Lift-off for club hurling championship season in Tipperary with some thrilling games

A fascinating weekend of club hurling launched the new season with an abundance of thrills and spills for the fans. Indeed, the thrills were many but there were notable spills too, such as Clonoulty slipping up late against Kiladangan and Nenagh Eire Og being bested by Holycross. And how about Upperchurch falling to Carrick Swan in what was the shock of the weekend.

I missed that turn-up where newly-crowned South champions, Carrick Swan, pulled off a major coup over at Littleton on Friday evening. The Swans are always capable of manning-up against any opponent in the South but at times have faced criticism for their performances outside the division. Not this time where, I’m told, they were fully deserving of their win over Upperchurch.

For the ‘Church this is a serious jolt. For a team that in recent years was in the reckoning for county honours in both codes, they had a down season in 2023 and dropped to Premier Intermediate. Many saw it as a temporary blip and expected a quick rebound. This setback, however, challenges that perception and piles on the pressure now for their remaining games against Silvermines and Ballina.

In other Premier Intermediate games, there was something of a surprise when Cashel KC fell to Gortnahoe/Glengoole. Only a mild surprise, though, because Gortnahoe have been very competitive in this grade for a number of years. They were in the final as recently as 2022 when losing to Roscrea so they certainly have form in this company.

For the King Cormacs, however, it’s a serious setback in a tough group, which also features Eire Og Annacarty and Moyne/Templetuohy, who didn’t play at the weekend.

Meanwhile, in the same Premier Intermediate Championship, Boherlahan got off to a flier on Sunday with an eight-point win over Clonakenny. Newly promoted from their Intermediate win last year, this was the perfect tonic for the team bringing momentum from the lower grade and setting the scene nicely for their games with Thurles Sarsfields and Newport.

They got the perfect start when Mark Downey netted twice in the opening minutes. Clonakenny did recover from that nightmare start, with Cian O’Dwyer clipping over four points and looking a real threat.

However, Boherlahan still led by two at the interval and comfortably held their opponents at a distance in the second half. Euan Ryan chipped in with three second half points and with Tossy Ryan also excellent from frees and play and Darragh Hickey adding leadership with two further points, they were comfortable winners.

It was a smart performance from Boherlahan, with the younger players stepping up admirably. Winning your opening game is huge in these groups of four so Boherlahan are well set now to attack the remaining fixtures.

In the Dan Breen championship, I got to see the double header at Borrisoleigh on Saturday, which developed into a real score fest. 17 goals over the two games, plus 86 points gave a grand total of 103 flags over the 120 minutes of action. Ping-pong hurling, perhaps, with defences being readily opened up and the scores flying in at both ends. Blink and you missed some.

I heard one story of people who left a few minutes before the end of the Clonoulty/Kiladangan game and couldn’t believe their ears when they heard the outcome on the radio. It was one of those stunning finales, where the West side seemed to have things well wrapped up but let Kiladangan in for a late, late reprieve.

Clonoulty led by nine at one stage in the second half and were still seven-up heading into injury time. Yet two minutes later the sides were level. A Billy Seymour free rattled the net for what seemed at the time like consolation. There were still four between them when David Sweeney lofted a point from distance. Robert Doyle was wide with a chance to shove the advantage back to four and then in the last play Darren Moran was credited with the equalising goal.

It was sickening for Clonoulty, who had played so well for so long. They’ll face criticism, however, for how they approached those final minutes. There’s an old saying that you should never defend a lead because you invite the opposition on. In the final minutes Clonoulty withdrew into their own half, clearances went straight out to unmarked Kiladangan players and Barry Hogan and company just kept lofting them into attack.

Against a team like the reigning county champions, that’s inviting trouble and they paid the price. It’s a pity but I guess they should focus on the positives, where they went toe-to-toe with the champions and had the better of it, especially in the second half after they trailed by a point at the interval.

They had many strong performances, from a solid half back line to a busy midfield and pacy attack which really opened up Kiladangan with Cathal Bourke, Stephen Ferncombe, Robert Doyle and Danny Slattery all hitting goals.

It should have been enough but they, perhaps, should remember back to that day in 1997 when they pilfered the most unlikely win over Boherlahan in the county semi-final. A hurling match is never over until it’s over.

The opening game at Borrisoleigh saw JK Brackens hit an incredible 6-26 in their rout of Templederry. It would remind you of a backs-and-forwards drill at training, where players routinely waltz in for scores against accommodating defenders.

In fairness to Brackens this was a really sharp display, full of crisp passing and pacy attacking. Their scoring was free-flow with a variety of shooters: Lyndon Fairbrother hit 1-9, Jamie Ormond 1-5, Eanna McBride 1-4 and substitute Ned Walsh 2-1. It was a turkey-shoot – and Andy Ormond wasn’t even playing.

Seanie Ryan had a poor opening half but restored some pride in the second period when he posted 2-5. Still, with Kiladangan and Clonoulty to come they’ll struggle to avoid a relegation battle.

In group 2 of the senior championship Thurles Sarsfields cruised against Mullinahone for most of the game before the South side turned in a rallying finish, which left people wondering why they left it so late.

At half time Sarsfields led by seven, which is precisely the number of points Conor Stakelum struck uninhibited in that period from midfield. It was all tame enough until Mullinahone found the necessary gear near the end. They ran in a defence-splitting goal, finished, I think, by Kevin Bolger and might have had a second when the referee’s whistle blew a little premature. That, coupled with a run of points from the likes of Eoin O’Dwyer, had Sarsfields scrambling but the gap had been in double digits so it was all too late from the Kickhams.

Finally, the country is still in thrall to that All-Ireland hurling decider, which exhibited just how spectacular the game can be when properly played.

A few takeaways from the match: there’s an urgent need for rule clarifications. The cynical foul rule is far too discretionary; it needs to be nailed down precisely. I’d simplify the wording to include any personal foul inside the D or the 20-metre line in that front-of-goal zone. Avoid reference to goal-scoring chance because that’s too open to interpretation.

Secondly, the short puckout needs clarification. The rule doesn’t make allowance for a quick restart so why do referees, at times, allow it? Clarity please.

Finally, the utter absurdity of Donal Og referencing the present handpass/throw as one of the great skills of the game needs to be called out for the nonsense that it is. As someone said to me recently, “Sure my elderly grandfather in the nursing home could throw the ball like that”. Indeed.