Exciting Minor Hurling Final is In Prospect
By Dan Danaher, Midland Tribune
Next Sunday’s Minor Hurling ‘A’ County Final between Ferbane/Belmont and Ballyskenagh promises to be an intriguing encounter. The two teams have surprised some of the more traditional teams on their path to the final and the scene is now set for an exciting clash.
This game is interesting for a number of reasons. Neither club has won the Minor Hurling ‘A’ title and whoever emerges victorious, a new name will enter the history books of Offaly hurling. Victory would also help either of the clubs to establish a good hurling side over the next decade or so.
There are many similarities between the two sides, apart from the fact that neither of them have captured the Minor trophy before. The two clubs have made great strides in recent years to promote the game of hurling and they have built up their respective sides from successful underage teams. They both endured rather lean periods in hurling in the seventies and the early eighties, but in the last few years success has begun to come their way.
Ballyskenach,
for example, will be contesting their first Minor ‘A’ final since 1965, when
they were defeated by St. Rynaghs in the decider. A combined Ballyskenach/Killavilla
side also reached the final in 1971, but were unsuccessful, going down to Na
Piarsaigh. There was no underage teams in Ballyskenach for some time until 1982
when there was a revival, led by Billy Flynn, Paddy McLoughlin and Jack Dooley.
Their opponents Ferbane/Belmont are a very young club. They amalgamated three years ago in 1988. Previously, the two underage teams in the Parish were catered for by the two senior Clubs – Ferbane and Belmont. With this system, the two teams were only competing in B and C competitions and they were having difficulty fielding teams at underage level. After much deliberation, it was decided to form a combined Minor Club and this proved to be a very worthwhile step. Since its formation, the Minor Club has gone from strength and this can be gauged by their recent successes in both football and hurling. Last year they captured the U-14 title and were beaten in the U-16 decider after a replay.
In 1988, they won the U-12 ‘B’ Championship (Shield) and two years later they won the Parish’s first U-14 ‘A’ Hurling title and were National Feile na nGael finalists the same year. In 1989, Ferbane/Belmont contested their first Minor Hurling ‘A’ final, only to be beaten by Birr after a replay.
Ballyskenach
have also been very successful at underage level over the past few seasons.
They captured the U-14 ‘C’ title in 1984 and 1986, the U-12 ‘B’ crown in 1987
and won the Community Games All-Ireland Final in 1986 (combined with Shinrone).
The U-16’s also contested two finals in 1984 and 1989.
Their most recent success was over Drumcullen in the Minor ‘B’ final lst October, when they won by 3-9 to 0-5. With twelve of that team still eligible for the following year, Ballyskenach participated in the 1991 Minor ‘A’ Championship and have exceeded all expectations, beating some of the well established clubs like Coolderry, Killeigh/Raheen, Kinnitty, Birr and St. Rynagh’s on their path to the final.
Ferbane/Belmont recorded some good victories en route to the final and accounted for St. Carthage’s, Seir Kieran and Kilcormac/Killoughey on their way. Their only black mark was when they were defeated by Tullamore in Kilcormac on a 1-7 to 2-2 socreline and they drew with St. Rynagh’s.
Ballyskenach were disappointed when they lost to Kilcormac/Killoughey in on of their games, but they learned their lesson and they showed great courage and resolve when they came back from a nine-point deficit at half time against St. Rynagh’s in the semi-final to win by four points.
Both sides have plenty of experience. Ferbane/Belmont have moulded their side around their Offaly minors Nicholas and Kenneth Claffey, James Grennan and Shane Ryan. Nicholas Claffey is one of the brightest prospects at underage level at the moment and considering that he has already scored 2-15 this season, he will definitely take some watching. They insist however that only a committed all round team performance will win the game for them. Much of the credit for Ferbane/Belmont’s run to the final must to to their trainer Aidan Ryan and Stephen and Kieran Claffey, who have left no stone unturned in their quest for glory.
They expect a close, tough encounter and stress that Ballyskenach will be very difficult to beat. Regardless of how Ferbane/Belmont fare next Sunday, 13 of the panel will be underage for next year and they will help to form the nucleus of another strong side. Ballyskenach are not short on experience either. Padraig McLoughlin, John Dooley, Liam O’Toole and Denis Doughan were on the Roscrea Vocational School team which won the All-Ireland this year. They have a formidable side and this is borne out by the fact that eight of the side were members of the Ballyskenach team which fell to Clara in the Junior ‘A’ semi-final last Sunday week.
One of their selectors, Denis Mullally, believes that they have a strong side which will do themselves justice in the final. ‘Our strength is that we have a well-balanced side and we don’t lack skill. We may be slow to start, but we have finished well in all of our games. Our defence is good and our forwards have been taking their scores. Some of the lads who played with the Juniors against Clara helped the team to score 2-13 and we still lost.’
He admits that reaching this final has been tremendous for hurling in the parish. ‘We are a small club and we are restricted in numbers. It is hard to keep going at times. We were lucky that a bunch of good lads came together.
It is great to be in this final. It is a great achievement to be in a final. Billy Flynn, Paddy McLoughlin and Jack Dooley deserve great credit for their work down through the years. The club insisted on building the side from underage teams and it is now paying rich dividends.’
It
promises to be an exciting final which will probably be decided in the last
quarter. I give Ferbane/Belmont the nod to win their first title, but considering
that Ballyskenach have been the surprise packet of this year’s championship,
they could easily surprise once more.
Ferbane/Belmont Panel: Mark Breslin, Kenneth Claffey, Myles Claffey, Nicholas Claffey, John Connolly, Cyril Darcy, Paddy Dolan, Gavin Doorley, Nigel Doorley, Joe Duffy, James Egan, Sean Egan, Shane Gavin, Martin Gleeson, James Grennan, Ciaran Kearns, Barry Keenan, Colm Kenny, Peter Moore, Declan Murphy, Declan Nugent, Cathal O’Rourke, Cathal Phibbs, John Ryan, Shane Ryan.
Ballyskenach Panel: Peter Murphy, Noel Murphy, Cathal Murphy, Liam O’Toole, Thomas O’Toole, Aidan Franks, Keith Russell, Denis Doughan, John Doughan, Raymond Treacy, Donie White, Padraig McLoughlin, John Dooley, John Ormond, PJ Mullally, Martin Maher, Liam Flynn, Shane O’Rourke, Maurice Walsh, Bill Lawlor.