2020 Offaly hurling final to finally take place today
It seems incredible that there are two Offaly hurling finals going on today (Saturday) - events which have got completely lost in the mayhem that is the build up to the All-Ireland U20 final.
The action was to start with a local derby between Kinnitty and Drumcullen in the 2020 Senior 'B' decider, but it has been postponed "after consultations with the HSE", according to a statement from the Offaly County Board.
The big one, the Senior 'A' decider for the Sean Robbins Cup, is beween Kilcormac-Killoughey and St. Rynagh’s (Bord na Móna O’Connor Park, Tullamore, 6pm).
In terms of ability, it’s fair to say there’s nothing to call between these teams, but when it comes to big championship matches between the two, Kilcormac-Killoughey have tended to find a way to win over the past few years and for St. Rynagh’s legacy, they’ll probably feel they need to pick up a win in this one to balance the scales a little bit.
If Rynagh's win, the history books will show three championships in five years, which will help this group to be recognised alongside some of the famous teams from the club down the years.
It's not as if there is an “end of the era” on the horizon or anything, far from it. If anything, this might be more an issue for Kilcormac-Killoughey, who have a lot of top class players coming to the latter end of their career, but champions are often defined as much by the heavyweight opponents they knock out, as the silverware accumulated.
Neither club had a great run in the senior league recently, and given the amount of players that were absent from both panels on county duty, the form is of little value anyway. But with limited time to prepare, a more wily Kilcormac-Killoughey side might hold a slight edge.
Before the senior final, Coolderry and Shinrone will meet in the intermediate final at St. Brendan’s Park (4pm).
For either Coolderry or Shinrone to get their second team to win an intermediate championship would be a serious testament to the depth available to them, particularly in Coolderry’s case where they’ve been a little bit off the pace in terms of underage results for the past few years.
Shinrone have never struggled in the area of producing good young hurlers and once Covid hit, they’ve seen huge levels of enthusiasm among those young hurlers to get down to the field and be part of the club.
Coolderry have hit form already this year with a league title secured, and several of those players will be involved in this decider, while their win over Shamrocks in the championship semi-final was undoubtedly the most eyebrow-raising result of this championship.
Yet the tentative vote here would go to Shinrone, who have a lot of players involved that will expect to see senior action in the 2021 campaign very soon.
- Kevin Egan