v Killeigh Daingean J McKeown 6.45 pm
Birr v Clara Birr N Flynn 6.45 pm
Gracefield v Clonmore Harps Gracefield C Groome 8.00 pm

Division 4 Football League
Clonbullogue v Durrow Clonbullogue C Costello 6.45 pm
Shannonbridge v St Brigids S/bridge M Walsh 6.45 pm
Durrow v Bracknagh Durrow E Dunne 6.45 pm

Wednesday 12th September
Minor Hurling Quarter/Final
Belmont v Seir Kieran Ballinamere B Gavin 6.30 pm

Saturday 15th September
Aidan Bracken Building Design Intermediate Hurling Semi/Final
Lusmagh v Coolderry Banagher M Kirwan 4.00 pm
St Rynaghs v Kilcormac/K Rath P Freeman 6.00 pm
Aidan Bracken Building Design Junior A Hurling Semi/Final
Killavilla v Shinrone Carraig M Walsh 5.00 pm
Aidan Bracken Building Design Junior B Hurling Semi/Final
Raheen v Gracefield Ballinamere B Gavin 5.00 pm
Minor Football Quarter/Finals
Ferbane v Rhode Og Durrow S Fleming 5.00 pm
Tullamore v St Vincents Geashill P Pierce 5.00 pm Clara v St Broughans Killeigh P Jordan 5.00 pm
Minor Football Shield Quarter/Finals
Edenderry v Shamrocks Daingean E Dunne 5.00 pm


Sunday 16th September
Aidan Bracken Building Design Senior Hurling Semi/Finals
Birr v Kilcormac/K O C P N Cooney 2.30 pm
St Rynaghs v Shinrone O C P B Gavin 4.00 pm
Aidan Bracken Building Design Junior A Hurling Semi/Final
Edenderry v Ballinamere Gracefield C Groome 12 noon
Aidan Bracken Building Design Junior B Hurling Semi/Final
Shamrocks v Kinnitty Rath D Cooke 12 noon
Division 1 Football League Semi/Finals
Tullamore v Clara Tubber D Brazil 12 noon
Rhode v Shamocks Walsh Island M Carty 12 noon
Division 2 Football League Semi/Finals
Gracefield v Durrow Geashill P Jordan 12 noon

Tuesday 18th September
Minor Football Shield Quarter/Finals
St Rynaghs v DER Gaels Tubber D Brazil 6.30 pm

[kingscounty]

good man gunnerman thats great

[kingscounty]

anyone any idea on when the hurling finals are fixed for lads?

[kinnittyman]

anyone any idea on when the hurling finals are fixed for lads?

Senior Final was supposed to be September 30th but with Galway vs Kilkenny replay on that weekend it's been pushed back until October 7th with football a week after.

[Plain of the Herbs]

No. The Senior hurling Final was always fixed for October 7th with the Senior football Final a week later (see the Master list). There was always going to be three weeks between the Senior hurling semi-finals and Final.

The Senior hurling champions are out in the club championship on 4th November, so I presume the 3 week gap between semis and Final is to bridge this gap. Lusmagh (as Intermediate representatives) play the Longford champions on 21st October, while Edenderry or Killavilla play on the Special Junior championship on 28th October.

The Senior football champions are out in Leinster two weeks after the County Final, on 28th October, so a County Final saga would pose difficulties. To that end, it makes no sense that the hurling would be a week ahead of the football the whole way through.

From the master list, it looks like the Minor final is the preferred curtain-raiser, and of the teams remaining this would only affect Shinrone, if they reached the Finals in both (K-K don't have any Minors hurling Senior, as far as I can make out; Shinrone have Damien Murphy). The Junior Final looks to be the second preferred option for a curtain-raiser, where, again, only Shinrone might have difficulty if they made the Final of both Senior and Junior.

I see the Senior football semi-finals were down for September 30th, so they will presumably be refixed.

Senior Final was supposed to be September 30th but with Galway vs Kilkenny replay on that weekend it's been pushed back until October 7th with football a week after.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Semi-final day. Four clubs aim to end hungers of varying degrees. Birr were finalists last year but haven’t won the Final for what (for them) is a relatively long time. KIlcormac-Killoughey have been finalists three times in the last decade but no-one alive remembers their last title win. St Rynagh’s haven’t been in the Final since 2001, haven’t brought the Cup home in 19 years and none of their team have played in a Final. Shinrone bring famine to new levels, only once reaching the Final and having departed Birr that 1960 Final day with regrets that are still felt to this day.


Birr v Kilcormac is a curious one with Birr producing none of the sublime but large quantities of the ridiculous this year. Birr’s current form makes it very difficult to see how they would win this. The pressure is all on K-K then, both to perform and to beat Birr for the first time in a long time.

K-K are unbeaten, though their form has been mixed, and hasn’t been hectic when they’ve been forced to go the distance, like when coming from behind to beat Brosna Gaels and Kinnitty. Still, they did pull through on each occasion. On the face of it their quarter-final win over Belmont was the easiest of the lot, but there are caveats there, despite the 20-odd point win. Chris Guinan, Ger Healion and Alan McConville form a formidable (on paper, at any rate) full-back line, but they were ripped asunder by Belmont’s pace during the first half – it’s not unreasonable to think that Belmont might have scored up to six goals at the Park Avenue End in that 30 minutes of hurling.

