Offaly Senior A Hurling Championship 2024

[faithfulfanatic]

Made it to Rynaghs v Tullamore this evening.

Poor enough fare, Rynaghs kept tullamore at arms length for most of the game. Conneely and Rigney stood out for me but they were never really troubled.

You would have to wonder with Tullamore. They are very dependent on Dooley who is in the twilight of his career and don't seem to producing too many of note where hurling is their priority. Offaly needs 'The Blues' to be churning out players each year for underage teams and it doesn't seem to be the case at all.

It wouldn't surprise me if we see a KK winning both Senior A and B this year (not too familiar with the junior scene), but the likes of Tullamore and Seir Kierans preservation in Senior A is only papering over the cracks.

I was at it and wouldn’t disagree too much much. Tullamore though will be disappointed with their wides tally and the amount of shots dropped short - shot selection was very poor and their striking and first touch was not as sharp as Rynaghs. Their forwards were poor simple as. Over reliant on Dooley frees. Ger Crowe was probably their best player at centre back. Cormac egan tried hard and it just wasn’t happening for him albeit he was well shackled by Ben.

Rynaghs had definitely the more dangerous forwards. Shane Rigney got 4 really good points and set up many others. Luke O’Connor, quirke, Cahill and scaly were all very good. Aaron Cahill looks a real prospect. Ben was excellent at 6 and thought mathew Maloney did well as did Joey in centre field.

But for all their efforts they couldn’t put Tullamore away and score was back to 3 points with with 10 minutes left or so. Only in last couple of minutes that they pulled away. Had lots of wides too.

Think that’s Aaron Molloy you mean, not Cahill?
Himself and Scully hurled well at 13 and 15.

9 points not a reflection of the game at all.
Agreed on Tullamore’s shooting, let them down big time.

[Doon Exile]

Made it to Rynaghs v Tullamore

Think that’s Aaron Molloy you mean, not Cahill?
Himself and Scully hurled well at 13 and 15.

9 points not a reflection of the game at all.
Agreed on Tullamore’s shooting, let them down big time.

Yes, sorry Aaron Molloy.

[Burgerball]

KK vs Seir Kieran

Clareen didn't hurl too bad, thanks mainly to Joe Bergin winning every sort of ball that was hit to him. But KK are on a different level to every other team in Offaly. Barring a miracle they'll be away to St Mullins in Dr Cullen Park on the 16th November. After a 3 month break you'd imagine KK will have too much for them. The semi final away to the Kilkenny champions the following weekend is what their Tipperary coach will be gearing them towards.

Ballinamere vs Shinrone

Good win for Ballinamere in a professional sort of performance. Shinrone struggled against them physically without K Sampson and the two Clearys.

Belmont vs Birr

An entertaining contest for a low scoring match and Birr probably deserved it in the end. Belmont have looked off the pace in this championship. Sloppy hurling wise and it's a pity to see them going back as they have been great competitors the last few years.

Ryanghs vs Tullamore

Ryanghs could have won this by 20 points if they didn't take their foot off the gas. Tullamore battled hard to be fair but similar to Belmont a number of their players touch and striking is not at the required standard. They'll be hoping KK win the Senior B.

Senior B

Lusmagh ensured this champ will go down to the wire after a win over Clodiagh Gaels who are surprisingly bottom of the group. Carrig will be happy with their win over Birr. Clara played some good stuff against KK and could be their biggest challenegers in this championship yet.

[frankthetank]

https://www.offalyexpress.ie/news/gaa/1 ... tages.html

Not quite sure why Kevin Corrigan references scoring difference would knock Seir Kieran out as things stand.

Championship regulations now state that if 3 or more teams are tied on the same points it’s the scoring difference in the games between those teams only that comes into play. It seems Kevin thinks the old scoring difference rules applied if 3 teams were tied on points.

This now only applies if 2 teams are tied on points and the match between them ended in a draw meaning no one has the head to head advantage. A long shot but this could still be the deciding factor between Birr and Ballinamere and/or Kinnitty and Shinrone.

[uibhfhaili72]

Made it to Rynaghs v Tullamore this evening.

Poor enough fare, Rynaghs kept tullamore at arms length for most of the game. Conneely and Rigney stood out for me but they were never really troubled.

You would have to wonder with Tullamore. They are very dependent on Dooley who is in the twilight of his career and don't seem to producing too many of note where hurling is their priority. Offaly needs 'The Blues' to be churning out players each year for underage teams and it doesn't seem to be the case at all.

It wouldn't surprise me if we see a KK winning both Senior A and B this year (not too familiar with the junior scene), but the likes of Tullamore and Seir Kierans preservation in Senior A is only papering over the cracks.

I was at it and wouldn’t disagree too much much. Tullamore though will be disappointed with their wides tally and the amount of shots dropped short - shot selection was very poor and their striking and first touch was not as sharp as Rynaghs. Their forwards were poor simple as. Over reliant on Dooley frees. Ger Crowe was probably their best player at centre back. Cormac egan tried hard and it just wasn’t happening for him albeit he was well shackled by Ben.

Rynaghs had definitely the more dangerous forwards. Shane Rigney got 4 really good points and set up many others. Luke O’Connor, quirke, Cahill and scaly were all very good. Aaron Cahill looks a real prospect. Ben was excellent at 6 and thought mathew Maloney did well as did Joey in centre field.

