Tipperary County Senior Hurling Championship final will be all-north affair

An all-north final awaits then after a wet day at the Stadium saw Kilruane MacDonaghs and Kiladangan battle through to the decider. Kiladangan will be fancied to go the distance against a Kilruane club last seen at this stage of the championship back in the mid eighties. It’s a novel final pairing between neighbours’ children.
Semi-finals that were difficult to call in advance, ultimately threw up convincing enough winners. Upperchurch’s winning streak hit the wall against an all-round superior Kilruane. Drom kept the fight going against Kiladangan but they were chasing the game too long and the end gap of four points was probably an accurate reflection of the balance of power here.
Weatherwise the opening bout got the worst of it. Continuous rain and an awkward, slightly diagonal wind led to messy conditions that were reflected in the quality of play. However, it affected Kilruane less because they were the better side from the off.
Upperchurch had the elements at their backs in the opening half but they looked very unsure from the beginning. All the positivity was coming from Kilruane, who were attacking the play with more conviction, were winning individual battles and in general looked the more likely lads as this game unfolded.
The first major break came on twelve minutes when Upperchurch’s goal line survived an initial attack, with a fine save by Ciaran Shortt off Thomas Cleary. However, Kilruane persisted. Kian O’Kelly kept the ball in play and when he flicked it back across goal, Jerome Cahill’s perseverance paid off as he flicked the attempted clearance by the goalie to the net. Old timers would always advise to never throw the ball up in your own square.
In microcosm that incident underlined the difference between the sides. Upperchurch were that bit more ponderous in their play while Kilruane were driving at everything.
To their credit Upperchurch kept the battle going. Colm Ryan had a brace of neat points and then five minutes from the interval Jack Butler had a reviving goal as he raced through unimpeded to see his batted attempt blocked before pushing the ball over the line in the follow-up. Kilruane will be concerned at the way their defence parted like the Red Sea.
The injury to full back, Jack Peters, may have been part of the problem.
At that stage the lead was back to a single point but Kilruane found the perfect response before the interval, with Jerome Cahill again at the heart of the action. Cahill pointed, then set up Willie Cleary for a like score before placing Cian Darcy for a rasping goal from the right corner.
If the Upperchurch goalie was at fault for the first goal, he was helpless here and even though Jack Butler pulled back a point for the mid team their interval account still showed a deficit of five, 2-9 to 1-7, despite having played with the wind.
In truth, Upperchurch never looked like retrieving the situation in the second half. The stats will show that they managed a mere two points from second half play, their other flags originating from frees by Paudie Greene and Gavin Ryan.
By contrast Kilruane hit six points from open play in that second period and they had a few more goal chances. A Willie Cleary point could as easily have trembled the net and Kian O’Kelly flashed one wide across the face of goal late in the action.
A six-point margin at the end was a decent reflection of the play. Upperchurch will rue a substandard performance in their first ever county semi-final. Jack Ryan was probably their best on a day that will have left them with many regrets. They’ll feel they didn’t bring their A game on Sunday though, perhaps, the opposition was a step-up here from anything they faced previously.
They have little time, however, to dwell on matters as Clonmel Commercials await in the football final on Sunday.
For Kilruane it was one of their more assertive displays in recent years. They brought energy and drive to the game on a day when Jerome Cahill was immense. Seldom has one man done so much to bring his team over the line. Liam Cahill, I’m sure, will have noted.