Here’s where Birr come in. Seán Ryan, Seán T O’Connor and Colm Mulrooney are pacy players. Ryan is stronger and more direct than David Cox or Alan Egan. You’d expect Ryan will also have a better supply of ball from outfield too, and that Birr’s half-forward line will keep out, giving Ryan, O’Connor and Mulrooney plenty of space. Granted, Ryan missed a host of scoring chances too, but the countyman seems more comfortable running straight at goal and shooting with a short grip than he does attempting a shot at goal on the turn, 50 yards out with both feet planted on the ground. An early Birr goal or two would make things very interesting.

Birr need a big one from Dylan Hayden. They also need to freshen up their attack with some changes. Tomás Bolger and Brendan Murphy might be just the job, but it’s a big ask to step in at this level against an imposing half-back line that contains Peter Healion and Brian Leonard. Bryan Lonergan will surely have a contribution to make. Simon Whelahan will need to keep Peter Healion occupied, but if the centre-back senses that the ball is coming his way, he can let Whelahan off while covering the centre himself. For that reason, Birr might be better served with Dylan Hayden at centre half-forward.

Some interesting match-ups at the other end too. How will Conor Mahon get on with Rory Hanniffy in direct opposition. If ten balls come between the pair, it’s conceivable that Hanniffy will claim eight of them, and make a fair proportion of them count at the other end. Paul Cleary has been hurling well at full-back and Daniel Currams is not dependable. Neither is James Gorman, who can either score four points or none at all. Chances are Brian Watkins will pick him up. Watkins’ stroke is terribly awkward, but if he can stop Gorman gaining possession his job is more-or-less done. You’d expect John Paul O’Meara to get the better of Trevor Fletcher in the other corner.

On the other hand, midfield looks to be to Kilcormac’s advantage. Ciarán Slevin and Damien Kilmartin form a good attacker/defender blend. Slevin is well able to find the posts from distance. Both will have an advantage in the air. Paul Molloy was one of Birr’s better performers in the quarter-finals, but that was in a ‘worker’ role, and isn’t going to turn any tides around, or rescue a deficit. Barry Whelahan’s insistence on hitting everything on the ground, and giving it away in the process, didn’t give the air of a confident hurler.

Hard to know, then, how it will pan out. The expectation fostered by a comprehensive (second half) quarter-final win when facing an experienced team who are out-of-form, is a hindrance. Despite recent travails Ger Healion is K-K’s best candidate for full-back. Still, the problems in that sector, identified by Belmont need to be dealt with, and these might possibly be ignored given the eventual nature of the quarter-final win. And Belmont’s complete lack of belief must be noted. On quarter-final evidence Birr could score two early goals and knock Kilcormac for six. If not, the longer Kilcormac stay in it, they will grow in stature. Very hard to know.



Up to recently a match between ’Rynagh’s and Shinrone would warrant a line or two, Shinrone would give it holly for a while but ’Rynagh’s would win the match. Then Shinrone went and beat an out-of-sorts St Rynagh’s last June, at the same time that Kilkenny were sorting out Dublin in Portlaoise.

Shinrone haven’t quite gone from strength to strength since then. Yes, they were mighty against Tullamore when grinding out a narrow win, but they were merely adequate against Belmont and had to come from behind, and resumed (for them) normal service when hurling well for a while against Birr but carried no belief in the second half and were well beaten (or as well beaten as you can be with a three point gap.

The quarter-final win over Clareen didn’t do much to aid figuring them out either. Shinrone seemed to be going through the motions in the first half while Joe Bergin dictated matters. Yet, three quick points late in the half saw Shinrone on level terms at half-time. Shinrone’s backs took over in the second half as they completely tied down the Clareen attach, Mark Morkan got the better of Joseph Bergin, and the Shinrone attack scored eight points without even looking dangerous.

Much of Shinrone’s difficulty lie in attack. They are all grand hurlers, but they don’t have an orthodox centre half-forward or full-forward available to them. Their attack seems to me to contain five wing-forwards, with Daniel Hoctor out of sorts at 11. The injured Hoctor was replaced at 11 by Seán Ormond for the quarter-final – not that mobile but a fair man to pull timber, Ormond doesn’t foul as much as he used to, and is probably the best candidate for centre half-forward now.

Dan Hoctor is better operating at midfield facing the goal – and if fit and available would be better at midfield. Funnily enough, Derek Morkan would serve them best if placed at wing-forward where he could secure possession under the puckout and take a score too.

The performance of the year so far was St Rynagh’s dismantling of Coolderry. Hunger is a great sauce, ’Rynagh’s were ravenous and Coolderry had no answer. There were a number of factors to this. Firstly, they picked the team the right way – Stephen Quirke and Ger Scales should have been lining out at corner-forwards all along anyway, Simon Lyons is a tenacious defender who was just the man for Brian Carroll, while Conor Hernon, Pat Camon and Niall Wynne were just the men for Kevin Connolly, Cathal Parlon and Eoin Ryan respectively. Coolderry’s forwards sunk without trace and ’Rynagh’s were halfway there.

