K-K can pass Carlow test in wide open Leinster title race

By Kevin Egan

Tullamore brought to an end nearly half a century of disappointment in Leinster last Sunday afternoon with their late surge to overcome Tinahely in Aughrim, and in doing so, they demonstrated a considerable degree of mental strength, since the town side’s dismal record outside of the county has been a millstone around their neck for some time.

Last year’s defeat to Summerhill, in no small part self-inflicted after a dismal display of shooting, was a boil that needed lancing, and they did that very well last Sunday afternoon when they responded in the best possible fashion to Tinahely taking the lead with 45 minutes to play.

The pressure that weighs on Kilcormac-Killoughey’s shoulders in advance of their trip to Carlow this Sunday is not the same, but it is comparable. With one Leinster title in the bag from 2012 and a lot of positives to take from last year’s two-match campaign that ultimately ended at the hands of a very good O’Loughlin Gaels team, Shane Hand’s troops have no need for atonement in Carlow this Sunday (2.30pm).

Many people would have seen 2025 as the ideal time for this generation to make the breakthrough in Leinster, largely down to their age profile. On the other hand, the expectation of some observers for 2024 would have been a win in Carlow to be followed by a defeat in Nowlan Park.

That all changed when Thomastown shocked the nation with their victory in this year’s Kilkenny senior final, which has suddenly created a real sense of opportunity for every one of the teams still in the mix.

Every single one of the eight teams down to play quarter-finals this Sunday afternoon will perceive this championship as winnable, while the supporters of a small handful of clubs – Kilcormac-Killoughey included – will have noted with interest the defeat of St Thomas' in Galway, and how Ballygunner didn’t look to be at their very best against a Doon side that was hurling just seven days after their first ever Limerick SHC title success.

No doubt Ballygunner will get better as the year goes on, but even so, it’s very difficult for supporters that are ferociously optimistic about the future for Kilcormac-Killoughey to rein in their sense of excitement about what might unfold over the next few months.

Whatever about the supporters, the players and management will need to, because it’s a very capable St Mullin’s side that stands in their way. Out of the 15 players that started the 2019 Leinster final against Ballyhale Shamrocks, having accounted for Cuala and a Rathdowney-Errill side that crushed St Rynagh’s on the way, ten of those players also started this year’s Carlow senior final against Mount Leinster Rangers.

A forward line featuring Paddy Boland, Marty Kavanagh and James Doyle, with Jack Kavanagh and Conor Kehoe at midfield, won’t be short of scores, and even allowing for the fact that Netwatch Cullen Park tends to stand up to the onset of winter better than a lot of grounds at this time of year, their physical profile should be suited to a slower game of hurling, as is likely to unfold in mid-November.

The long gap since their county final will be a hindrance, as no amount of challenge games will compensate for three months without championship action. Though by the same token, it’s been four weeks since K-K overcame Ballinamere in the Offaly final, so they too might have to sand off a little bit of rust in the early stages. Logic says they should, and that if they hurl an eight out of ten game, they’ll come out of this with a victory, and a good game to sharpen them up in advance of (presumably) a semi-final trip to Kilkenny on Sunday week. Keeping the eyes on that prize, and that prize alone, will be crucial, however.

Uphill battle for Clodiagh Gaels

From 2009 through to 2021, the only clubs that beat Kilkenny opposition in the Leinster Intermediate club championship were Mount Leinster Rangers (2011) and Naas (2021), two clubs that were destined to hold their own and more at senior level after going up. Trim’s one-point win over Danesfort in 2022 invited some consideration for the idea that maybe the standard in the Marble County wasn’t quite as high as before, though Thomastown laying waste to all opposition last year, winning every game outside their county by at least 15 points, tipped the needle the other way.

We’ve since learned that Thomastown were probably an anomaly, much like Mount Leinster Rangers over a decade ago, but there’s still a lot of open country between saying that Lisdowney aren’t that good, and that Clodiagh Gaels have a good chance of beating them tomorrow (Saturday) at UPMC Nowlan Park (1.30pm).

The mid-Offaly side have some experience at this level, they have the power and the stamina to go well in wintry conditions, and we don’t expect them to be well-beaten – but staying within five or six points might be as close as they’re likely to get to a team that realistically, probably only have Bray Emmets to fear in the province.