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Well done to the Sash today, a very impressive victory in Mullingar in the worst fog I've ever seen in my life. I think the final score was 5.14 to 1.5, not 100 per cent sure of Drumcullen's final total, it could have been 5.15 or 5.16, to be honest from where i was standing around 40 to 45 yards from one of the goals it was impossible to actually see about 1.7 of the second half scores due to the freak fog conditions, there is no doubt that if the conditions were as bad at the start of the game as they were in the second half then there is no way the referee would have started this match.
Half time 4.6 to 0.3, the 4 goals scored by Raymond Gath, Harry Ryan, Conor Gath and Donal Guinan, I've absolutley no idea who got the fifth goal in the second half as it was impossible to see. Everybody performed very well, the backs very solid, midfield totally on top and the forwards very clinical, the truth is Drum should have had at least 2 more goals in the first half such was their dominance. I must give special mention to centre back Nicky Lawlor who was a real rock, an old fashioned type No 6 who fielded great ball and read the game perfectly and nothing got past him, Conor Gath finished with 1.8 I think but everyone did their job against a poor Delvin side, some locals were telling me that they were very lucky to win their own championship and that it would be a miracle if they survive senior next year.
Next up for the Sash is John Lockes of Kilkenny, I know feck all about them but being the KK champs they obviously won't be too bad, no doubt it will be a far stiffer test than today. Great support today for Drumcullen which was great to see and hopefully alot more Offaly people will turn out for the final to shout for the lads in what should be a great occasion, wouldn't it be great if one of our clubs could beat a KK team in a Leinster final. No doubt POTH will give us plenty of info on the KK champs before the final in 2 weeks time. COME ON THE SASH

Cheers for the report BaRE. Sounds like a clinical performance by the Drums. Some milestones today – the first Offaly club to reach the Leinster Junior club final, and the first time an Offaly club beat Westmeath opposition in this competition.

Next milestone now is to be the first Offaly club to beat Kilkenny opposition. Drumcullen may well be the best placed Offaly team to make history. They are in the top half of the draw so they should be at home in the final. Last year's final was played on Blacks & Whites' home ground so on that basis this one should be in Rath. Drums are 2 hours away from Croke Park – John Lockes and Inniskeane (Monaghan) stand in the way. Best of luck to them.

John Lockes are the Callan parish team in west Kilkenny. They wear the blue and gold of Tipperary and are the club of KK legend John Power. Very large town but not the greatest hurling pedigree. They unexpectably got to the Junior final in KK this year and in the final they drew with Barrow Rangers on the first day and were very lucky to do so. They won by a couple in the replay. They have no one from the KK squad and are quite a young team. They beat Adamstwon from Wexford yesterday by a point. Adamstown were relegated from Senior last year and won the intermediate straight away.

The Lockes will be a serious challenge as are any team from KK.

Jaysus lads i wouldn't be too chuffed, Drumcullen are now an Offaly senior club, if they weren't beating Junior teams from "stronger counties" and intermediate/senior clubs from "weaker counties" it would definitely be curtains for Offaly hurling, as is suggested in another thread after Coolderry got beaten.
I'd be disappointed if Drumcullen didn't win Leinster.

On the subject of home matches. I bet few people realised that Drumcullen's game in Mullingar was a home game...

"Research has also pointed to Carlow, Cavan, Mullingar in Offaly, and Tallaght in Dublin as areas where house prices are unlikely to rise for a long time because there are simply too many properties for sale."

http://www.independent.ie/business/pers ... 21871.html

The Kilkenny People's account of John Locke's semi-final win, written by Barrie Henriques who I believe is a Callan man. By the sounds of it they'll be something similar to Drumcullen.
http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/sport/Happ ... 6628043.jp

when and where is the final on?

Barrie Henriques!
He wrote this gem before Kilkenny played Tipp in the league a couple of years back.
Needless to say Tipp beat them.


--


The Kilkenny People Weekender Friday April 11 2008

"Kilkenny Will Win This One" by Barrie Henriques

I met "Busty" the other day and with a broad smile on his face, his first salutation was, "we'll bate 'em back to Gortnahoe." There was no semblance as to my well being, no mention of my family and their state of health. There wasn't even mention of Bertie (he would die for the Drumcondra man), just the Tipp match on Sunday in Nowlan Park. "And I'll tell ya another thing yousir," he said with his chest swelling like the mandible of a Uratrayan bullfrog, "there won't be many of them coming to the Nowlan Park ayther, 'cos they knows they'll get hammered."

The man has been following hurling since before the Ark took off from Mount Ararat, or as he himself has often been heard mutter, since before Brian Cody's arse was as big as a shirt button. In very simple terms he has no regard for Tipperary hurling. His judgement is generally good, and he is not usually given to questionable hyperbole but when it comes to playing against Tipp, he loses total reason, all his senses and most of his sound judgement.

