WITH many of our domestic championships at a virtual standstill as the county senior hurlers continued their surge towards All-Ireland glory, county and divisional boards are now engaging in major drives to make up for much lost time in an effort co complete all county finals before the arrival of the depths of winter.
County Board most of all needs to get a move on with the hurling and football championships, and last weekend’s hurling start is followed by another high profile action few days that will see several more games in both championships played to what hopefully will be conclusive results. Drawn ties are needed at this late stage like a hole in the head.
Fraher Field will house a double header senior hurling programme on Sunday evening in the losers group section with Tallow taking on Roanmore at 5.45pm, followed by the clash of Ballyduff Upper and Portlaw (7pm).
There’s a third game at Walsh Park between De La Salle and Ballyduff Lower, and eventually from the three winners will come the remaining semi finalist joining champions Ballygunner, Mount Sion, and Lismore in the penultimate round.
The two Fraher Field games should be closed affairs, and in truth none of the four sides has really impressed in the title race todate. That said, however, I would expect Tallow to continue from where they left off when defeating Stradbally last Sunday and fashion another win at Roanmore’s expense, but the Tom Feeney led Ballyduff will have it all to do to get the better of Portlaw.
The Westerners served up an absolute stinker when losing heavily to Ballygunner in their only championship outing todate, and the certainty is that they will be out of contention if they can’t substantially improve on that performance against Portlaw who had three points to spare over Fourmilewater last weekend.
That the Reds are capable of doing so I have no doubt, but it remains to be seen if they can produce much more bottle and battle than they put on display against the Gunners. If they can’t then they are dead and gone as far as this year’s championship is concerned. It’s as bald and as basic as that.
FOURMILE’, STRADBALLY IN RELEGATION ZONE
As a result of last weekend’s senior hurling championship results two of the western contenders, Fourmilewater and Stradbally, now find themselves in the relegation zone and the prospect of a return to the intermediate grade in the coming year. They are joined by Passage with one of the trio certain to be plying their trade in the lower grade next time round.
The Ballymac’ based Fourmilewater found Portlaw marginally too good for them in their Saturday evening joust at Fraher Field, eventually going under on a 1-8 to 0-8 scoreline. Less than twenty four hours later Tallow had a little too much in the tank for Stradbally, winning in the end by a somewhat flattering seven points, 2-16 to 1-12.
Freddie Kelly’s 39th minute goal was the score that separated Portlaw and Fourmilewater at hour’s end. Fitting too that Kelly should be the goalscorer as he was without doubt their best forward throughout and accounted for all but one point of his side’s total. An indictment in itself, let it be said, of the overall effectiveness of the winners attack.
In that particular department too Fourmile’ lacked any kind of meaningful penetration, although Shane Walsh was within a whiskery of snatching a late, late, draw when his goal bound drive whizzed inches on the wrong side of the upright. That, incidentally, was in the 7th minute of added time.
Tallow proved just how beneficial a good start can be when they raced into a 1-3 to 0-1 lead inside eleven minutes of their game against Stradbally on Sunday afternoon, the goal coming from the stick of the lively Billy Sheehan.
The Bridesiders enjoyed a commanding 1-12 to 0-6 lead at half time, but it was Stradbally who took up the running on the restart and four unanswered points brought them within to within five of the winners. John Coffey‚s goal direct from a ‘65’ left just two between them with seven minutes remaining (1-14 to 1-12), but that proved to be the Reds final salvo and eventually Paul O’Brien’s goal in injury time sign, sealed, and delivered what was Tallow’s thoroughly deserved victory.
SFC RESUMES
Action in senior football championship also resumes this weekend with two games scheduled for Fraher Field on Saturday evening. Defending champions Stradbally, the Nire, whom many are fancying to go all the way this year, and surprise packets Dungarvan are already through to the semi finals, and as in the hurling championship the battle is now on for that fourth and final place in the semi final line up.
It’s the battle of the ‘mores’, Lismore and Tramore, at 5.45, and while victory is well within the westerners compass in this one the odds are still favouring a Tramore win. Should be an interesting first ever meeting of the clubs in the championship in the top grade nonetheless.
The second game (7pm) brings Ardmore and Kill together, and, while the seasiders would be wise to approach this one with caution, it will be a surprise of significant proportions if they fail to successfully negotiate the hurdle.
Our forecast then (for what its worth) is an east/west divide of the spoils with wins for Ardmore and Tramore.
DIVISIONAL PROGRAMME
The Western Board is also back into the swing of things this weekend with important games in both junior championships down for decision. Pick of the bunch looks like being the local derby hurling clash of Geraldines and Ballinameela at Fraher Field on Sunday (3pm) with a place in the semi final up for grabs.
Expect no quarter to be given or asked in this one, and while it could go either way I have a marginal fancy for the Gers. Incidentally the game is preceded by another quarter final tie involving Kilgobinet and Brickey Rangers (1.45) with the former firm favourites to advance.
On Saturday evening there are two other games in this same championship with Tourin and Abbeyside seeking to join the semi final line up when they meet in Cappoquin, while Colligan is the venue for the losers group meeting of Dungarvan and Cappoquin. Both games have a 7pm throw in.
