The first of the semi-finals in the Offaly Senior Hurling Championship this years brings together a novel pairing at this stage of the competition in Ballyskenach and Kinnitty. Very few people would have predicted such a pairing in the semi-finals at the beginning of the year, but the sides will meet at St. Brendan’s Park on Saturday next at 6pm.
Ballyskenach are bidding to follow the lead of Kilcormac/Killoughey last year and qualify for their first ever Offaly Senior Hurling Final.
Kinnitty are no strangers to success but it is 18 years since they captured their ninth Offaly senior title when completing a three in a row in 1985 with victory over Seir Kieran. They haven’t appeared in a final since and their last appearance in a semi-final came in 1994 when they were defeated by Birr in a semi-final played in Tullamore.
Ballyskenach have only appeared in the semi-finals on one previous occasion*, when losing to St. Rynagh’s at the penultimate stage in 1999. They are relatively new to senior level. The club had a short spell at senior level in the early eighties, but dropped down the ranks after that. However county titles at junior and intermediate level in successive years in 1994 and 1995 earned them senior status again and they have enjoyed an up and down spell in the senior ranks since then, reaching the semi-finals in 1999, but failing to build on that in the following years.
Operating out of the weaker group in 2002, they qualified for the quarter finals, but were defeated by St. Rynagh’s at that stage.
Kinnitty have had a miserable run at senior level over the last number of years and this is the first time they have challenged at this stage of ht championship for a number o f years. Last year, they also operated out of the weaker group of the championship, but one draw was all they managed from their three games, which included a loss to Ballyskenach, and that left them bottom of the group. They faced a threat of relegation, but avoided that fate and have bounced back well to finish top of the weaker gorup this year.
Kinnitty got off to a grit start with a 1-17 to 0-3 victory over a Killavilla side which had just beaten Drumcullen. They followed up with a 1-11 to 0-10 victory over Shinrone and that set them up for qualification from the group. That was secured with a 1-18 to 0-15 victory over Drumcullen in their third game, although the group did finish on a bit of a downer when losing to Shamrocks by 1-9 to 0-9.
That put them in the quarter final where they came up against a Coolderry side expected to challenge for honours. On the night Kinnitty played the better hurling and were full merit for their 0-16 to 1-11 victory, which puts them into Saturday’s semi-final.
Ballyskenach have enjoyed a good run in this year’s championship winning two games by 11 point margins and the other by a ten point margin, which makes impressive reading by anyone’s standards.
They got off to a great start when facing last year’s beaten finalists Kilcormac/Killoughey and they won by 1-20 to 1-9. Their second game was a personal triumph for Eoghan Franks who scored 4-5 as they defeated Seir Kieran by 4-14 to 2-10. The rounded off their group games with another big win, beating Tullamore by 6-10 to 3-8, with four goals coming from John Dooley on this occasion.
When the sides met in last year’s championship, it was a close affair, with Ballyskenach only winning by two points, 2-14 to 1-15. That will certainly give Kinnitty great heart and they will also have taken great confidence from their victory over Coolderry, not only the result but the manner of their victory.
They played a fast brand of hurling, playing the ball first time and keeping it moving well all the time. They will be without Andrew McRedmond for this game after he was red carded in the victory over Coolderry and he will be a loss but Ger Coughlan’s side are on a high at present and will be hoping to overcome that adversity.
They will again look to captain, Fergal Kealey, Paddy Whelan, Michael Cleere and Liam Brewer in defence. Eoin McGuinness had a good game at midfield the last day, while Richie McRedmond top scored with good support from Justin Kinsella, Enda Grimes and Mark Robinson.
Under the guidance of Paddy Kirwan, Ballyskenach have made impressive progress in this year’s campaign. They have run up big tallies and any side that can find the net as regularly as they have done has to be respected.
Their defence is marshalled by Cathal Murphy and Mick O’Hara with Eugene Hannon and Mark Kirwan providing strong support. David Franks showed his ability in the Offaly colours this year and he is a valuable asset at midfield for Ballyskenach. Another county man, Brendan Murphy, is a strong feature of the attack where he is joined by his brother Noel and Eoghan Franks and John Dooley, big goalscorers in recent games.
Kinnitty will be buoyed by their victory over Coolderry and they will certainly provide a strong challenge in Saturday’s semi-final, but Ballyskenach have looked good in their games so far and with a potent attack, they may carry too much firepower for the Slieve Bloom side and should create history and qualify for their first ever Offaly Senior Hurling Final.
*Ballyskenach also reached the semi-finals in 1962 and 1963, where they lost to Drumcullen on both occasions. There is a report on the 1963 game in the Archives Section.