Shinrone captain Jason Sampson lifts the Sean Robbins Cup as Shinrone were crowned Offaly senior hurling champions for the first time in 2022. Photo: Ger Rogers.

Historic success puts Shinrone on top of hurling pile

Kevin Egan Column

It’s still 2022 on the calendar, but the 2023 season has already kicked off on the pitch, with both of Offaly’s senior county teams already well into their training and challenge match schedule. A hugely underwhelming performance in Leinster club action facilitated this, and it also means that we can follow up on our end of season football rankings from a fortnight ago with the hurling equivalent.

It’s been a long time since there’s been quite as much movement at the top of the table, as the old-firm of St Rynagh’s, Coolderry and Kilcormac-Killoughey, who between them won 12 Robbins Cups in a row up to 2021, all underperformed to varying degrees. So there’s no surprise then to learn that the top ranked hurling club for 2022 is first time senior champions Shinrone.

(1) Shinrone (up three)

For years, the story around Shinrone has been one of impressive round robin form, followed by a collapse in the knockouts. This year they reversed that narrative, kicking things on considerably once the business got serious. They rode their luck a little against Belmont absolutely, but given how they held their nerve against St Rynagh’s in a match that very few expected them to win, and then opened up their shoulders in style in the county final, they probably deserved it.

(2) Belmont (up four)

Played Shinrone in two championship matches this year, and were comfortably the better side for all bar the last few minutes of the semi-final. If there were any doubts whatsoever about the quality of the group or their hurling ability in terms of winning a first ever senior title, those must surely have been dispelled. Mental doubts, however? That’s another matter. Between Ferbane football and Belmont hurling, the list of hard luck stories is growing, to the point that breaking the cycle won’t come easily.

(3) Kilcormac-Killoughey (down one)

It’s probably safe to say that for the next decade, it would take something strange to happen in order for the double Ks to fall below this ranking. The whole county is well aware of the incredible group of hurlers that’s coming up through the ranks in the club, but for the purposes of this exercise, we’re looking at their adult first team only, where they still weren’t all that convincing.

Tradition saw them installed as clear favourites for the county final, but Shinrone were able to find another gear. Three goals in five championship games leading up to the final hints at one area where they will be keen to improve, through the injection of youth.

(4) St Rynagh’s (down three)

Ran out of fuel in 2022, after an incredible run of success in recent seasons. After a great start against Birr, they stumbled their way through the group stages and even with a couple of key players back from J1 summers, they never hit the high notes against Shinrone and were deservedly beaten. They’re not yet at the level where they could be described as an old team, but they’re getting there, so the window of opportunity could begin to close for them fairly soon.

(5) Birr (no change)

The manner of their county semi-final defeat will rankle as they never got going, despite coming into the tie in very good form – yet there was a lot to like about what Birr did in 2022. Under Brendan Bugler they’ve remade their defensive unit and retained its parsimonious quality, and the Birr full back line of Jimmy Irwin, Oisín Murphy and Campbell Boyd is very under-rated. There’s a few more scorers out there to help out Eoghan Cahill too, while three wins in six starts at Senior 'B' shows that they are building up a nice bit of depth in the club.

(6) Ballinamere (up one)

Went into the knockout stages bubbling along nicely, having scored at least 20 points (or the equivalent) in each of their four group games, and then it all fell apart from there. Given the significant amount of county talent that resides in the club, and how their youth is not really a valid excuse any more, that’s a little worrying. They’re under huge pressure to deliver in 2023.

(7) Kinnitty (up one)

Like the two clubs above them in this list, the 2022 championship saw them show a nice bit of promise, before their season ended suddenly on the back of a below-par performance when it mattered most. Their middle third delivers a lot of honest effort every time they go out, but they struggle to deliver scores in sufficient quantity to really press home their advantage. Out of somewhere, they’re going to need to find a four-points-from-play-per-game forward to really take them to the next level.

(8) Coolderry (down five)

Crashed down to earth with a bump in 2022, after coming so close to taking home the big prize twelve months ago. They’ve brought through some good young players but the quality of the men that they’ll have to replace over the next year or two means that the medium term outlook is not positive.

(9) Seir Kieran (up one)

A quick look at the Seir Kieran teamsheet would suggest that they still have plenty of class up front, but lack the same quality in their own half of the field – yet on the field of play, it’s their back division that is keeping them competitive. Michael Gilligan, Seán Coughlan, Barry Kealy and Conor Dooley all played key roles in ensuring that the club stayed senior for at least another year.