LOSERS GROUP FINAL
The lone game down for decision in junior football is the losers’ group final between Old Parish and Modeligo, which goes ahead at Bushy Park on Saturday evening (7pm). A difficult enough one to call this, but in what is likely to be a close and exciting finish Old Parish just might have enough on hold to shade it.
Shamrocks out in a good performance to edge out Dungarvan in the losers’ group of the intermediate hurling championship at Cappoquin on a 1-18 to 2-10 scoreline.
This was a cracker of a game between two teams happy to play a brand of fast, fluent, and opening hurling. Dungarvan’s very youthful side gave it a right good lash on the day, but with their inter county star Eoin Murphy leading by example no one could deny Shamrocks the spoils at the end of the hour.
They may be a long way short of former Shamrocks sides in this grade, but with Murphy to inspire them all of the other title contenders would be unwise to discount the potential of this Knockanore outfit.
POST MORTEMS CONTINUE
Even now the disappointment prevails, ten days after our exit from the All-Ireland hurling championship at the semi-final stage. All credit to our victors, Clare, but the more post mortems are held the more certain it is that we left this one behind us.
Now, don’t get me wrong. On balance over the seventy plus minutes Clare deserved their win, but in any rational analysis of the occasion it becomes as clear as day that we had more than a bagful of chances to have fashioned a very different result.
That we failed to do so is the root cause of a defeat that continues to hurt, and will, I suspect, for a few more days and weeks yet. Sadly it was our worst team performance of the campaign, and that that should happen on what Fergal Hartley has acknowledged as being ‘the biggest stage of all’ makes acceptance of the result even more difficult.
Incidentally Sunday Indo journalist Dermot Crowe didn’t spare the rod last Sunday in highlighting the ‘Gerry Quinn affair’, which resulted in the Banner defender sustaining a broken hand late in the game.
No, I will not condone any untoward incident, and it is highly regrettable that Quinn is now likely to miss out on the All-Ireland final. But what I find a little more than irritating is the rather selective way the Clare born Dermot Crowe has set about dealing with the incident.
Okay, he did mention last year’s quite disgraceful incident when the same Gerry Quinn all but decapitated Tipperary’s Mark O’Leary even BEFORE the ball was thrown in to start the game. And he told readers that Quinn should have been handed a three month suspension.
If I’m wrong I’ll apologise, but I don’t remember Crowe writing that when he should have - in the Sunday Indo of the week following Quinn’s outrageous attack on the Tipp forward. Fine to be doing so more than a year on when no punishment can be meted out to the player.
But now, with his Banner allegiance to the fore, he is demanding the guillotine fall on the head of some Waterford player - a demand he singularly did NOT make at the time when Quinn himself was the serious aggressor against Tipp in 2001. A little more impartiality would be welcome in instances such as this, and I say that without any attempted defence of any Waterford player who may have stepped over the line of acceptability in Croke Park last Sunday week.
DEATH OF A GAA LEGEND
They came literally from the highways and the byways to pay their respects to a GAA legend last Sunday.
Seaneen Tobin, Mr. Colligan Rockies/Emmetts, was laid to rest in Colligan churchyard in the presence of one of the largest concourses the parish has ever seen. A concourse let it be said that was very much GAA orientated.
That, of course, is as it should have been, because Seaneen Tobin was a man who earned legendary status and stature during his lifetime. Aclub colossus who rendered almost six and a half decades of extraordinary service to the sister Colligan and Emmetts clubs.
He was club chairman for more years than I would care to remember, but certainly considerably in excess of a quarter of a century. During that time too he doubled as a selector, and of course the club’s magnificent new grounds at Crough-Pairc Coilleagain/hEmettigh will forever remain as one of his lasting legacies.
On Sunday afternoon a magnificent graveside oration by Anthony Walsh who is the current secretary of the Western Board and who served for fifteen years as club secretary under the chairmanship of Seaneen, paid homage to our departed friend.
No one more qualified then than Anthony Walsh to pay the fitting tribute that was paid to him in a moving final farewell last Sunday. “Everything in life centred around his Irishism, language, culture, heritage, and most importantly of all gaelic games, which were so important a part of his life from childhood,” Anthony said.
He referred to his total and undivided loyalty to Colligan Rockies/Emmetts for sixty four years, saying that their new grounds (officially opened last year) will stand as a monumental tribute to Seaneen.
“His club chairmanship spell will never be forgotten by those of us fortunate enough to have worked with him in that capacity,” Anthony said. “He did the job in a quiet and unobtrusive way, but with an efficiency and authority that singled him out as a quite exceptional administrator.”
He referred to Seaneen’s role in the founding of the football side of the club (Emmetts) in the mid 1950s and then having to wait forty five years for the breakthrough when they defeated Ballyduff Lower in the county junior football final of 2000 at Walsh Park. “He was the proudest Colligan man in Walsh Park that day,” continued Anthony.
Honarary life president of his club since he stood down as chairman a few years ago, Anthony Walsh concluded his oration by saying that “Seaneen will never be forgotten for as long as a sliothar is pucked and a football kicked in the parish of his beloved Colligan.”
Need one say more? Hardly. The oration truly was the ultimate tribute to a man who gave his lifetime to the Association and to the games. Go ndéine Dia trócaire ar a anam dílis.
