Stage is set for Tipperary senior and intermediate hurling finals with huge appeal

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County final day is special. It’s the culmination of the twists and turns of earlier rounds, which all lead to one defining game. Victory endows immortality; defeat brings anguish and anonymity.

Sunday’s showpiece could hardly have been choreographed better. The senior game looks delicately poised, Sarsfields the marginal favourites against a Kiladangan side intimately acquainted with this stage of play.

The intermediate game too is intriguing, with unprecedented local anticipation for the clash of Boherlahan and Golden.

This will be Kiladangan’s fourth final appearance in five years. They were also there in 2016 when Sarsfields had their measure, so for this generation of players it’s familiar territory. The need to back up their solitary win of 2020 will be powerful.

For Sarsfields, their last hurrah was in 2017, a win that marked the completion of a four-in-a-row. Since then, they have had a few slack years, losing the 2021 final in a replay to Loughmore. The desire to return to the top will be equally pressing for the “Blues”.

When the teams met at group stage Kiladangan were resounding winners, though that game will be irrelevant on Sunday.

After a slow start to the series Sarsfields have built quite a head of steam, taking out Nenagh Eire Og, Drom/Inch and Loughmore/Castleiney in quick succession to deservedly carry the favourites tag into this game.

Under Paudie Maher’s urging from the sideline, there’s a renewed intensity from Sarsfields this year. The workrate is up, there’s no standing off waiting for soft ball and their spread of scorers has been a notable feature in every game. Besides, there’s physical heft in the side from Denis Maher and Ronan Maher in defence to Conor Stakelum and Billy McCarthy in attack.

Then you have the snappy contributions of others such as Stephen Cahill, hitting 0-10 over the past three games, Darragh Stakelum on 0-9 from the same matches and Aidan McCormack on 1-18 from those outings.

Paddy Creedon has the potential to electrify games as well but he’s been out of tune with the management in recent games, though I wouldn’t be surprised with his early involvement here. Few clubs could afford the luxury of leaving a player with such potential on the sideline.

For their part, Kiladangan got caught by a late Brendan Maher goal for Borris-Ileigh but otherwise they’ve left their mark on the series. Holycross did bother the Puckane side in the quarter-final but Toomevara were comfortably dispatched in the semi.

It’s a Kiladangan side that certainly doesn’t lack for experience. James Quigley has struggled a bit in defence recently but the likes of Joe Gallagher and David Sweeney offer steadiness in that unit; Tadhg Gallagher and Alan Flynn is an impressive midfield pair; Paul Flynn, Sean Hayes and Bryan McLoughney offer scoring options in attack.

However, it’s the recent form of Billy Seymour that Sarsfields will have noticed. From play and frees he’s been their main score-getter and the likely match-up with Ronan Maher will be keenly watched. It’s a fascinating final set-to, so my expectations for this game are high. Sarsfields are the marginal favourites until proven otherwise.

If the senior decider at the Stadium on Sunday packs appeal, the intermediate final won’t lack for attraction either. A unique pairing, Boherlahan/Dualla and Golden/Kilfeacle has all the ingredients for a humdinger: local rivalry, past history and two sides with momentum coming into the final.

Golden’s story is quite an extraordinary tale of comeback heroics. Two games into the round robin series, they were staring relegation in the eye. Propping up the base of the league table, their cause looking hopeless as they prepared for Ballingarry in the final bout.

How the entire series then pivoted on one game is remarkable. A last-second goal got Golden over Ballingarry. The sides were then tied on score difference but the west side got through on a slightly better scores for column. On such wafer-thin margins are championships often decided.

Thereafter, Golden/Kilfeacle took flight. Drom/Inch were dumped out in the quarter-final and Kilsheelan/Kilcash couldn’t cope in the semi. When facing a crisis Golden had brought Conor Gleeson on board and the team’s transformation has been remarkable.

Boherlahan’s story is different. They were in Group 3, the so-called group of death, from which three of the four teams eventually make the knockouts. Significantly, the mid team topped that group, unbeaten. They had drawn with Moneygall in a classic encounter at Templederry and now the pair met in a semi-final after Kickhams were dismissed in a quarter-final.

That semi-final, played in appalling conditions at Templetuohy, showed that Boherlahan could win ugly, if necessary. They were chasing the game in the mud for a lot of the initial hour before exploding in the first half of extra time to swat aside Moneygall.

Their progress then has been steady and consistent. Darragh Lacey has made some crucial saves in recent games behind a defence where Gerard O’Dwyer and Martin Paul O’Dwyer form the central spine. Brian Carrigg, a Clare native, has been impressive at corner and Dylan Fogarty, a Harty hero of last season, has grown into this championship impressively at wing back.

Elsewhere, they’ve suffered a major loss in attack with injury-stricken Brian Og O’Dwyer out for the season. Darragh Hickey and Seamie Leahy bring huge experience to the attack where players like Tossy Ryan, Colm O’Dwyer and James Kirby have all being playing well.

On the Golden side there’s a useful mix of youth and experience also. Tipperary footballer, Shane O’Connell, brings a lot of know-how to the centre of a defence that has been impressively tight in recent games. Cian Ryan and Ben Currivan are other Harty heroes from last season with Cashel CS. In attack much of the focus will be on county Under 20 player, Jack Leamy, as their score-getter and creator.

The battle lines are drawn. There have been some testy encounters between the clubs in recent years, with Golden having the edge. Conor Gleeson withdrew once his native Boherlahan emerged as opposition; Tommy Dunne has taken his place. Conor will be with the Boherlahan seniors of 1996 who will be honoured on Sunday’s programme. It’s all set for a great occasion.

Finally, there was a most enjoyable night at Ballycahill on Saturday last for the launch of ‘Pat Stakelum – Legend of the Ash’, a biography of the great Holycross/Ballycahill player penned by Noel Dundon.

I’d regard the Stakelum family as something of a hurling dynasty. From Holycross to Borrisoleigh, from Thurles to Killenaule, different branches of the clan have spread the hurling gospel wherever they’ve put down roots. Fittingly, Limerick’s much-admired captain, Declan Hannon, did the official launching of a book dedicated to his grand uncle.

Pat Stakelum, of course, is one of that elite band of players to have captained Tipperary to All-Ireland glory – one of the captains of the Premier Ship, to reference a previous publication by Noel Dundon. Pat is forever associated with the three-in-a-row, 1949-1951, being captain for the first of the sequence.

It was a night for reminiscing and story-telling with the focus all the time on Pat Stakelum’s amazing legacy. I loved the anecdote told by Aidan Ryan, hero of 1991 and one of many nephews of the great Pat present. Aidan was down in Wexford for a league game when a stranger approached him to ask if he was a nephew of Pat Stakelum. On having this confirmed he said he knew because he had the same run as Pat.

The man left and a colleague of Aidan’s stood open-mouthed in amazement. Do you know who that was, he said. Billy Rackard.

Anyway, Noel Dundon’s latest production looks impressive on a casual flick-through. It will be part of the reading list for the months ahead.