It helped too that a number of men put their shoulder to the wheel. Ciarán Flannery, Gary Conneely and Gary Kelly reminded us of their potential with unspectacular but good solid performances, Diarmuid Horan took control around the midfield, Conor Clancy was his assured best in goals and Dermot Shortt gave a centre-back performance for the ages from centre half-back.

If doubts there are about Shinrone’s forwards’ ability to take ownership of games, there are no such reservations about their defence. Colin O’Meara and Denis Coonan have grown in stature as the year has evolved, both sticky corner-backs, O’Meara good going forward, Coonan solid facing his own goal. Willie Comerford has manned the square solidly. Joe Cleary was growing in stature prior to a hand injury – Shane McKelvey has fitted in seamlessly. Michael Cleary is possibly the most improved hurler in Offaly this year. Stylish Mark Morkan is the leader who inspires them in adversity.

Chances are St Rynagh’s won’t perform to the level they did against Coolderry. They were utterly dominant that day, operating on a totally different level to Coolderry with a totally different attitude to Coolderry. Shinrone will likely put up more of a resistance. After all, St Rynaghs’ was the most impressive quarter-final performance, Shinrone’s the second-best (ahead of Kilcormac’s as Shinrone encountered stiffer resistance from Clareen than Kilcormac did from Belmont, and Shinrone’s full-back line wasn’t ever carved open). Two very young teams, ’Rynagh’s had six U21s against Coolderry, Shinrone have regularly had seven all year. St Rynagh’s have the better forwards and have the potential to outscore Shinrone and for that reason they should advance to the Final in three weeks time.

[townman]

Best of luck to Birr on sunday with a bit of luck we could be in the county final this time sunday evening we have the players
to do it.

[joe bloggs]

Seems like everyone is afraid to comment on today's games in case they do a Joe canning on it.

Anyway I think KK might shade it in the first game. Birr would need to really up their quarter final performance, and it has to be said they have been poor by their standards all year. I actually have a feeling that KK will go all the way this year and lift Sean Robbins.

The second game sees two young teams go head to head and getting to the final will be very important in the long term development of both sides. If rynaghs repeat the form of two weeks ago it will see them home, however shinrone will not be afraid to face a team they already have defeated this year. I expect this to go down to the wire and I wouldn't rule out a draw

[kingscounty]

No. The Senior hurling Final was always fixed for October 7th with the Senior football Final a week later (see the Master list). There was always going to be three weeks between the Senior hurling semi-finals and Final.

The Senior hurling champions are out in the club championship on 4th November, so I presume the 3 week gap between semis and Final is to bridge this gap. Lusmagh (as Intermediate representatives) play the Longford champions on 21st October, while Edenderry or Killavilla play on the Special Junior championship on 28th October.

The Senior football champions are out in Leinster two weeks after the County Final, on 28th October, so a County Final saga would pose difficulties. To that end, it makes no sense that the hurling would be a week ahead of the football the whole way through.

From the master list, it looks like the Minor final is the preferred curtain-raiser, and of the teams remaining this would only affect Shinrone, if they reached the Finals in both (K-K don't have any Minors hurling Senior, as far as I can make out; Shinrone have Damien Murphy). The Junior Final looks to be the second preferred option for a curtain-raiser, where, again, only Shinrone might have difficulty if they made the Final of both Senior and Junior.

I see the Senior football semi-finals were down for September 30th, so they will presumably be refixed.

Senior Final was supposed to be September 30th but with Galway vs Kilkenny replay on that weekend it's been pushed back until October 7th with football a week after.

whats the story now POTH with the special junior championship is it edenderry or killavilla that will play in it?

[DAF]

Kilcormac /Killoughey 1-10 Birr 0-12
St Rynaghs 3-12 Shinrone 0-15

[kinnittyman]

After copious amounts of underage finals between St.Rynagh's and Kilcormac/Killoughey over the last number of years we now get to see them battle it out for the Senior crown. With the underage dominance they have had it was close to an inevitability that this would eventually happen.

Hard to know what way the final will go but at this early juncture I'd give a hesitant vote to St Rynagh's on the basis that their full forward line is a more threatening unit than K/K's.

[DAF]

I wonder will Trevor Fletcher score a point as good a point again. Unbelievably cool. It was like he had a pitching wedge

[Clontotan]

Intermediate Final fixed for next Sunday @ 1pm in OCP

[KillougheyGoBragh]

First post on here so take it easy lads!
I live in the UK but hail from... well ok... you have guessed that bit fro the username
Some terrific postings detailing vast knowledge of the hurling scene in the county being pencilled.
Many thanks to those that contribute it helps us that wish we could be there to watch.
Listened to Midlands Radio 3 on-line today for both semi-finals and heart-in-the-mouth for KK v's Birr match.
Booked flights for 7th October so will be there for the final.