2012 Leinster Club Championships

[clearhead]

Well well, an Offalyman answers a question (or slag in this case) about Offaly with a reference to a Kilkenny win. Quelle surprise!
I'm not a bif fan of Tipp's but when did Offaly bet them by, let's say, just one point.....??

[boomcha]

Well done to K/K on Sunday! I was at the last two Leinster finals, both at the same venue, and its great to see two different Offaly clubs as back to back Leinster Champs.

I fancied K/K to get to the Leinster final but to then get destroyed by whoever they met there. I saw them scrape over Shamrocks and its hard to believe the same team are Leinster Champs. Having said that, what a performance! Only McConville, for the first half only, looked in trouble.

Well done to Offaly Footballers on Sunday. They are doing serious training.

[Bord na Mona man]

Wait till we get k/k in the all Ireland semi.. Itll be a land slide victory for the cream of tipp!! remember the cream will always rise to the top.. k/k wouldnt even hold there own in junior b hurling in tipp.

1 out of 10 for effort anyway. Try less hook and more bait the next time!

[turk]

Wait till we get k/k in the all Ireland semi.. Itll be a land slide victory for the cream of tipp!! remember the cream will always rise to the top.. k/k wouldnt even hold there own in junior b hurling in tipp.

1 out of 10 for effort anyway. Try less hook and more bait the next time!

Agreed!! Dreadful INTERNETTING there!

[kingscounty]

i think its high time we changed the picture on here from coolderry 2011 champs to k/k 2012 champs , come on lads get the finger out

[KillougheyGoBragh]

i think its high time we changed the picture on here from coolderry 2011 champs to k/k 2012 champs , come on lads get the finger out

Yes that pic is soooo last year.

[DAF]

Theres a very obvious hurling bias by the site moderator. Why is there not a picture up of the new Fitzsimons cup winners?

[KillougheyGoBragh]

Great pic mods.
It was the worst of times..
Sadly we lost those that started the wheel rolling, those who in bringing together Kilcormac and Killoughey had in the words of Martin Luther King junior "been to the mountaintop" and "seen paradise" but sadly in hurling parlance did not tog-out 'with' us.
These salt of the Earth people were "for f*** sake hit it on the ground" type people but still they were visionaries who had a dream and planted the seeds that we now finally see blossom into the club of their wildest dreams but if only the 'old school' could see the fruition of their dreams training for an All-Ireland Club semi-final on a floodlit pitch in Mountbolus in the depths of winter, how proud would they be?
It was the best of times..
What a great year for our club, Kilcormac-Killoughey, in showing what hard, hard work, combined with an instilled self-belief and a never say die attitude for each other can achieve.
Our long dark night is over and after some false dawns we have won our first Senior Hurling County Championship and to add to this memorable feat we have won the Leinster Club Championship.
Well done, to all the SUPER K-K panel and back-room staff.
Heroes of our club and role-models to our future generations.
Dedication personified with their last game, the Leinster final, being their 137th get together of the campaign.
Young students travelling from Galway, Dublin and Limerick after college to train on a cold winters evening for two hours then travelling back again. Wives, girlfriends and family making alternative arrangements for this all consuming dedication to club.
The logistics behind running a club demands dedicated people organising these events, stealthily, without getting the applauds but non-the-less being a very important cog in the wheel.
The supporters from the parish, the county and beyond.
Also the media, this forum included, and the coverage they have given our game and its participants especially for those of us abroad who seek out an outlet that will keep us informed and closer to home and the things we love.
Deserved thanks.
Merry Christmas to one and all.

[lusmagh]

Great post Killoughey, and what a great day last Sunday was. If ever a club deserved adult success as a result of good underage work, it's K/K, and who knows where things could end up in this campaign!

From our own point of view, I'd like to thank everyone who supported us in our Leinster championship games. It was almost unbelievable to see the amount of people who travelled from all over the county and we were just sorry we couldn't bring back some silverware, but it wasn't for the want of trying. We lost out to a very good Thomastown team, who will be very hard stopped in their quest for an All-Ireland title. I know there were some comments on here about how badly it reflected on the county that the KK Junior champions beat our Intermediate champions but let me put things in perspective for anyone who doesn't follow things too closely. Thomastown and St Pats were the top two teams in the 2011 KK Junior championship and clashed in the quarter final, which St Pats won before going on to win the Junior Club All-Ireland. This year, St Pats reached the KK Intermediate final while Thomastown waltzed through the Junior championship. Given that they beat Ballyhale (minus just the 4 KK starters) in a challenge game 4 weeks before coming to Lusmagh, I think it's safe to assume that they'll compete well next year at Intermediate level and in time, our result with them will be shown in a more favourable light.

