Preview- O’Loughlins are 60 minutes away from first senior crown

After Tullogher-Rosbercon and Thomastown claimed All-Ireland honours at junior and intermediate level last weekend, O’Loughlin Gaels will be out to make it a clean sweep when they meet St Thomas of Galway in Sunday’s senior decider.

Wins for Conahy, Tullaroan and Shamrocks in 2020 brought all three national titles back to Noreside for the first time ever but history could well repeat itself this weekend.

It will be O’Loughlins’ second ever final as they look to make up for defeat against fellow Galway outfit Clarinbridge back in 2011.

O’Loughlin Gaels captain Mark Bergin was part of the team on that occasion and he recounts his memories from the day.

“I remember the high that we had in the club that year and we played against Clarinbridge in the final.

“My main memory from the game is that we hurled very well for maybe the first 25 minutes or so and Clarinbridge just took over then and we couldn’t get it back.

“We left Croke Park very disappointed and at the time when you are young you might have thought that you’ll get another chance but here we are in 2024 and it’s only our second time to play in a club final.

“We have the experience as there was a few lads on the panel at the time. Stephen Murphy and myself were playing while Tony Forristal,Paddy Butler and Sammy Johnston are still here at the moment.

O’Loughlin Gaels players celebrate after winning the 2023 county final. The city ..club will be hoping this Sunday brings more success. Picture: Matt Browne/Sportsfile

St Thomas, on the other hand, are appearing in their third senior final as they look to back up their maiden success against Kilcormac Killoughey of Offaly in 2013 while their most recent trip to Croke Park on final day saw Shamrocks dethrone them in 2019 on a 2-28 to 2-11 scoreline.

While O’Loughlins are appearing in the All-Ireland series for the first time since 2011, St Thomas are more used to this stage of the season after winning the last six Galway senior hurling titles on the trot.

After beating championship favourites Ballygunner via penalties in the All-Ireland semi-finals they will certainly be a stern challenge for the Kilkenny city side.

“It’s going to be extremely tough, said Bergin. “St Thomas have won the last six Galway senior titles which is serious and it’s basically on a par in terms of what Shamrocks have done in Kilkenny.

“Everyone was talking about Ballygunner prior to the semi-final and rightly so as they won three in a row in Munster, but St Thomas came with a huge workrate and a skilll level that shone through on the day.

“They are a team that back down from nothing and it’ll be a huge test. If you look at their spine and you see names like Fintan Burke, Shane Cooney, David Burke, Conor Cooney and Eanna Burke as well as James Regan who has huge experience with Galway so it will be a massive challenge.

O’Loughlin Gaels manager Brian Hogan

The Gaels have been well tested on their way to Sunday’s encounter after securing one point wins over Shamrocks, Na Fianna and Cushendall en route.

The spirit in the Kilkenny champions squad can only be helped when coming through a number of difficult challenges.

“We have shown great character from the get-go even in our league matches,” the captain added. “Then we played Mullinavat in the county quarter-final in Thomastown and I think that really set us up as it was a real battle down there in terrible conditions.

“We were seven points down at one stage and we managed to come out winning it by two or three points and that really galvanised us and gave us a bit of a shot in the arm.

“We went on and beat Bennettsbridge in the semi-final and again we didn’t play well for a lot of that game but when we did we got the important scores and like I’ve said before, winning those games by a point or two really brings you on a tonne.

“That experience means you don’t panic when you are behind going down the stretch in games and in fairness it’s a testament to the players as we only won the Na Fianna and Cushendall games late on and please god that can continue.”

The 34-year-old O’Loughlin Gaels skipper has enjoyed an incredible season with the club and has been the main score-getter in attack. He acknowledges that he’s in the last few years of his career but he’s still enjoying the ride.

“I’m really enjoying my hurling at the moment and I’m also enjoying getting to meet up with friends and I’m probably getting towards the latter stages of my career so I’m probably appreciating it all a little more now.

“There’s also then other responsbilities in life aswell and I’ve a young family at home which rightly so takes over but I still get to get out of the house and go training which is brilliant and the pressure is off in a way.

“I’m turning 35 shortly and there are pressure points throughout your career especially when playing with Kilkenny or respresenting O’Loughlins but for now I’m just enjoying my hurling.”

Bergin and his teammates will go into the game on the back of not playing for a couple of weeks but it’s something that will impact both teams.

“It’ll be five weeks since we last played when we take to the field on Sunday and looking back at our Kilkenny and Leinster campaigns we’ve been on the go every one or two weeks so it was an opportunity to get the bodies right after the semi-final win.

“The winter has flown for us which is great and we went back and had a chat on the Wednesday after the semi-final. We got a few days off over Christmas but we soon went back at it again. Although we had time off, we always knew what was coming down the line.”

That date is now this Sunday as O’Loughlins gear up for their biggest day as a club.