Clara enter Leinster club arena as Tullamore basks in hurling success

With the domestic action in Offaly winding to a conclusion, this weekend marks the first voyages of the triumphant clubs into Leinster competition. Notwithstanding the fantastic achievements of the Birr hurlers, Leinster club competitions have been unkind to Offaly teams for a full generation, with no other club taking any silverware since St Rynagh's took the senior hurling in 1993. In football, we have to go all the way back to 1986 when Ferbane beat Portlaoise to take the honours, while the inception of the Intermediate and Junior grades earlier this decade have yet to yield a single trophy for the Faithful county club teams. In the week preceding the county final, a good run in Leinster would have been a long way from Clara's thoughts. They were still big outsiders to overturn Rhode, while other big name teams such as Moorefield, Navan O'Mahony's and All-Ireland champions Kilmacud Crokes were all still in contention. Fast forward to today and those three big guns have all fallen by the wayside and the competition looks much more open than it once did. Granted there are perennial Leinster campaigners such as Rathnew, Garrycastle and of course Portlaoise still going strong, but the nature of the Clara footballer is to be confident and positive, and what was once an odyssey has now become a manageable, if difficult, journey. Certainly the experience of Pat Flanagan will be of huge benefit to the Magpies as he will no doubt have taken plenty of insight from his campaigns with Tyrrellspass, one of which almost resulted in a Leinster title. St Laurence's shock win over Moorefield in the Kildare final means that this Sunday's game will be perceived to be a relatively even encounter, with neither club having been expected to make it this far. Though there is plenty to be wary about in the ranks of the Narraghmore parish team, this is still a game where Clara have every reason to believe that they can prevail. Not unlike the county final, a huge degree of emphasis will be on curtailing a very dangerous left corner-forward in the opposition ranks. Dessie Lawler scored 1-2 in the Kildare final, taking the man of the match award in the process, he is one of the main threats in a very sharp forward line for the home team. In this respect, John Ledwith may get the chance to prove that his wonderful display in the county final was no fluke. The half-forward line for Laurence's is particularly dangerous, with Barry Mackey a huge threat from centre-forward, while Kildare inter-county player Padraig O'Neill will cover a lot of ground and offer plenty of scoring from the left wing. The battle between Mossy Doyle and Scott Brady at centrefield will see two club stalwarts come head to head, and that should be a fantastic battle to watch as both men would be well known for taking no backward step. At the other end of the field, Thomas Deehan is likely to be marked by Niall Clynch, a tidy and tenacious player who is usually handed the responsibility of taking on the main opposition danger man. Clara's focus all year was on regaining the Dowling cup, but now that they have achieved that goal, they have a wonderful opportunity to begin a run in the Leinster championship this Sunday. Pat Flanagan was captain when they fell one step short of winning a Leinster title against Thomas Davis in 1991 and, if this group of players plays to their potential, they could at least reach a semi-final this year. The likelihood is that Portlaoise would be waiting at that stage and that would be a much more severe test, but a win this Sunday would certainly set the ball rolling in the best possible fashion. Durrow head to Louth The other Offaly representatives out this Sunday are junior champions Durrow, who must travel to Louth to meet St Mochta's. Louth are another county whose clubs have not enjoyed huge success in Leinster - Dundalk Gaels' win in the Intermediate football championship in 2003 is their solitary success - and on the face of it, this is a decent draw for Durrow. Travelling to any away venue, particularly that distance, is never easy and a low scoring game is very likely at the St Mochta's venue. The Louth club have been finished with their championships for well over a month now, however the prospect of a Leinster championship game at their club ground is likely to have motivated the players considerably, while the continuation of the Louth leagues will have offered them the opportunity to stay fresh and sharp. In particular, a lot will be asked of Durrow's forward line against a Mochta's defensive unit which is seen as by far their best sector of the field. Philip Englishby, Paul Marron and Barry Mulholland are three defenders who would be very comfortable at a much higher level of football, so players like Niall Geraghty, Stephen Weir and Kevin Mealiffe will have their work cut out for them. At the other end of the field, Mochta's are much more like a typical junior team. The bulk of their scores come through Nigel Farrell, both from frees and from play. In the Louth junior final, Farrell scored 0-11, while the other five starting forwards managed one point between them. If he can be shut down, even partially, then Durrow should keep their opponents to ten scores or less. However, even that tally could be hard beaten in what will be a difficult day for their attackers. With a home game against the Kilkenny runners-up on the cards for the winners, there is the potential for a good run in this competition if Durrow can come away from Sunday's trip with a victory. Meath, Laois and Westmeath are all counties who traditionally perform well at this grade and all their representatives are on the opposite side of the draw, so there will be no better opportunity for Durrow to at least match the feats of Kilclonfert in 2004 and reach a Leinster final. Tullamore's triumph A final word has to go out to the Tullamore hurlers, who stunned the county and indeed most of the hurling world with their win last Sunday. While there will be plenty of clubs who will look back on 2009 with some regret, there is no question but that last Sunday's result, and the huge crowd that were in attendance, are great signs for Offaly hurling. Tullamore is a huge town with more than enough of a population base to support thriving football and hurling teams, and this win will send out a clear signal to the youth of the town that there is plenty of opportunity for those that pursue the small ball code into their adult playing careers, just as there always will be county medals to be won for footballers in the town. Football in Tullamore is too deeply ingrained to ever be dislodged, however Offaly hurling could really use more participation all across the county, and this championship success, combined with Brosna Gaels making the jump to senior level, is a great omen for the future. Their win will cause huge questions to be asked about the new championship structure, however there can be no asterisks attached to a championship win that entailed a fantastic comeback against St Rynagh's, a famous win over Birr and a solid display against Kilcormac/Killoughey in front of a huge crowd on county final day. This team passed all the important tests that were put in front of them and their resolve and unity is something that will be very welcome in an inter-county panel that should have a lot more Tullamore representation in 2010.