Kind draw for Offaly but Tailteann Cup fails to spark interest

It says it all about how the Tailteann Cup has been received so far that right now, it seems like the biggest thing that can be said for the 2022 event is that 17 teams have the chance to be the first, and thus possibly the only winners of the GAA’s newest inter-county competition. That’s because if things don’t change dramatically, there will be a considerable demand to bin this tournament for the 2023 season.

Offaly were drawn into a preliminary round against Wexford, and everything about this fixture seems to serve as a clear sign that this competition was not meant to be. These two sides met each other very recently, so there is a lack of novelty, but still no natural rivalry. The decision to play the game in Bellefield, Enniscorthy (Sunday, 2pm) rather than Wexford Park shows how little interest there is, and will make the contest feel even more like a challenge game.

Both panels have had players walk away since the Leinster championship, and on Sunday we’ll get a much better picture of how the bulk of players that have remained have applied themselves.

Logically speaking, from the point of view of progression, Offaly have got a very kind draw. An Offaly attacking unit featuring players like Niall and Ruairí McNamee, Jack Bryant and Keith O’Neill has a lot more to offer than the heavily depleted group that travelled to Wexford Park last month, and even at that, there was only three points between the teams. Offaly should have learned a lot more from that defeat too, while Wexford will be hugely deflated for having endured their chastening defeat to Dublin in the interim.

David Dempsey’s injury is a blow, but overall the group should be in a better position, and ready to play like a Division Two side. With the winners of Waterford and Wicklow next up, there’s no excuse for not prolonging this summer by at least another couple of weeks.

Minor heroes create magical occasion

Elsewhere on these pages there is a full report on Monday evening’s sensational Leinster minor hurling final in Portlaoise, so there is no need to go into the nitty gritty of the game any further, even though it would be a wonderfully self-indulgent and enjoyable way to spend our time.

However a separate mention needs to be made of the remarkable attendance of 12,500, which has been suggested as the largest attendance at any standalone minor fixture ever. It took real vision and resolve from Offaly, not to mention solid understanding and mutual respect from Laois, to make this happen. In the absence of any strong direction from Offaly, this game would have been played in Kilkenny last Saturday, in front of a very small crowd. Instead, children from both counties were treated to a remarkable experience that was everything that is best about attending live games.

Coincidentally, this reporter, born in 1978, was brought to plenty of games as a primary school child, but the one that stands out by a country mile was the All-Ireland U-21 hurling final of 1989, also played in Portlaoise. Tipperary won that game, and yet if I was asked to remember any of the scores, I couldn’t. What I do remember was the feeling on the drive there as it became clear that everyone was taking the same journey. The buzz in the town and in walking up to the venue, and of course the electric atmosphere in the stadium, particularly for the parade.

These events shape young children, and when there are chances to create them, they shouldn’t be passed up. To everyone involved in Offaly GAA, Laois GAA and Leinster GAA that made Monday night happen, well done.

Camógs need to hit the ground running

A tough league campaign feels like a distant memory now thanks to Offaly’s relegation play-off win over Limerick, and that momentum needs to be carried into Saturday’s game with Antrim (St Brendan's Park, 5pm) in the first round of the championship as on paper, this is the easiest game in the group stages.

The championship draw has been incredible kind to Offaly in that while both groups have two of the four “big hitters”, in that Offaly are in with Kilkenny and Galway while Tipperary and Cork are on the other side of the draw. Clare look like they are making serious moves forward, and Dublin are probably next in the pecking order after the Banner County. Both of these are on the opposite side, while Offaly are in with Limerick, Down and Antrim.

Away trips to Limerick and Down won’t be easy, but they are winnable games – and if a slip-up can be avoided this weekend, they’ll go to those games with a real chance of reaching an All-Ireland quarter-final. It’s quite a while since there has been this much hope going into an All-Ireland campaign.

Hurlers’ fate in their own hands

After coming through a remarkable and heart-stopping contest in Tralee, Offaly have home comfort against Carlow in the Joe McDonagh Cup on Saturday, and for Michael Fennelly’s side, the equation is simple. Win or draw, and a trip to Croke Park to take on Antrim in the championship final – not to mention a preliminary quarter-final in the All-Ireland championship – has been secured.

Lose the game, and that will be the end of the road, since Offaly are the only team that didn’t give their scoring difference a huge boost by filleting Meath.

There were plenty of aspects of the performance in Kerry that could be picked at, but the simple fact of the matter is that there was immense pressure on the group, and winning a tight game like that can be transformative for any panel. Going from six up with a few minutes left to level, deep into stoppage time, can’t have been easy. David Nally stepped up to be the match-winning hero, however, and now the task remaining is to overcome Carlow in Tullamore.

We all remember a few years ago when a 14-man Carlow team relegated Offaly in O’Connor Park, and while the Offaly panel has changed considerably since then, that memory should still loom large.

Yet at the same time, Carlow have lost key players since then, some other leading lights have lost a step of pace, and while they will still be powerful and direct, Offaly should use the forecast good weather to good effect. Last week, we were very wary of the trip to Tralee. This week, another performance at anything like the same level should be enough to set up a trip to Croke Park.