Offaly Intermediate Hurling Championship teams profiled

Group 1

Shinrone

Manager – Pat Moloney (Shinrone)

Selectors – Dinny Doughan and Tomas Brereton

Captain – Not picked;

Last year – Relegated from senior B

New players - None

Absentees from last year - None

Prospects – Shinrone will compete well and will fancy their chances of coming out of the group stages. They probably won't be good enough to win the championship but you never know.

St Rynagh's

Manager – Colm Keane

Selectors – Nigel White, Michael White, Stephen Wynne.

Captain - Not named yet.

Last year – Beaten in semi-final

New players – St Rynagh's reached the minor hurling final and some of those players will strengthen this team.

Absentees from last year – None.

Prospects – It would not be a surprise if St Rynagh's won this championship. Their second team should be strong and they have a big pick with a lot of very good hurlers. They are on the short list of contenders.

Belmont

Manager – Nicky Claffey and Jimmy Egan

Selectors – Jimmy Cahill;

Captain – Martin Murray.

Last year – Beaten in quarter-final

New players – Conor Dunican and Matthew D'Arcy;

Absentees from last year - None

Prospects – Belmont will be a decent middle of the road intermediate side. They have a chance of being around at the business end of the championship but may not have enough to go the whole way – they also run the risk of losing a couple to their senior side, depending on how they go and the injuries they encounter.

Coolderry

Manager – Niall Kirwan

Selectors - John Kirwan, Paul Ryan, Shane Hoctor, Mick Murray

Captain – Not picked yet

Last year – Beat Kinnitty in the relegation play off.

New players - Damien Fletcher

Absentees from last year – None

Prospects – Coolderry should be in the hunt for a knockout place. They could get into contention for the title but they are behind others in the pecking order at the moment.

Group 2

Shamrocks

Manager – Cal Aherne (A Cork native now living in Mucklagh who played league for the club this year but can't play in the championship because of injury

Selectors - Paddy Guinan

Captain – Conor Moran

Last year – Beaten finalists

New players - None

Absentees from last year - Dan Heffernan and Nigel Dunne not playing intermediate this year. 

Prospects – Shamrocks are among the favourites but you just don't know what you are going to get with them. When they went down to intermediate three years ago, it was just a year after they had played in the senior “B” final. The presumption was that they would immediately bounce back but it hasn't happened so far. Daithi Regan's resignation as manager and the departure of selectors Benny Molloy, Martin Darcy and Dermot Buckley has thrown a spanner in the works but even with that, this could be their year. A lot depends on how well their footballers go. If they go well, their hurlers could get caught but they do have a very realistic chance here.

Carrig and Riverstown

Manager – Paul Murphy, Birr

Selectors – Ger Oakley and Michael Hoctor

Captain – Mark O'Brien

Last year – Beaten in the semi-final

New players - Cathal King , Patrick Bergin and Andrew Coakley and Peter King.

Absentees from last year - Ryan Hogan cruciate, Thomas Hough, and Conor Fitzgerald who are working abroad.

Prospects – Carrig and Riverstown are championship contenders. They were very close to Birr in the semi-final last year and they have some quality young talent emerging. They should be capable of getting out of the group and it will take a good team to beat them.

Seir Kieran

Manager – Billy Dooley

Selectors – Michael Mulrooney, Aidan Mulrooney, Tommy Hynes

Captain – Kevin Murray.

Last year – Beaten in quarter-final

New players - None

Absentees from last year - None

Prospects – Seir Kieran command the utmost of respect and this team will bring their traditional qualities of character and determination to the table. They have reached this final in recent years but it would be a surprise if they won the championship. At the same time, a place in the knockout stages is a realistic target.

Brosna Gaels

Manager – Karl Daly

Selectors – Tony Buckley and Sean Kelleher

Captain – John Egan

Last year – Junior champions

New players – Oisin Corcoran, Ultan Carroll, Keith Lawlor

Absentees from last year – Jack Quinn

Prospects – It is hard to know what to make of Brosna Gaels' prospects at the moment. They should be capable of mounting a good challenge but are just up out of junior level. Most of their players are playing football and come from clubs whose only focus is on the big ball game. Their chances depend to some extent on how they go. They won't be bad but are in a tough group and their game against Seir Kieran could determine who goes into the quarter-final or relegation play off. Nothing would surprise you with Brosna Gaels – they could end up fighting the drop or they could be around at the tail end of the championship.