Above: Brian O'Meara of Kilruane MacDonaghs in action against Dean Carew of Upperchurch-Drombane during the FBD Insurance Tipperary County Senior Hurling Championship semi-final at FBD Semple Stadium. Picture: Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile

Conditions improved for the second tie, which was the better of the two. It developed into an intriguing contest in the first half with the sides trading points, a Johnny Ryan score for Drom levelling the accounts after fifteen minutes, 0-5 apiece.
Seamie Callanan was prominent for Drom but after a further exchange of scores it was Kiladangan who put in the livelier spurt approaching half-time. In fact, in the final ten minutes of the first half the north side outscored Drom by 0-6 to 0-1. That little flurry of scores from a string of players carried Kiladangan to a four-point interval lead, 0-14 to 0-10.
The tempo upped immediately on the restart when Callanan somehow found space to goal after Kiladangan struggled to clear their lines. Seamie followed with a free to level the accounts shortly afterwards but it would be the last time Drom were on terms with their opponents.
Kiladangan retaliated with another purple patch to regain control and the game had that sort of pattern, the pendulum swinging either way, though Kiladangan overall were having the better of affairs.
As the second half settled down it was Kiladangan who again hit the front. From the 14th to the 22nd minute the north side strung together a necklace of points from Bryan McLoughney, two Alan Flynn frees from distance and Joe Gallagher to go five-up, the widest the margin was at any stage.
Credit to Drom for refusing to buckle and ensuring that the game went down to a dramatic finale. At five down Drom suddenly found an oasis. Points from David Collins, a Callanan pair from a free and a 65 and another from Tommy Nolan suddenly had the margin at one and the prospect of extra-time dawning on people.
However, at the climax Kiladangan found the perfect finish. Four minutes over time and with Drom looking for a leveller, Eoin Collins lost possession as he tried to emerge and Dan O’Meara delivered the coup de grace.
O’Meara had hit the crossbar earlier and Collins had made quality saves from Paul Flynn and Willie Connors, so the best team prevailed in the end, even if their supporters had a few heart tremors in those final moments.
This was an improved Kiladangan from previous matches, the forwards especially stepping up with Bryan McLoughney, Sean Hayes and Joe Gallagher hitting three each from play. Willie Connors was busier too and Dan O’Meara made a significant impact when introduced. They’re in a good place ahead of the final.
Elsewhere, once more St Mary’s came up short in a county semi-final of the Premier Intermediate Championship. On Saturday at Cashel, Gortnahoe had the edge to set up a promising final with Roscrea.
Speaking to a Clonmel man before the game he didn’t sound overly confident, in particular expressing a fear that his side would concede goals. His words proved prophetic. Three-nil on the goals count was a critical stat, as the mid side’s greater attacking punch carried the day.
Two factors, I thought, were critical here to the outcome. Gortnahoe/Glengoole were physically stronger, winning the arm-wrestle. And then they had more aces in attack, where ‘Keano’ Hayes was outstanding and the likes of Darragh Maher, Ronan Teehan and Kevin Slattery delivered the crucial scores. Brian Maher chipped in also with a brace of fine points from half back.
Against that, Mary’s were more restricted in their scoring options, relying on Sean Kennedy from play and frees, with lesser inputs from Peter McGarry, Cathal Deely and Sammy Ryan, who hit two from wing back. Ruairi Leahy hit one of the best points of the day when he came on. Tellingly, however, they rarely threatened a goal.
Seamus Kennedy was Mary’s outstanding player and as often happens they had to push him forward in a bid to rescue the game late on. Ultimately, they simply hadn’t enough in the pack against a better-equipped Gortnahoe formation.
Let’s not forget Gortnahoe won this title as recently as 2020, so they know the requirements. Mary’s finest hour was back in 2017 when they overwhelmed Gortnahoe in the Intermediate final at Golden. Recent history then between the clubs but on this occasion Gortnahoe were the clear masters.
The opening tie at Cashel saw Kickhams fall short against Drom/Inch in the quarter-final of the Intermediate Championship. After a well-balanced opening quarter, two events tilted the scales one way.
Kickhams were leading by a point midway through the opening half when Jamie Bergin hit a crucial goal for Drom to put them into the lead for the first time. Then five minutes before the break Kickhams had Orrin Jones red carded for an off-the-ball incident.
The net effect was to see Drom retire six-up at half-time and in truth Kickhams could never retrieve the situation thereafter. To their credit they battled hard, with second half goals from Walter Carroll and Ben Loughman keeping things close but Drom deservedly held out for a four-point win.