Loughmore/Castleiney emptied the tank in pursuit of another Tipperary football title

“C’mon Loughmore, every time,” was the rallying cry that one of their supporters shouted out from the Ó Riain Stand during Sunday’s County Senior Football Championship final against Clonmel Commercials at FBD Semple Stadium.

And his team, and club, duly answered the call every time this year, not only in the senior football championship but in the senior hurling and premier junior football championships too, with this incredible club completing an equally incredible treble of county championships.

The song ‘You Win Again’ by The Bee Gees was played over the PA shortly after the senior football final, and there could hardly have been a more appropriate tribute to the amazing success story that is Loughmore/Castleiney, as they won their 17th county senior football title, and their first since they beat Commercials in the final three years ago.

Injury ruled their player-manager Shane Hennessy out of a starting place between the posts, with his brother Joey deputising in goal.

“That was heart-stopping stuff,” Shane said, shortly after captain Liam Treacy had raised the O’Dwyer Cup following their four-points win over Commercials.

“Certainly, I think it’s easier to be on the field. I was injured today and the last day. There’s way more pressure on the sideline, you can’t do anything to influence the game. Joey stepped in and did a great job.

“The lads were just phenomenal. The workrate, the effort of every one of them.. and the boys who came on just emptied the tank, they wanted to do this so much and do the double.

“Every day we just want to go out and show how good we are. We did a good job of that today, in fairness.

“We weren’t going to give an inch, everyone agreed we were going to absolutely empty the tank with whatever it took, we were going to empty every ounce of energy.

“We knew there was no extra time, there was no need to save yourself, there were 65 minutes or whatever it was to play. We have that in the tank, we’ve proved that for the past few weeks, the semi-final in the hurling against Sarsfields was an absolute monster battle, and Toome in the hurling final.

“We know we have it in the legs, if we can be ahead when we got down the stretch we know we can hold on, and we did it”.

Shane Hennessy said it was just getting better, with the premier junior football team also winning a county championship on Saturday, when they defeated JK Brackens in the final by 1-11 to 1-9.

“The first double in 2013 was amazing, 2021 was amazing but this is even better, with the second team winning the county premier junior football championship, it’s just unbelievable.

“It’s such a great feeling to be involved with such a club, I’m so proud to say I’m from Loughmore, and that we got the job done today.

“I don’t know what the secret is,” he said when asked about the club winning their third treble since 2013.

“We have an incredible group of players and a will to win that is non stop”.

Meanwhile, a disappointed Clonmel Commercials manager Tommy Morrissey said “I just felt we never got going. The wind was a huge factor, obviously. We probably ended up telling ourselves we relied on it too much going into the second half, but I just felt we couldn’t get any momentum in the game, you never mind losing when you perform but we just didn’t perform to our level, so it’s disappointing.

“We were waiting for a spark and when you’re relying on that you’re in bother.

“That’s sport, and obviously Loughmore had huge momentum behind them over the last couple of weeks, so that’s a factor then as well. They’re full of energy coming into the second half, knowing that they have a lead to hold onto.

“It’s credit to them, you have to admire them for what they’ve done.

“I was very disappointed with what we got from our shots, we were just not getting enough out of that wind. To be fair, credit to Loughmore, there was pressure on our shooting as well, which was a factor”.

He agreed that Loughmore had worked harder.

“They swarmed us, any time we had a man isolated on the ball they were on it and all over it, so you would have to again give them credit for it. You're looking on and you feel they’re working just that bit harder.

“It was frustrating.

“You just have to dust yourself down and go again. That’s six county finals in a row for us, we’ve won four and lost two, so it’s not a bad record over that short period of time.

“As a club we certainly won’t be sitting back on this, we’ll take it on the chin and we’ll dust ourselves down over what will be a longer winter than normal and don’t worry, we’ll be back”.

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