Who are Naas' opponents this weekend? A quick look at Kilcormac-Killoughey

Naas were crowned UPMC Kildare SHC title-winners with a hard-fought victory over Maynooth on October 25. Their eighth consecutive Kildare title has earned them another crack in their province with their AIB Leinster Club SHC opener set for 3:30pm on Sunday, November 8.

They face another side dominating their county in Kilcormac-Killoughey who have won the last four Offaly Senior Hurling Championships, the first team in the club’s history to do so.

Key men

The name most Kildare hurling fans will know is Adam Screeney. The forward received national acclaim for his starring role in Offaly's historic U20 All-Ireland success and has become a key man for the senior side.

Cillian Kiely is KK’s physical powerhouse and in 2023 the centre-back earned the title of Offaly Senior Hurling Player of the Year. Names likes Charlie Mitchell and Daniel ‘Diggy’ Hand will also be familiar to those aware of Offaly’s dominant force of late.

Offaly champions

Despite their admirably dominant county championship achievements, Kilcormac-Killoughey have had to work hard to complete the quad with late scares in both their final and semi-final outings. They were crowned for the fourth year in a row following an 0-19 to 0-17 win over Ballinamere on Sunday, October 18.

It was a mixed bag on county final day for the eventual Offaly champions who, after being much the better side in the game, led by six with three minutes to go before conceding three frees, all of which were dispatched, to give the under-performing Ballinamere late hope.

Ballinamere were disappointing on the day but were nonetheless inches from drawing level when Mike O’Brien flashed his effort the wrong side of the crossbar. Ballinamere manager Sean Treacy said after the game he was very disappointed that his team didn't perform to their ability and, in an honest assessment, said their performance probably didn't warrant getting a second chance

Speaking with Offaly Live, Kilcormac-Killoughey manager Declan Laffan recounted their complicated season after their county final success and said: “They're all sweet, but I suppose doing the four in a row is a big thing, obviously. That's particularly sweet for me, I think, because I always feel every time you try to put one, keep putting one to what's there already, it's so difficult. And then of course, you've touched on all the obstacles, Charlie (Mitchell), with his unfortunate circumstances early on in the year. Probably the best hurler in Offaly, let's call a spade a spade. To be down him, and I think the beauty of it was we didn't make an issue of what was missing, we just got on with it. It's been a bit like that since I've been up here, and this is my second year.

“We've had lots of different injuries, lots of them young lads, I think a certain amount of it is burnout. But I suppose between the two years now, they all have got a couple of months off with different injuries, which has probably allowed them to maybe recover. Adam, he had a shoulder surgery, but it probably also helped his groin problem that he has been carrying for a couple of years. Diggy (Daniel Hand) missed a couple of months. Lots of different things like that, also Jordan, with his knee, it's bitterly disappointing for him. He's a wonderful captain, a wonderful leader, and very important to this group. Even though he's not on the field, he's a true leader and I've great to time for that lad.”

It wasn't an easy year for Kilcormac-Killoughey and defeat in their final group game could have seen them exit the championship.

“Yeah, it was that sort of year. I suppose we got caught the first day against Coolderry, we just weren't at it. I suppose I'd say the best way to put it is we slowly got going. Did enough in our third group game against Rynagh's, just about enough. We were brilliant against Birr in that last game. Very middling the last day. I thought at the time, but then when I watched it back, I thought Rynagh's were brilliant. They were actually really, really good. What I thought was we were excellent in extra time, I thought our fitness levels really came to the fore then. We hit 14 points in roughly 22 minutes of hurling. It was ridiculous.”

“And then today, it was probably a bit of a war of attrition more than anything. We got out to six points and I was shouting, get another one, get another one. Just keep plugging away.”

County final starting XV’s

NAAS: Cormac Gallagher; Liam O’Reilly, Rian Boran, Evan O’Brian; Daire Guerin, Conan Boran, Harry Carroll; Peter O’Donoghue, Simon Leacy; Oisin O’Neill, Cathal Dowling, Brian Byrne; Charlie Sheridan, James Burke, Jack Sheridan.

KILCORMAC-KILLOUGHEY: Conor Slevin; Brecon Kavanagh, Tom Spain, James Mahon; Ter Guinan, Cillian Kiely, Enda Grogan; Colin Spain, Damien Kilmartin; Daniel Hand, Conor Mahon, Leigh Kavanagh; Peter Geraghty, Thomas Geraghty, Adam Screeney.