Ballinagar set sights on historic Leinster final berth

WITH a cloud having descended on the area in the past week, Ballinagar will be attempting to create history by reaching a first even Leinster final when they take on Ellistown of Kildare in the junior football semi-final on Saturday.

Home advantage in O'Connor Park is a definite help to Ballinagar but football took a back seat this week as their community dealt with the traumatic death of a long serving club stalwart Jim Dolan. A former player in the 1970s, '80s and '90s, Jim's son Jimmy is the Ballinagar secretary and the wider Dolan family have been immersed in the club for years.

Known as “the Red”, Jim's sudden passing devastated a tight knit community and his funeral on Tuesday was a profoundly sad occasion. The raw emotion and sadness was palpable as members of Ballinagar GAA Club performed a guard of honour as his coffin made the short journey from his home to St Joseph's Church – members of Tullamore Harriers, where Jim was a member for years, also joined in the guard of honour.

Jim had been at a number of Ballinagar games this year and has seen the club enjoy their greatest ever season. Winners of the Offaly junior football title in 2022, they were among the contenders for intermediate at the start of the year but looked to be in trouble when bad group defeats against St Brigid's and Tullamore followed an opening round win over Raheen. Their season ignited in the knockout stages, culminating in a great final win over parish neighbours Raheen.

This earned them their first entry into provincial competition and they have embraced the challenge. They had a comfortable first round win over Ballon of Carlow and did very well to beat Louth's Wolfe Tones in the quarter-final.

Now they face their toughest challenge yet against Ellistown but Ballinagar are in a perfect position. They are in bonus territory with no pressure on and a defeat wont detract from their season at all. They can play with a sense of freedom and Ballinagar's prospects are good. They have players that will struggle as you meet better opposition and the loss of some injured players is being felt but they have some very strong junior players.

Ballinagar have a handful of players who are not far off county standard and they will give them a chance against most teams. Morgan Tynan and Diarmuid Finneran were on the Offaly panel this year while Adam Strong was on the training squad earlier in the year. Forward Robbie Gallagher has been in great form this season and is in line for a call up while Geordi O'Meara was on the Offaly U20 football team this year.

A lot of junior teams won't have players at this level but you can also come up against some very potent outfits. With Clubber broadcasting a lot of games, it is easy for clubs to study opponents now and Ballinagar will have their home work done on Ellistown, who will be strong. No result will be a surprise here but Ballinagar should be very competitive and as their confidence grows, the improvement with some players has been noticeable.

No matter what happens here, it has been a terrific year for Ballinagar and the extra games in this competition has been the icing on the cake. There is every chance that the journey won't end on Saturday.