Ballinamere bid to reach first senior final in over a century

By Kevin Egan

As the town of Tullamore begins to emerge from the fog of celebration some five days after their football final win, two huge hurling semi-finals are about to descend on the town, both equally appealing but in very different ways.

First into battle are Shinrone and Ballinamere - who last contesed a senior hurling final in 1908 - tomorrow evening (Saturday, 4pm), and the only way to introduce this game is to say that it’s amazing the difference that a year makes. Up until their historic season last year, Shinrone were known as a club that was never short of talent, but always lacking when it came to the character and graft to close out a narrow win in a tight knockout championship battle. That may read incredibly harshly, but results bear it out.

Now, it seems like they are a team always finds a way to win – and their extra-time victory over Birr last time out was perhaps as impressive as anything they did in 2022. They know exactly what they’re doing on both puckouts, they are getting the ball into the hands of the right people when it comes to converting scores, and they are very accurate in their play, and not just in shooting.

Ballinamere are different. They are where Shinrone were last year; full of talent, but unproven in a tight finish, and there are questions about whether they are as settled and self-assured in their style of play. They’re winning games by virtue of the sheer quality and depth at their disposal, as opposed to any great feat of sporting engineering.

The lazy answer would be to say that it’s a case of either Ballinamere winning by six, or Shinrone winning by two. This is a game where Shinrone’s hunger to climb the mountain a second time will be tested, and we’re not going to rule out that Ballinamere will push themselves that fraction further if the game comes to the type of frenzied finale that we all expect.

Then we come to Sunday’s ‘Old Firm’ between Kilcormac-Killoughey and St Rynagh’s - the rivalry that has defined Offaly hurling for the past decade or so.

Given their form, it’s easy to forget that this is still largely the same St Rynagh’s team that won three titles in a row from 2019 to 2021, which is not exactly ancient history. Dermot Shortt and Ronan Hughes are notable absentees all right, but Shane Rigney is a very qualified replacement for Hughes, while Brian Rigney has been very steady in the half-back line, filling into the type of role that Shortt could easily have played.

Nonetheless there is a lack of spark there, and they could easily have been pipped by Coolderry last time out as a result. Whether it’s something internal, or the chance to derail the overwhelming championship favourites, the blue and gold men will have to find motivation from somewhere.

Even if they do, they’ll need Kilcormac-Killoughey to under perform. That’s not impossible – for all the professionalism of the modern senior club player, hurlers are still human. The established names within the K-K dressing room must feel invincible now that the group has had a shot in the arm of elite underage talent, while those same younger hurlers haven’t grown up in an environment where St Rynagh’s have been a club to be feared at their age grade.

Add in the very real potential for a comfortable win for the K-K second team tomorrow afternoon in the Senior B final (if Joey Keenaghan remains suspended, that goes from a possibility to a likelihood) and conditions will be even more ripe for an ambush.

Does this St Rynagh’s group still have enough power in their punch to strike that knockout blow with their back to the ropes? We’ll find out on Sunday (throw-in 4pm).