One of the consequences of a successful inter-county season is the pile up of fixtures in the fall of the year. The club scene in Tipperary is in over-drive at the moment and there will be no ease-up as we battle to meet Munster deadlines.
The two remaining divisional finals were staged on Sunday. Up North Kildangan reinforced their status with a third title in four seasons; in the West Clonoulty romped to an easy win over Kickhams.
Meanwhile the action continues next weekend with four preliminary quarter-finals on the agenda, the clash of Drom and Loughmore being the pick of the quartet.
In the West Kickhams probably felt optimistic about their prospects going into Sunday’s final. They had knocked Clonoulty out of last year’s race and again beat them in an earlier round this season. It was beginning to look something like a jinx.
However, Clonoulty were in no mood to let that perception develop any further and on Sunday they doled out quite a thrashing to the neighbours. It was reasonably tight in the first half when just four points separated them at half time. On the turnover, however, the floodgates opened; by the end the gap was a whopping eighteen points.
It doesn’t make pleasant reading for Kickhams. On a wet day they were simply out-muscled by Clonoulty and could never get any traction in this contest. Even in the first half things looked ominous because Clonoulty were dictating matters, even if their scoring return didn’t quite reflect it.
Within ten minutes of resuming, however, the game was effectively over. Four unanswered points set the trend and then Timmy Hammersley caught the Kickhams’ defence napping with a quickly-taken twenty-metre free, which found the netting. A few minutes later Fiachra O’Keeffe kicked in a second and it was effectively ‘game over’ from there.
It’s a real downer for Kickhams who now head into a relegation battle with Moyne/Templetuohy, Silvermines and Moneygall. Those four play off a round-robin series of games with the bottom two being relegated.
One plus for Kickhams heading into the relegation series is the fact that they’ve had a lot of recent match practice whereas their opponents have been idle since earlier in the summer. Against that they’ll have to regroup rapidly after Sunday’s setback and it won’t be easy trying to lift morale after such a heavy defeat.
Defensively they did okay on Sunday, apart from that ten minute spell after the break. However, the attack never threatened to bother Clonoulty. Kickhams’ forward line on Sunday scored just one point from play in the entire game and that has to be a worry heading into crucial relegation games.
Midfielder, Ger Browne, hit three points and his performances all year with the county minors marked him out as one of the stars of the season. I heard somebody suggest that he’s the brightest prospect to emerge from Kickhams since Martin McGrath in the 1980s and I’m certainly not going to quibble with that.
Apart from Ger, Kickhams had two other players on the victorious minor panel. Kieran Breen saw action for the county on a few occasions and is still young enough for next year, hence his non-availability for the seniors this time. Nathan Ryan too was on the extended minor panel but was sent off in the previous game against Eire Og. It was one of those inexplicable decisions where a lot of players piled into a melee where digs and slaps were being exchanged and then one was isolated for the ultimate sanction.
The worry now for Kickhams is that such upcoming talent will have to campaign in intermediate ranks if the club fails to escape the relegation trap. That relegation is a worry too for the West division. There was a big attendance at Sunday’s event with Sean Treacys beating Golden in the intermediate final, but if Kickhams drop to intermediate then you have a two-team senior championship in 2017. It reflects poorly on West Tipp standards, a fact which is further reflected at intermediate level. Here you have Cashel K.C., Golden, Arravale Rvs. and Rockwell Rvs. all struggling to avoid relegation to junior.
How the mighty have fallen! It’s a spectacular fall from grace for a division that was enjoying its golden era twenty-five years ago. Then Cashel K.C. came within a whisker of an All Ireland club title and the West supplied nearly half of the Tipperary jubilee team which was honoured at the recent All Ireland final.
As for Clonoulty they’re the best in the West after a three-year hiatus when Annacarty took their place. I’m not sure last Sunday tells us much about their potential, however. Defensively they’re solid with players of the experience of John Devane and John O’Keeffe anchoring the rearguard in front of a safe-handling, unflappable Declan O’Dwyer in goal. However, it’s the attack they’ll probably worry about. John O’Neill isn’t with them this year and worryingly Conor Hammersley had to be helped off early on Sunday with an ankle injury. Timmy Hammersley was their chief scorer hitting 1-6 from frees and adding four points from play; Fiachra O’Keeffe hit 1-2.
In the betting market Clonoulty are in fourth position behind Sarsfields, Drom/Inch and Loughmore, which puts them ahead of eight others still in the race for Dan Breen. They’re listed at odds of 8/1. They’ll be competitive in the final stages of the county championship though it’s difficult to see them challenging for outright honours. It’s nineteen years since their last county win in 1997.
It’s going to be a hectic weekend in the race for Dan Breen with four preliminary quarter-finals on the cards. Top of the pile is undoubtedly the clash of Drom/Inch and Loughmore/Castleiney. Remember Loughmore pipped them in the Mid final recently, though it was a Drom side without the holidaying Seamie Callanan. One assumes the potential hurler of the year will be back in harness for this crucial clash, which should make it a fascinating prospect.
The betting odds have Drom listed at 5/1 with Loughmore on their tails at 6/1. Loughmore made it a hurling/football double in the Mid at the weekend. It’s a remarkable achievement by an incredible club though one suspects the dual involvement will do them no favours at this crunch stage of the hurling championship. Still Drom will need to be on the ball to get through this one.
That game is in Holycross as part of a double bill, which also features Kilruane and Carrick Swans. The MacDonaghs came up short to Kildangan in last Sunday’s North final but will still be fancied to make it to the quarter finals proper. Incidentally Kilruane are on odds of 20/1 to win the Dan Breen while you’ll get Swans at figures of 100/1.
Elsewhere at the weekend Mullinahone and Ballina travel to Templetuohy where the South champions deserve favouritism to make the last eight. In the final game, which will be played at Dolla, Borrisoleigh will be fancied to get past Burgess.
The winners of these preliminaries then go into an open draw with Killenaule, Sarsfields, Kildangan and Clonoulty for the quarter-finals proper. Interestingly all four divisional winners this year had already secured their places in the last twelve before winning their local bragging rights.
I’m sure Michael Ryan and colleagues will be keeping a close eye on all this club action in the coming weeks before he reassembles his county panel later on. Panels are always fluid and a rich vein of form could easily see a player win promotion. Last winter the management certainly cast a wide net for winter training and I’m sure they’ll be looking to freshen things up again this time.
Wasn’t it interesting to read about a planned appearance by some players on ‘The Late Late Show’ being dropped on management’s insistence? They seem determined to rein in the hype this time and keep heads firmly focused on next year. We can only applaud the move. Careers are short and there’ll be plenty of time for media activity when the boots are hung up.
Finally is it any wonder politicians rate so poorly in the public consciousness. The sheer gall of those senators feeling they had a divine right to simply drop a line to Croke Park and have their ticket requirements supplied. Throughout the country there are passionate GAA folk doing Trojan work for the Association all year and they have no right to any ticket. Yet these fine day followers feel entitled; for sheer brass neck it takes some beating.
It reminds me of a family story we often relate from back in the eighties. Tickets were like the proverbial gold dust and my late father-in-law, a passionate, ever-present follower, found himself in Croke Park sitting beside a woman who brought her knitting with her. It wasn’t too bad until she turned to him at half time and asked who was winning. A placid man normally, he nearly lost the will to live there and then.