We're a parish of 500 odd with, due to injury and emigration (nobody ever just retires), just enough players for one adult team in 2012 and we're very very proud of what our lads achieved. As has been said by many, relegation could have led to us going one of two ways. Luckily, it was viewed as a challenge to embrace and has reinvigorated the club and parish and will, hopefully, make us more competitive at Senior level in 2013 and beyond than we were in the few years previous to our relegation.

Finally, well done to all teams who secured silverware in 2012 and best of luck to K/K as they go forward into the new year. On behalf of everyone involved in our club, let me wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and thank you for your support and good wishes throughout 2012.

[Plain of the Herbs]

KGB,

They know.

They were with ye every step. They gave the odd nudge here and there, gave the odd lad a little boost when he was struggling in training, swung the odd ball inside the post, inspired the odd lad to stretch an extra sinew, to guide Killian Leonard's late effort over the crossbar agianst Birr, helped settle things when they were hurling well but not scoring in the first half in the county Final, to assist Conor Slevin control that bobbly bastard of a ball in Nowlan Park.

You don't know it. You don't feel it. But they were there. Every step.

Give thanks.

Great pic mods.
It was the worst of times..
Sadly we lost those that started the wheel rolling, those who in bringing together Kilcormac and Killoughey had in the words of Martin Luther King junior "been to the mountaintop" and "seen paradise" but sadly in hurling parlance did not tog-out 'with' us.
These salt of the Earth people were "for f*** sake hit it on the ground" type people but still they were visionaries who had a dream and planted the seeds that we now finally see blossom into the club of their wildest dreams but if only the 'old school' could see the fruition of their dreams training for an All-Ireland Club semi-final on a floodlit pitch in Mountbolus in the depths of winter, how proud would they be?

[durra1]

“And I must pass Killoughey where great sportsmen are laid low”

You really get the feeling that the whole county are behind KK on this one.

In a way that you couldn't fully appreciate with Birr , Coolderry and Rynaghs (and that in no way qualifies the goodwill that those teams earned and enjoyed within the county on their Leinster and All Ireland circuits).

KKs central location on the small ball / large ball frontier is part of it but hurling people also remember all the great minor sides they produced in the nineties and all those promising minors who for many reasons didn’t kick on and become household names.

Congrats to all involved.

This question may be incendiary to some given his antics at the SCH final a few years back and with Offaly minor sides, can credit be given to Johnny Pilkington (and also Pad Joe Whelahan) for bringing a winning mentality up the N52?

You might be going a little man OTT in your praise of Gerry Russell POTH. A gentleman and a true Gael and a passionate man behind the mic there is no doubt. I too tuned into M103 and as always, parts of it was the hurling fans equivalent of blind man’s buff!

I have to say that the Gerrys line from Nowlan Park was the clearest I ever heard. Fair duce to Nowlan Park IT systems man!

[durra1]

llkj wrote: Lar Corbett is picking up Peter Healion in a man marking role.

..Classic ...

Muck Savage wrote: Tipp teams have won a lot of club AI's in the last 20 years so yer well use to it.


..Nail on the head MS. If anything inspires KK, that should.

[kingscounty]

K/K v Thurles Feb 9th Portlaoise at 2pm . Looking forward to it already , i hope K/K knuckle down after the xmas dinner and minds focused on beating them lot.

[timber]

It would be great to see KK follow Coolderry into another All Ireland final. I think it is fair that they are very much the underdogs and to be honest most of the country expect Thurles to win this one quiet easily. Thurles with the number of current and former county players at their disposal should really go on and win the All Ireland. I saw them against Sarsfields of Cork and De la Salle. They were impressive against Cork but I thought they were fortunate enough things went against De la Salle with them hitting the post and a couple of decent half goal chances scuppered. The sending off finished the game and Thurles eventually pulled away but De la Salle could have alot of "what if's".

Obviously Padraig Maher is seen as one of the key men for Thurles. He sweeps up alot of ball. And it would be easy to highlight this and try stop him from hurling. What I have noticed with him and I think Brian Cody has spotted it too, Maher is quiet loose. Even alot of club players will get a few scores off him. He was badly burned for a goal that De la Salle scored. KK will obviously want to try curb his influence but likewise should highlight his defensive frailties. He likes to drop back in front of the full back line and let them bat ball down to him to clear. He does that very well. But his man will have opportunities so lets hope this can be exploited and not aimlessly drop balls into him.

Of the four teams left in the competition, on paper Thurles are rightly favourites for the title. KK will have to work very hard. I hope they can give it a good rattle though as the likes of Corbett and Maher have been shown to be very human alot in recent times.

[manfromdelmonte]

I would agree that Maher is quite loose, but his positional sense is excellent and he will play a lot of ball once he is let

A very direct on player running at him would draw a few frees if you ask me