Good wins for Tipperary teams in Munster Club hurling championships

The opponents of the split season have been very muted in recent weeks. No wonder, since the clubs - and by extension the great mass of the organisation - have been buzzing with excitement. This is their season.

Countrywide the fans have been relishing the action, whether in person or through platforms like TG4 and Clubber. The entertainment has been top class.

This undiluted focus on the club scene is what the opponents of the split season would like to diminish. One suspects that many of the anti-lobby people have little interest in the club action. It will be a travesty if they get their way and we regress to the old format.

Anyway, Cashel King Cormacs’ season rolls on after a hard-earned away win over Newcastle West last Sunday. Their Munster semi-final date with Abbeydorney will, hopefully, be at Leahy Park on Sunday week, when the locals can come out in force in a way not seen since Kiltormer visited back in February 1992.

Having to visit West Limerick for this Munster quarter-final was challenging. Newcastle West are a seasoned senior football side and while they might not have the dual capacity of a Loughmore they’re still hardy opponents.

Just how hardy became immediately obvious to Cashel as they got hit for early scores, going 1-2 to nil adrift after just four minutes. Playing away from home, that was unnerving. The goal came after mere seconds. Con Bonnar slipped and that allowed Bryan Nix through to finish after taking a lot of steps. Non-enforcement of the four steps remains a major problem in the sport.

Cashel recovered. They had a few half-chances of goal but didn’t take them; they’d have to point their way to a win in this contest. By half time they were level, 0-9 to 1-6, in what was an edgy game at times. Nine first half wides by Newcastle West were part of the story too.

By the three-quarter mark the King Cormacs were in arrears again. Limerick footballer, Bryan Nix, got in for his second goal after poor defending and the West Limerick side went five-up.

However, this is familiar territory for Cashel and once more they found the necessary response. Crucial to it all were some monster points struck from frees by Eoghan Connolly. Having a long-range shooter like that is a huge weapon in your arsenal.
Devon Ryan too pitched in with some great points, though one of them should have been a goal when he batted over the bar instead of under from close range.

They went three-up as the game drifted into injury time, but still had to withstand some nervous moments. Newcastle West hit back with two pointed frees; the call of time was a relief to the King Cormacs.

It was tight. Cashel’s tendency to come from behind always risks the day when the margin will be too much. This wasn’t their best performance of the year in a game where a lot of the hurling was scrappy. Still, winning while below your best leaves room for better form next time.

It was altogether easier for Moyle Rovers on Saturday when they saw off the visiting Kilgarvan at Ardfinnan in the junior hurling quarter-final. The end margin of a dozen points didn’t flatter the winners.

The Rovers were rampant in the first half, winning the individual duals all over the place and racing into a big lead. The forwards were in sharp form, led by the excellent Dara Ryan who hit eight points in that spell, six from frees.

There was a decent spread of scorers too with Anthony Phelan, Riain Quigley, Daire Luttrell, Killian Butler and Shane Ryan all on target. It all added up to a healthy balance of 0-15 to 0-4 at half time. Barring a sensational turnaround that looked like a winning gap any day.

Briefly, the Kerry men threatened retaliation in the second half. Full forward, Daniel Casey, connected sweetly overhead for a smashing goal to encourage their efforts early on before corner forward Glyn Egan added two points. That brought the lead back to a more manageable six.

Rovers looked sluggish now as Kilgarvan had the better of matters for about ten minutes. Then the home side’s best goal chance was denied by a very late “square ball” call. It was difficult to see if Daire English was inside the parallelogram before the ball arrived; he finished a rebound after Shane Ryan’s shot was well saved.

What wasn’t difficult to see, however, was the goalie taking the subsequent free out from his hand, which nobody seemed to notice. An amazing oversight, with two umpires standing beside him.

Anyway, it mattered not to this game. Rovers steadied after the wobble and the point-parade resumed. They were helped by Kilgarvan’s free-taking problems, which saw many chances go astray. A penalty too was missed. Correction: it was superbly saved by goalie Brian Gleeson; the ‘keeper had a fine game.

In the end it was easy-peasy; the final margin was twelve points. Dara Ryan top-scored on 0-14, five coming from open play; he deserved the man of the match award. His closest rival was Ben Owens, who was outstanding at half back. Overall, it was a comprehensive win.

It will hardly be as easy in the semi-final, however, when the team travels to Cork to face Russell Rovers.

Elsewhere, Ballygunner had too much for Doon in an exciting Munster senior quarter-final. The Waterford champs are going for a record four provincial titles on the spin and will be fancied to do just that.

Loughmore might have other ideas when the sides meet on November 17 at Walsh Park in what will be a first clash since their controversial tie three years ago.

Doon certainly played their part in Sunday’s exciting encounter. The new Limerick champs were in no mood to go meekly and pushed the favourites hard. In the end saves by Stephen O’Keeffe were crucial to the ‘Gunners’ final flurry in a five-point win.
O’Keeffe denied Doon’s Jack Ryan with a point-blank save at a time in the second half when a goal would have put the Limerick champions seven-up. Again later, the goalie denied Pat Ryan and those saves finally quelled the Doon assault as Ballygunner pushed for home.

Derek McGrath later described O’Keeffe as the greatest Waterford goalie ever. Perhaps. Mind you, Derek also claimed in 2022 that whoever beats Waterford would climb the steps of the Hogan Stand. They didn’t even get out of Munster.

Anyway, it was a gutsy effort by Doon but Ballygunner are old hands at this competition and that accumulated experience saw them through once more. The Loughmore game is one to anticipate.

The All-Star awards never fail to generate debate. It could hardly be otherwise, with decisions that are so subjective. The latest instalment was no different. With no Leinster players among the list of winners and so few counties represented, it was sure to spark discussion.

Clare with six awards, Cork on five and Limerick getting four meant that just three counties were represented on the winning list, something which, I think, only ever happened once in the past. That was in 2014 when we got seven awards (despite losing the final replay), Kilkenny got six (despite winning) and Limerick received two.

As ever you could construct cogent arguments for several players who missed out. As both All-Ireland and League champions, Clare put an emphatic stamp on this season and might have been worth one or two more statuettes.

On the bigger issue around the value of these awards, I’m less sceptical than others. The presentation night is a big publicity event for the association and the list of past winners does reflect the hierarchy of greats in each code.

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