But for all their efforts they couldn’t put Tullamore away and score was back to 3 points with with 10 minutes left or so. Only in last couple of minutes that they pulled away. Had lots of wides too.

Score line definitely didn’t do Tullamore justice . We were the better team on the day and justified for our win but if Tullamore had been that bit sharper it could’ve been a totally different result . I can definitely remember stages in the 2nd half in particular where they had bad wides from the 65yrd line area that ultimately cost them . From a Rynaghs point of view finished them off from the 57th minute off and some really promising performances all around the field

[frankthetank]

SHC Round 5 Venue Roulette:

With all Senior A games throwing in simultaneously no Senior A venue will be available.

Belmont vs Shinrone - Carrig

Kinnitty vs Birr - Crinkle

Tullamore vs Seir Kieran - Killeigh

Kilcormac/Killoughey vs Coolderry - Rath

[Doon Exile]

SHC Round 5 Venue Roulette:

With all Senior A games throwing in simultaneously no Senior A venue will be available.

Belmont vs Shinrone - Carrig

Kinnitty vs Birr - Crinkle

Tullamore vs Seir Kieran - Killeigh

Kilcormac/Killoughey vs Coolderry - Rath

Come down to doon and we’ll look after ye.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Random thoughts for the weekend

I was impressed with St Rynagh’s against Tullamore. Not that they were stunningly brilliant – they weren’t – but there was a freshness and a sharpness about them. That’s an achievement for a team coming off the back of a -23 points hammering.

They got their matchups right in defence, gave their full-forward line ample space and delivered great ball. They scored points from their own puckouts as well as points from Tullamore’s puckouts during a dominant first 20 minutes. Shane Rigney, tall, rangey and good in the air, should be left in the half-forward line where he can win ball, take scores and cover ground. And nobody will be beating their forwards for pace, whatever else.

I don’t buy into the theory that Tullamore were anywhere close to winning it. They never made sufficient space for their forwards, their defence didn’t know where to stand for puckouts, and they were always chasing it. They haven’t beaten Coolderry since 1964’s semi-final and Coolderry nua should have enough on Saturday.


Sunday will probably be the last chance to see Ballinamere in competitive action until the semi-finals in five weeks time. It’s five years since they played Kinnitty, and they’ve kicked on since then. At their best, Ballinamere should overpower Kinnitty with their strength and movement and their forwards. Having Brian Duignan and Dan Bourke is one thing, but Aaron Murphy and John Murphy were lively against Belmont.

Kinnitty just don’t have that, in fact they’ve exceeded 15 white flags in just one of their last nine SHC games. Other hand,at a rough estimate (a guess), Ballinamere must have played about 25 suspect handpasses when beating Belmont and you’d hope Brian Gavin would blow at least one of them this time around just to put a stop to that kind of stuff.


Shinrone’s balloon hasn’t quite burst, but it’s been deflated somewhat. Capable of some brilliant hurling, they seem to have reverted to their pre 2022 inconsistency. They shouldn’t have not beaten Kinnitty, DJ McLoughlin is a useful addition, Paul Cleary seems to have kicked on but that nagging inconsistency remains. On the way up, probably their first significant win was over Kinnitty in 2011, now that wheel appears to have turned full circle.

Neither Sean Ryan or Emmet Nolan featured for Birr against Belmont, and they could do with them. Shinrone could do with Killian Sampson even moreso. And the half-back line of Watkins, Harding and Miller is a serious platform to feed the forwards and at least win frees for a 15 out of 16 shooter.

[KeshaWantsTimber]

Watching Clareen and Rynaghs on Clubber. Seems like every tackle is a free. Having watched Tipperary and KK club action recently it seems like this is reffed a lot softer. Not much actual play.

[frankthetank]

First group stage win for Clareen tonight in the SHC since the Summer of 2018.

In the last 3 seasons St Rynaghs have been beaten by Seir Kieran, drawn with Kinnitty and been beaten by K/K by 23 points. A golden generation coming to the natural end to their cycle it would seem.

That result should put Coolderry on high alert for tomorrow.

[allstar2010]

Some win for Clareen. Does that mean Rynaghs are gone if Clareen beat Tullamore and Coolderry win tomorrow too?

[Plain of the Herbs]

I don't believe it does. Firstly, three qualify. If the group finishes 8 4 4 4 0, am I right in thinking it is the record between the three tied teams that separates them? That being the case, Coolderry and Rynaghs have the superior scoring differences.

Some win for Clareen. Does that mean Rynaghs are gone if Clareen beat Tullamore and Coolderry win tomorrow too?

[allstar2010]

Yes, thanks for that. Forgot about the three way tie scoring diff is only among that 3.

[frankthetank]

So did Kevin Corrigan in his match report online.

[frankthetank]

A Clareen win over Tullamore and 2 Coolderry* wins would eliminate St Rynaghs.

*Coolderry play Kilcormac/Killoughey in the last game.

Things would get incredibly interesting if Tullamore win tomorrow. Would bring Clareen and Tullamore right back into Q-Final territory and drag Coolderry into serious bother.

However it's quite possible that Rynaghs, Coolderry and Clareen finish on 4 points. In that scenario Rynaghs place 2nd, Cooderry 3rd and Clareen 4th due to the results between them and the subsequent score difference:

St Rynaghs plus 6
Cooderry plus 2
Clareen minus 8

One thing is for certain now. Whoever meets St Rynaghs in the Q-Final (presuming they get there) will have no fear of them.