Birr and St Cillian's to meet in Offaly Senior A Final on biggest camogie weekend of the year

THE HQPhysio Offaly Senior Camogie championships will come to a conclusion this weekend when Birr put their title on the line when they face neighbours St Cillian's in the A final, while the Senior B final will see St Rynagh's taking on Kilcormac/Killoughey.

After a busy few months of action it all comes down to next weekend to decide the destination of the titles and both finals promise to provide a feast of action.

Eight teams took part in this year's senior championship. They were divided into two groups of four, with the teams playing against the four teams in the other group. There was one league table and after all four games were played, the top four teams went into the A semi-finals with the bottom four teams playing the B semi-finals.

St Cillian's emerged as the only team to have a 100% record with victories in all four games over Shinrone, Tullamore, St Rynagh's and St Sinchill's, to claim top spot in the group.

Both Shinrone and Birr filled the second and third positions with three wins from four. Shinrone recorded wins over Kilcormac/Killoughey, Naomh Brid and Birr but lost their opening game to St Cillian's.

Prior to that loss to Shinrone in the final group game, Birr had defeated Tullamore, St Rynagh's and St Sinchill's.

The fourth place in the group was a very tight affair and came down to scoring difference with Tullamore just edging out St Rynagh's for the final spot in the A semi-finals. Both of them registered victories over Naomh Brid and Kilcormac/Killoughey but lost to the two finalists Birr and St Cillian's. St Rynagh's paid the price for two heavy defeats though, and the former All-Ireland intermediate champions finished with a -17 scoring difference while Tullamore had -9 and it was The Blues who progressed to the A semi-finals.

In the B semi-finals St Rynagh's were joined by Kilcormac/Killoughey and Naomh Brid, who both recorded one victory from three, both beating St Sinchill's, who finished bottom of the group without a win.

The A semi-finals provided two competitive games. St Cillian's had beaten Tullamore by 15 points in their group game but this was a much closer contest. Only a point separated them at half time, St Cillian's leading by 0-9 to 0-8, but they edged away in the second half to claim their place in the decider on a 1-17 to 0-12 scoreline.

The second semi-final was played in Lusmagh on Saturday last and saw Birr and Shinrone come face to face again in a repeat of last year's final. Shinrone had come out on top when the sides faced each other in the final group game, 3-15 to 2-14, so Birr were out to avenge that setback. At half time they led by 0-7 to 0-5 and it was tight for most of the game but a second half goal gave Birr some leeway and they won by 1-13 to 0-11 to secure their place in the final.

In the B semi-finals St Rynagh's proved their credentials with a very easy victory over St Sinchill's, 4-20 to 1-1, while the second semi-final was a bit closer but Kilcormac/Killoughey came out on top in the end on a scoreline of K/K 2-11 Naomh Brid 1-7.

So the stage is set for two cracking finals. St Cillian's are going in search of their first Senior A title and they have the momentum of going through the championship unbeaten thus far and that will be a big boost to them.

Birr are defending champions after beating Shinrone in last year's final to claim their second senior crown after a previous success in 2014. They are playing in their third final in a row, having lost to St Rynagh's in 2021, and that kind of experience is very important on county final day.

The sides didn't meet in the group stages and being close neighbours there will be plenty of rivalry, so this promises to be a great contest.

St Rynagh's will be disappointed not to have made the A semi-finals and will be considered favourites to take the B crown. However when they met Kilcormac/Killoughey in their last group game, only two points separated the sides, Rynagh's winning by 6-7 to 2-17. Kilcormac/Killoughey will take great encouragement from that, particularly scoring 2-17 against a strong side like St Rynagh's, and will go into the final with confidence.

It has all the makings of two very good finals and spectators will be treated to the best Offaly camogie has to offer. Hopefully conditions will have improved from recent weeks and players will have the opportunity to display all the skills of the game

Elsewhere St Sinchill's and Naomh Brid will face each other in the relegation play off on Saturday.