The View: Trophy times in Tipp as sorcerers bid for cups

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The View: Trophy times in Tipp as sorcerers bid for cups

By Noel Dundon

County hurling final weekend is almost upon us in Tipperary and what a weekend in prospect. It’s deciders galore and plenty for spectators to see and cheer about as the mid-way mark of October comes into view.

The senior football fare gave plenty of cheer too in the weekend just gone with neighbours Upperchurch Drombane and JK Brackens having a real go at each other –Brackens prevailed by a point to set up a repeat of the 2019 final when they took on aristocrats Clonmel Commercials. The Clonmel side overcame their neighbours Moyle Rovers in their semi-final by three points and so the date has been set for October 22ndfor their decider.

But, it’s all about hurling this weekend and the 4:00pm start for the FBD Insurance senior hurling final will see the tea-time conclusion televised on TG4. Should Sarsfields emerge to claim the Dan Breen Cup for the 37th time, the homecoming will be pretty immediate, but if Kiladangan manage to claim the crown, it will take a bit longer for the home party to kick off.

So will Puckane or Bohernanave be en-fete come Sunday evening? Time will tell but one thing is pretty sure, this has the potential to be a brilliant final. The semi-final of 2021 was a tremendous game between the two sides and the fact that Kiladangan have already handed out a bit of a hiding to Sarsfields in the round robin series in Semple Stadium only adds spice to an already appetising and appealing fixture.

But, should Kiladangan be in the final? That’s a question which has been raised but not really addressed. Following the dismissal of goalkeeper Barry Hogan in the semi-final against Toomevara, coach Darragh Egan entered the fray as replacement goalkeeper. However Egan, it has been claimed was not listed on the substitutes or in the team sheet. Therefore, technically speaking, he was illegal, and by extension so was the entire Kiladangan team if this was the case. Toomevara could have had a real case had they pushed the matter. But, they didn’t and Kiladangan will take their place behind the Sean Treacy Pipe Band comes 3:50 on Sunday.

There really ought to be public clarification on this matter. Egan is a registered player – no problem on that score. But, if he was not named on the team sheet, he cannot be just introduced – if that were to be the case, anybody could be simply plucked from the stand. That is the rule and there appears to have been a breach of that rule whether knowingly or not. County Board will need to act on this because sitting on the hands is not enough.

Let’s be honest here, nobody wants to see Kiladangan losing their place in the county final, but neither can we have a scenario where rules are being broken without any reprimand. So, it’s a tricky one and it is a real distraction for the north Tipp team as they ready themselves for the fray.

The curtain-raiser in FBD Semple Stadium brings with it a mixed afternoon of emotions for one mentor involved. Boherlahan Dualla stalwart Conor Gleeson will be coaching Golden Kilfeacle against his own club in the Intermediate hurling final before taking the salute of the crowd as his 1996 county final winning teammates are honoured as the Silver Jubilee team. It really will be a day of varying emotions for the former Tipperary captain – sport has a habit of throwing up such scenarios with great regularity. Boherlahan Dualla would not have won that ’96 final without Gleeson who was a towering figure at the heart of their defence – Golden Kilfeacle would not have reached the intermediate final without Gleeson on the sideline. It’s going to be a real conundrum of the heart for the Garda.

The Premier Intermediate final sees Lorrha Dorrha up against Thurles Sarsfields on Saturday in a game which is really eagerly anticipated. Can Sarsfields premier intermediates show their senior counterparts how it is done and begin a potential historic double? Will they win one, two, or no titles this weekend? All will be revealed.

Another club seeking to perhaps make history is Holycross Ballycahill. Following their U19 victory on Saturday last against Toomevara to earn back-to-back titles, their U17 hurlers now go in chase of back-to-back titles at that grade too when they tackle Mullinahone on Sunday in Cashel. Some of those players are bidding for their fourth county A medal in twelve months – an incredible feat. Can they do it? A very strong and solid Mullinahone outfit will have something to say about that.

This leaves us with the county junior A hurling final between Ballinahinch and Clonoulty Rossmore – another game which will certainly pique interest. But, perhaps the senior relegation clash of JK Brackens and Upperchurch Drombane could be the game of the weekend and it gets underway in The Ragg at 1:30pm– there’s a hell of a lot at stake in this game and one club will be left devastated by Saturday evening.

An observation- by my reckoning, Mullinahone in the U17; Clonoulty Rossmore in the junior A; and Golden Kilfeacle in the intermediate;  are the only sides outside of the mid and north divisions to contest county hurling finals this year. What does that say exactly? That the hurling stronghold has been reclaimed by the mid and north? With only one senior team in each division contesting the Dan Breen championship, one would have thought that the other first teams in the west and south would be reaching the premier intermediate final. But no, again it is a mid and north pairing. This requires consideration going forward – what the solution is, I have no idea because the divisional system is going nowhere it seems.

A lot of questions there and a lot of discussions to be had – debates for the winter perhaps when the clock goes back and floodlights are the order of the day. That’s not too far away now, so for the time being, let’s enjoy the unseasonally mild weather and the hurling.