(10) Clodiagh Gaels (down one)

They’ll find themselves outside the top ten next year, but they did enough in this championship to suggest that they still are marginally ahead of Tullamore in the overall pecking order, at least for another while. Like so many others, they will feel that they put in their worst performance in the game where they needed their best, in the relegation final.

(11) Tullamore (no change)

Winning the Senior 'B' title means it was a successful year for hurling in Tullamore, though it could be argued that the brightest indicator for the Blues is their excellent showing at minor level. They have been something of a yo-yo team for the past decade and more, so in order to consolidate at senior, an injection of extra talent is clearly needed.

(12) Clara (up two)

Whisper it quietly, but we’re getting a lot closer to the point where Clara could legitimately be described as a proper dual club. In a wide open Senior 'B' championship, they had their knockout spot secured before the final round of games, and a season of real forward progress ultimately fell just short of silverware. Add in an excellent run from the minors, with wins over Birr, Ferbane/Belmont and Ballinamere/Durrow giving them a 'B' championship win, and the future looks even brighter.

(13) Lusmagh (no change)

Early round defeats to Kilcormac-Killoughey and Tullamore, when their defence was plundered to the tune of 6-38 over the course of two hours, left them with too much to do. The rest of their season was eminently respectable, albeit not quite at the level where they’ll feel that this was a championship left behind. But Senior 'B' is clearly the right level for them all the same.

(14) Drumcullen (down two)

GAA records are not sufficiently complete or robust to say whether this is a record or not, but it certainly stands out as remarkable that in a championship where every team played at least six games, it was Drumcullen – the club with the best defensive record – who ended up relegated. All things being equal, the Rath/Fivealley/Killyon men should be far too good for intermediate, but possibly they also need to look on the upcoming campaign as a chance to shift focus, and adapt a more modern style of play, because this isn’t the first time that their inability to score sufficiently heavily has cost them.

(15) Shamrocks (no change)

The 2022 intermediate championship should have been a penalty kick for them, and they made hard work of it before eventually cutting loose in the county final replay. From Offaly’s point of view, it’s important that a club with so many county panelists at various levels hurls at one of the top two grades, but they’ve work to do in order to consolidate at that level.

(16) Carrig & Riverstown (no change)

They came out of the groups in sensational fashion, but even the most optimistic of their supporters would have suspected that their big win over Shamrocks in round one was something of a misnomer. By the time the two clubs met again, Cal Aherne had transformed Shamrocks, and Carrig and Riverstown scored just 1-2 from play in their championship semi-final. They’ll start 2023 as second favourites for intermediate glory, behind Drumcullen, and realistically, they have five or six points of improvement to find if they’re going to topple the Sash men. It’s a big ask, but not beyond them, given the age profile of some of their key men.

(17) Edenderry (up two)

The Reds looked to be a long way from where they needed to be in the early rounds of the junior championship, but they gradually pieced together an excellent campaign, culminating in their memorable county final win over Ballinamere. It’s hard to tell how high their ceiling is – the fact that they are heavily dependent on a handful of footballers and some famous names that are now the far side of 40 years of age, means that holding their own at intermediate won’t be easy. Championship success is great fuel, however, and they will start next year in a very positive frame of mind.

(18) Brosna Gaels (down one)

The momentum that this combination had behind them when they were first assembled is a distant memory now, and relegation back down to junior level represents a huge backward step. There is certainly plenty of quality there, and we’d expect that Donal Shirley will immediately bring their standards up once he joins the adult panel, but they need to hit the ground running, or the malaise will set in even deeper.

(19) Ballyskenach-Killavilla (down one)

Scored 3-23, 4-22 and 1-22 in consecutive group games, before going out into what should have been a quite evenly contested championship quarter-final with Ballinamere, losing by 1-26 to 0-11. One can only imagine what will be revealed when influential figures in the club really get into performing that autopsy. We’ve said it here before, but Offaly badly needs this club to get on the front foot and start making forward strides sooner, rather than later.

(20) Crinkill (no change)

Was there a better good news story in Offaly GAA this year than Crinkill winning the Junior 'B' title? Probably not, though it nearly didn’t happen as they fell over the line against St Rynagh’s in a game where they really should have put a lot more than 1-12 on the board. We’re not going to pretend that all is well now, but for a first team to have to ply their trade in the fifth tier is far from ideal.

(21) Gracefield (no change)

It had been hoped that the geographically favourable Junior Championship group might at least bring an end to the days of conceding walkovers, but apparently not, as the Blackthorns gave up the ghost on the back of heavy reverses at the hands of Clodiagh Gaels and Edenderry. Quite where they go from here is hard to tell.