Clonoulty Rossmore retain their senior status with little fuss in Cashel

FBD Insurance Senior Hurling Relegation Semi-Final

Clonoulty Rossmore 2-21  

Mullinahone 1-15

By John O’Shea 

Clonoulty Rossmore galvanised their senior status in the Dan Breen Cup for 2026 when they overcame the challenge of Mullinahone in the FBD Insurance Relegation semi final at Leahy Park, Cashel, on Sunday afternoon.

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Both of these sides were in relegation having finished in bottom spot of their respective groups. Clonoulty Rossmore finished in fourth position in Group 1, a group which also included Dan Breen semi finalists Holycross, along with Toomevara and Kiladangan.

Mullinahone finished bottom of Group 1, a group headed by semi-finalists Nenagh Éire Óg, which also included Cashel King Cormacs and Thurles Sarsfields. Such is the competitiveness of this FBD Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship.

A good-sized crowd were treated to a game of honest endeavour with the contest ebbing and flowing throughout and being level on three occasions during the opening eight minutes.

A Mullinahone goal at the start of the second quarter brought the South side within one score of the West champions, but that was as near as they would get, as Clonoulty finished out the stronger to lead at the break by three.

Clonoulty Rossmore put in a big second-half performance, hitting 1-2 in the opening four minutes after the restart to put eight between the sides.

While Mullinahone fought back to cut the deficit to four with five minutes of normal time remaining, Clonoulty recovered to score the final five points of the game through man of the match Stephen Ferncombe, who finished with 0-12.

Clonoulty played with the aid of a strong wind, which was blowing towards the dressing room end, for the opening thirty minutes, but it was Mullinahone who started the better, with points from Sean Curran and Cillian Direen inside the first minute.

Stephen Ferncombe settled the West men with a brace of minors, including one from open play, to tie the game after three minutes. Michael Dunne scored the first of his eight points before Cathal Bourke cancelled out. Mikey Ryan (Winnie) cut in from the open side to fire Clonoulty ahead, but again Mullinahone replied as the game swung from end to end.

Mistakes were forced and capitalised on as the game picked up. Ferncombe added his third from a placed ball, Nathan Slattery put two between the sides before Clonoulty struck the opening blow after thirteen minutes. Ferncombe won possession from a ruck, took on the defence before laying off to Nathan Slattery, who in turn found Ciaran Quirke on the left, who beat Brendan Kearney from close range.

Mullinahone were quickly back in the game through a Michael Dunne converted place ball, which was followed up with a goal from Alan Curran at the start of the second quarter when he steered the ball past Jason O’Dwyer from the edge of the square. The West men rallied and hit the next four points on the bounce.

Nathan Slattery put over from out under the stand, while Ferncombe converted two placed balls from inside his own half, before Enda Heffernan ran through the Mullinahone defence from midfield to tap over one-handed from inside the thirteen-metre line.

The South side hit a mini purple patch which yielded four unanswered points, three from Michael Dunne and one from Martin Keogh. This cut the deficit to a minimum with four minutes remaining in the half.

Clonoulty were dealt a huge body blow when experienced defender Danny Slattery was forced to leave the field through injury. He was replaced by Jimmy Ryan (Con). However, they restructured and finished the stronger with two converted frees from Ferncombe to go in at the break three points to the good, 1-12 to 1-9.

Clonoulty Rossmore came storming into the game after the restart, with Jack Ryan causing all sorts of problems for the Mullinahone last line of defence.

He hit 1-2 in a four-minute spell, the goal coming from a cross from out near the corner flag by Ciaran Quirke, who had worked hard to win possession. This gave them an eight-point advantage. Again, Mullinahone hit back with Sean Curran landing three long-range frees before Michael Dunne and Cathal Bourke cancelled each other out.

Jason O’Dwyer came to Clonoulty’s rescue on fifty-one minutes when he saved point-blank from Graham Horan, who had opened up the defence. Michael Dunne and Enda Heffernan traded minors before Enda Keane struck a wonderful point from a sideline cut at the open side. This reduced the deficit to four with five minutes of normal time remaining as the crowd sensed a grandstand finish.

This was not to be, as the Mullinahone challenge fizzled out over the remaining minutes. Clonoulty Rossmore put up the shutters, with Enda Heffernan, John O’Keeffe and Robert Doyle particularly impressive. However, it was Ferncombe who finished on a high as he punished any Mullinahone indiscretion, hitting five points from frees to bring his tally to 0-12 for the day.

Clonoulty retain their senior status for 2026, while Mullinahone have one more chance as they head to the relegation final in two weeks’ time, where they take on Lorrha Dorrha.

Scorers: Clonoulty Rossmore: Stephen Ferncombe (0-12, 0-11f), Jack Ryan 1-2, Ciaran Quirke 1-0, Enda Heffernan, Cathal Bourke, Nathan Slattery all 0-2 each, Mikie Ryan Winnie 0-1.

Mullinahone: Michael Dunne (0-8, 0-5f), Sean Curran (0-4, 0-3f), Alan Curran 1-0, Enda Keane 0-1 sl-cut, Martin Keogh, Cillian Direen 0-1 each.

Clonoulty Rossmore; Jason O’Dwyer; Jimmy Ryan (Con), Robert Doyle, Danny Slattery; John O’Keeffe, Enda Heffernan, Ronan Heffernan; Nathan Slattery, Stevie Quinn; Cathal Bourke, Stephen Ferncombe, Jimmy Maher; Jack Ryan, Ciaran Quirke, Mikie Ryan (Winnie).

Subs used: Tommy Ryan for Danny Slattery (26, inj); Thomas Butler for Jimmy Maher (46); Donnchadh Quirke for Stevie Quinn (52); Jamie Davern for Mikey Ryan (Winnie) (60); Sean O’Connor for Jack Ryan (62, inj).

Mullinahone: Brendan Kearney; Conor O’Brien, Paul Curran, Colin Shelly; Darragh Linnane, Eoin Fennelly, Martin Keogh; Eoin O’Dwyer, Daire O’Brien; Sam Rowan, Sean Curran, Alan Curran; Cillian Direen, Mikey O’Shea, Michael Dunne.

Subs used: Graham Horan for Eoin O’Dwyer (45); Enda Keane for Michael Dunne (52); Matthew Direen for Cillian Direen (60).

Referee: John Dooley (Thurles Gaels)

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