You see, Busty was around when he thought that he would die before he would see a Kilkenny team beat Tipperary in a serious hurling game, not alone an All-Ireland Final. Too often he witnessed the hordes who purposely went home to mid-Tipp towns via Callan, just to rub in the brine. It was not pleasant being a resident of border towns like Callan and Urlingford. Word on the street had it that after a Tipp/Kilkenny final, Busty got "langers" in a local hostelry. The inebriation was certainly perpetrated by the sight of the amassed Blue and Gold transiting his town on their way to Thurles, Nenagh or even Lorrha. Busty was staggering home from the pub, well tanked, when he decided to go into the parish church, where he decided to do the Stations of the Cross. As he stumbled the few steps from Station to Station, the Parish Priest came out and advised Busty that he was doing the Stations back to front. "Jazus, Father," said Busty, "I was wonderin' about that because the more of them I was doin' the better Jesus was getting."

But I am prompted to go along with Busty. I too think that Kilkenny will win and, if that is what I think, why not say so. No point in waffling on about the maybes and the mights in this instance. I have seen many of the National League games through the season now and, in truth, I have not been one bit impressed with any of the teams, particularly any of the four teams in the semi-finals, with one exception. Kilkenny are light years ahead of the rest, of that there is no doubt. In fact, they are so ahead of the pack that one fears for the state of hurling in many of the Counties that had a hurling tradition. Presently in Leinster, Dublin, yes Dublin, are the second best team in the Province. You look at Wexford and you weep. Laois are getting progressively worse as the years progress and poor Offaly are sinking fast. The only county making progress are the Dubs and, maybe just maybe, in a couple of years time, they will have a very decent senior outfit. Wouldn't that be great? But back to Sunday!
I'll be in Dublin doing commentary for Setanta TV and I would very much like to be in Nowlan Park just to see how many of their considerable gears will Kilkenny have to engage to beat this Tipp team. In fairness, Tipp have been making progress and, in a couple of years from now, Liam Sheedy will have a good, mature, solid team.

Tipp haven't exactly burned the bushes to reach this stage of the League. They beat Offaly by 17 points. At least six of the Kilkenny senior clubs could do that presently. They beat Limerick by 11 points. Did you, dear reader, ever rate Limerick? They are a very moderate team with a number of shadow boxers in their ranks. How they got to an All-Ireland Final in 2007 "bates Banagher." Maybe they can point to the fact that they went down to Salthill and drew with Galway. Big deal. They drew with half a Galway team, because the other half of that team will never be handed a maroon and white gansey again and that's a fact. If they are, hurling is in a worse state than even I thought.

Tipp drew with Clare. I wouldn't boast about that, either. And then they hammered poor Laois. In truth, Laois had as much chance of beating Tipp as Barac (sic) Obama had of being admitted to the Klu (sic) Klux Klan. Will Kilkenny win on Sunday? No doubt, and if you want reasons for my forecast, I'll give you twenty good reasons, and I'll be very fair, you can pick any fifteen of them. So to start with my twenty reasons, here we go: James McGarry, Michael Kavanagh, Jackie Tyrrell, JJ Delaney, PJ Delaney, Tommy Walsh…..Need I go any further?

May the road rise with you.

Enjoy the result.

Sunday week Nov 28th in Rath.

Plain of the Herbs wrote:The Kilkenny People's account of John Locke's semi-final win, written by Barrie Henriques who I believe is a Callan man. By the sounds of it they'll be something similar to Drumcullen.
http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/sport/Happ ... 6628043.jp

Barry Henriques is a Laoisman he played football for portarlington year's ago before he moved down to Callan in kilkenny.

great to see drumcullen in a junior final. their playing at a standard that suits them anyway. a bad day for offaly hurling

I s'pose you'll always have bedrudgers. I wouldn't be a fan of Drumcullen's owing to their 'traditional' style but they do appear to have got their act together this year and good luck to them. I for one hope they win on Sunday and go on to hurl in Croke Park in February.

Furthermore, with next year's Senior hurling championship draw being heavily seeded, and with Birr seeded as quarter-finalists, it's possible that Coolderry, Kilcormac and Birr could be drawn in the one group. If Drumcullen (or anyone else) was drawn in the other group (in that eventuality) they'd stand a great chance of reaching the quarter-final.

hurling_god wrote:great to see drumcullen in a junior final. their playing at a standard that suits them anyway. a bad day for offaly hurling

Plain of the Herbs wrote:I s'pose you'll always have bedrudgers. I wouldn't be a fan of Drumcullen's owing to their 'traditional' style but they do appear to have got their act together this year and good luck to them. I for one hope they win on Sunday and go on to hurl in Croke Park in February.

Furthermore, with next year's Senior hurling championship draw being heavily seeded, and with Birr seeded as quarter-finalists, it's possible that Coolderry, Kilcormac and Birr could be drawn in the one group. If Drumcullen (or anyone else) was drawn in the other group (in that eventuality) they'd stand a great chance of reaching the quarter-final.

hurling_god wrote:great to see drumcullen in a junior final. their playing at a standard that suits them anyway. a bad day for offaly hurling

If Coolderry, Kilcormac and Birr were drawn in the same group it would still leave Banagher, Shinrone, Tullamore in the other group not to mention Belmont, Shamrocks & Lusmagh who for all their troubles this year are a few steps ahead of Drumcullen in terms of talent.

Id personally really fear for Drumcullen next year, I cant see them staying up, they are dependant on some ageing players and have some weaknesses which I think will really get exploited at senior level.

But Best Of Luck to them in the leinster final this sunday...with a good crowd in rath they have every chance of winning the leinster and then who knows!

Pitch inspection at 10 in the morning.

Just heard the match is OFF.